How To Hide Comments in Google Docs

Collaborating on documents in Google Docs allows multiple people to provide feedback and suggestions through comments. However, sometimes you may want to hide comments to clean up the look of a document before sharing more widely. Here are several methods to hide comments in Google Docs.

Uncheck “Show Comments”

The easiest way to hide comments in Google Docs is to uncheck the “Show comments” option:

1. Click View > Show Comments in the menu to uncheck it and toggle comments off.
2. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J (Windows/Chrome OS) or ⌘+Option+J (Mac) to quickly toggle showing comments on and off.
3. When “Show comments” is unchecked, all comments will be hidden from view on the document.

Advantages:
- Quick and easy way to toggle comments on/off
- Comments remain intact in the document

Disadvantages: 
- Have to remember to re-check option when want to view comments again

Switch to Viewing Mode

Another way to hide comments is to switch the Google Doc to Viewing mode:

1. Click View > Mode > Viewing in the menu.
2. In Viewing mode, the document acts as if it is printed – no editing or commenting is allowed.
3. Switch back to Editing mode to view comments again.

Advantages:
- Easy way to view document without distractions from comments
- Comments remain available in Editing mode

Disadvantages:
- Cannot edit document contents while in Viewing mode

Resolve Comments

Resolving comments in Google Docs also hides them from view:

1. Click the Resolve link above individual comments you want to hide.
2. Resolved comments will be marked as completed and hidden on the document.
3. To view resolved comments again, open the comment history and view the “Resolved” tab.

Advantages:  
- Allows selectively hiding specific comments 
- Resolved comments stored for later viewing if needed

Disadvantages:
- More tedious for hiding many comments
- Easy to lose track of resolved comments

Make a Copy

If you want to create a permanent version of the document without comments visible, make a copy:

1. Go to File > Make a Copy.
2. In the dialog box, check the box for Copy comments and suggestions.
3. Edit the copy as needed without old comments showing.

Advantages:  
- Creates a comment-free version of the document
- Original document retains comments

Disadvantages:
- Have to manage an additional copied file
- Comments not synchronized between copies

Remove Comments

To completely delete comments from Google Docs:

1. Click the More drop-down menu next to an individual comment.
2. Choose Delete comment to remove it permanently.

Advantages:
- Allows completely deleting unneeded comments
- Cleans up document's comment history

Disadvantages:  
- Can't retrieve deleted comments
- Have to remove comments individually 

By leveraging one of these techniques, you can hide comments in Google Docs to suit your needs. Toggling the “Show comments” option, switching to Viewing Mode, or resolving comments allows temporarily hiding comments from view. To permanently remove comments, make a copy of the document or delete comments completely.