In Excel: right-click a cell and choose New Comment for a threaded discussion comment, or Review ▸ Notes ▸ New Note for a classic yellow sticky note — Shift+F2 inserts one on the active cell, and a small marker triangle appears in the corner.
On this page7
Click the cell you want to annotate.
For a discussion, right-click ▸ New Comment (or Review ▸ New Comment); type your text and click away to post.
For a plain sticky note, use Review ▸ Notes ▸ New Note, or press Shift+F2.
Hover the cell to read the annotation; click the marker triangle to reply to a comment.
Use Review ▸ Show Comments to read every comment in the side pane.
Need it as an auditable file?
Ships inside the linked template — formula-driven, unlocked, audit-ready.
What this does
Modern Excel splits cell annotations in two. Review ▸ New Comment creates a threaded comment built for back-and-forth discussion, with a Reply box and the author's name. Review ▸ Notes ▸ New Note creates the old yellow sticky note for a standalone remark. Both attach to a cell, mark it with a small triangle in the corner (purple for comments, red for notes), and show on hover. Shift+F2 adds one to the active cell. Review ▸ Show Comments opens the side pane to read them all at once. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. Treat “comment calculer la somme sur excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected comments shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a calculation you can defend to a CFO or an auditor into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
Right-click cell B2 and choose New Comment, type "Verify this figure with finance", then click away — a purple triangle appears in the corner of B2. Hover over B2 to read it, or click the triangle to reply. To leave a plain remark instead, pick Review ▸ Notes ▸ New Note and type the note. Comments and notes let you attach context — a caveat, a source, a question for a colleague — to a specific cell without cluttering the data itself. If this is something you do often, add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar (right-click it on the ribbon and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar) or learn its shortcut, so next time it is one click instead of a hunt through the menus.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. Treat “comment calculer la somme sur excel” as a routine rather than a one-off. Once you know which setting or command controls it, the same few steps handle every workbook where it comes up in Excel, and you can explain them to a colleague in a sentence.
Common mistakes
- Confusing threaded comments with notes — converting a sheet between them loses the reply threads.
- Expecting comments to print by default — set Page Setup ▸ Sheet ▸ Comments to "At end of sheet" or "As displayed" first.
- Deleting a cell's contents and assuming the comment goes too — right-click ▸ Delete Comment to remove it.
- Looking for New Note under New Comment — in Microsoft 365 notes live under the separate Review ▸ Notes button.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a comment and a note?
A comment is a threaded discussion with replies and an author; a note is a plain yellow sticky annotation. Review ▸ New Comment makes the first, Review ▸ Notes ▸ New Note makes the second.
What is the keyboard shortcut to insert one?
Shift+F2 adds a comment or note to the active cell. In Google Sheets it is Ctrl+Alt+M.
How do I show all comments at once?
Review ▸ Show Comments opens the side pane listing every threaded comment in the sheet.
How do I print the comments?
Open Page Setup ▸ Sheet, set the Comments box to "At end of sheet" or "As displayed on sheet", then print.