Google Docs allows real-time collaboration between multiple people working on the same document. One of the most useful collaboration features is the ability to add comments. Comments allow you to provide feedback or ask questions about specific parts of the document without directly editing the content.
Once a discussion within a comment thread is resolved or completed, you can mark the comment as “resolved”. This helps keep the open comments focused on active discussions. Here is everything you need to know about resolving comments in Google Docs:
Viewing Comments
To see the comments in a document, click on the comment icon in the toolbar. This opens up the comments panel on the right side:
Comment Icon
The panel shows all active comments by default. To view resolved comments as well, click on the drop-down menu at the top and select “Show resolved”:
Show Resolved Comments
You can filter the comments in various ways from this menu, like showing only comments assigned to you.
Resolving a Comment
Resolving a comment is simple. Just hover over the comment you want to resolve and click on the “Resolve” button:
Resolve Comment
This marks the comment as complete and moves it to the “Resolved comments” section.
You can also select a comment and press the “E” key as a shortcut to resolve it quickly.
Reopening a Resolved Comment
To reopen a resolved comment, find it under the “Resolved comments” section, click the three dots icon, and select “Reopen”:
Reopen Comment
This will move the comment back to the active comments so the discussion can continue.
Deleting Comments
To permanently delete a comment, hover over it and click the trash icon instead of “Resolve”. Or select it and press the “D” key.
The comment will be removed entirely from the document’s history.
Resolving All Comments
If you want to resolve all open comments at once, here are two options:
1. Resolve Individually
Click on each comment and use the “Resolve” button or “E” key shortcut to move them one by one.
2. Make a Copy
- Go to File > Make a Copy
- In the copy, go to Tools > Delete comments
- This removes all comments without deleting content
- You can overwrite the original file with this new copy to effectively “resolve” all comments at once.
Tips for Managing Comments
Here are some best practices for working with comments:
- Resolve promptly – Don’t allow resolved discussions to keep cluttering the open comments.
- Assign comments to the appropriate person so they receive a notification.
- @mention users in the comment text to draw their attention and automatically assign it to them.
- Use comment summaries like “Feedback addressed” to indicate status.
- Filter and search comments to stay organized.
- Reopen instead of creating duplicate comments.
- Email collaborators from the Comments panel to continue an offline discussion.
Keyboard Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts allow you to quickly manage comments:
- Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + M – Insert a new comment
- R – Reply to comment
- E – Resolve comment
- J – Next comment
- K – Previous comment
- D – Delete comment
Using the robust commenting tools effectively helps facilitate productive collaboration in Google Docs between multiple editors and reviewers. Resolving comments when discussions are complete is an important part keeping all stakeholders on the same page.
