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How to disable Comment/Note pop-out on hover, but leave the indicators in Excel

Bryan Morris 0 Reputation points
2026-03-11T14:08:54.9033333+00:00

Hello,

I have been finding the auto comment pop-out function to be very intrusive on some document templates my company uses. I cannot delete these comments as they are part of the template, so I've been searching for a way to disable them from popping out when I happen to mouse over them, and so far, the only thing I've found is:
File --> Options --> Advanced --> Display --> then choosing one of the following options:

  • No comments, notes, or indicators
  • Indicators only, and comments and notes on hover
  • Indicators and notes, and comments on hover

I'm struggling to understand why there is not an option between hiding everything including indicators and having the hover pop-outs on automatically. Why isn't there an option to still show that there is a comment in a cell, but only have it display when actually clicked on or a right-click option to expand the comment? Or a way to adjust the hover time to a threshold that actually counts as 'hovering' rather than the current setting which feels like it activates if my mouse happens to stray within 10 pixels of a cell. If it would just require a 2-second hover rather than .1 seconds, that would prevent 99% of the issue itself. Is there something I'm missing here or is this as annoying of an oversight as I feel it is? Can something be implemented to bridge the gap between not knowing comments exist and having them pop up in your face when you don't want them to?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows
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  1. Hendrix-C 12,120 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-11T17:48:36.85+00:00

    Hi @Bryan Morris,

    Thank you for your detailed feedback and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with Excel.

    I completely understand how disruptive the comment/note pop-outs can be, especially in templates/workbooks that may include notes and comments in many cells. Unfortunately, at the moment Excel only offers three global display modes for comments/notes as you have figured (hide everything, show indicators + hover, or always show). However, even the option to show indicators + hover is the most suggested display option, it can still cause inconvenience especially when you try selecting the cell but hovering mouse near the cell or selecting it also makes the notes/comments show up.

    Your request is very reasonable. With a setting like "Show indicators only; open comment/note on click" would significantly grant user greatly control over their data and avoid unnecessary actions when working within an Excel worksheet. That's why even though these options are not available today, I'm optimistic about future enhancements.

    Because of that, I’ve shared your feedback internally and I also strongly recommend you share your feedback directly with the Microsoft engineering team via Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub > Send Feedback and describe your suggestion in detail. The product team actively reviews customer suggestions to identify areas for improvement and prioritize future updates. Your input does play a vital role in shaping the future of Microsoft products.    

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