How to clients can see your reviewer comments in excel — how to purge all of them
- Step 1Check whether the file actually has comments — In Excel: Review → Notes → Show All Notes, and Review → Comments. Anything that appears is visible to your recipient. Red corner triangles on cells are the giveaway.
- Step 2Duplicate the file before purging — The purge is permanent. Keep the annotated copy for your own reference; send only the purged one.
- Step 3Open the Comment & Note Purger (Pro tier) — Sign in to Pro or higher — Free is blocked. There are no options to set; the tool removes everything in one pass.
- Step 4Drop the .xlsx / .xlsm onto the tool — Use the modern OOXML format. The engine deletes
xl/comments*,xl/threadedComments/*, andxl/persons/*parts and strips their references. - Step 5Download the purged workbook — The output is
yourfile-no-comments.xlsx. Red triangles and comment indicators are gone from every sheet. - Step 6Re-open and confirm before you send — Open the output, turn on Show All Notes again, and check the Comments pane. Both empty across every tab means the recipient sees nothing.
Are Excel comments really visible to recipients?
What a recipient can see by default, with no special mode enabled. This is why purging matters.
| Annotation | Visible indicator | How a recipient reads it | Removed by purger? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Note | Red corner triangle | Hover the cell | Yes |
| Threaded Comment | Purple comment indicator | Click indicator / open Comments pane | Yes |
| Comment author identity | (none visible) | Unzip file → xl/persons/person.xml | Yes |
| Data-validation message | (none until cell selected) | Select the cell | No (not a comment) |
Native Excel removal vs. this tool
Why the in-app Delete-All is error-prone for whole workbooks and how the purger differs.
| Method | Scope | Catches author records? | Risk of missing a sheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review → Delete All Comments | Active sheet only | No | High (must repeat per sheet) |
| Right-click → Delete Note | One cell | No | Very high |
| Group all sheets + Delete All | All sheets (if supported) | No | Medium (version-dependent) |
| Comment & Note Purger | Whole workbook, one pass | Yes (removes xl/persons/) | None |
Cookbook
Scenarios framed around the 'the client can see this' problem, with the underlying file changes shown.
The recipient hovered and saw your internal doubt
A client emailed back quoting your own note. The fix is to purge before sending, every time — comments are not private.
What the client saw on hover of cell D7: 'unverified - needs sign-off from legal' After purge: xl/comments1.xml deleted -> no triangle, nothing to hover Result: "2 change(s)"
You deleted the comment but the author email leaked
Even after removing a threaded comment in Excel, the person record remained. A technically savvy recipient could read the author's email from the ZIP.
Recipient unzips received.xlsx:
xl/persons/person.xml ->
displayName='Sam Lee' userId='sam.lee@ourcompany.com'
After purge of the same file:
xl/persons/person.xml deleted -> no name, no email recoverableTen-tab workbook, comments on tabs 2, 6 and 9
The native Delete-All only clears the active sheet, so it's easy to miss tab 9. The purger removes them all in one pass with no chance of an overlooked sheet.
Native approach: activate tab2, Delete All; tab6, Delete All; tab9... (easy to forget) -> note survives Purger: one upload removes comments on every tab. Result: "4 change(s)" (3 comments parts + persons part)
Confirm a sent file is clean (after the fact)
If you're unsure whether an earlier send was clean, inspect the file you actually sent.
unzip -l what-i-sent.xlsx | grep -Ei 'comments|persons' # if anything lists, the recipient could see it -> # re-purge and re-send a corrected copy.
Make hovering impossible, then verify the indicators are gone
Removing the parts also removes the visual triangles/indicators that tempt a recipient to hover in the first place.
Before: cells B3, B4, B5 show red triangles. After purge: triangles gone; Show All Notes shows nothing; Comments pane empty on every sheet.
Edge cases and what actually happens
Assuming comments are hidden until 'edit mode'
MisconceptionThere is no view that hides comments from a recipient. Red triangles and comment indicators show by default to anyone who opens the file, and the text is one hover or click away. The only reliable way to make them invisible is to remove them — which is what this tool does.
Author identity remains after a manual comment delete
Leak closedDeleting a threaded comment in Excel can leave the xl/persons/person.xml author record behind, exposing a name and account email to anyone who unzips the file. The purger always removes that part, so the identity is gone, not just the comment text.
Native Delete-All missed a sheet
Common errorExcel's Review → Delete All Comments only affects the active sheet, so a multi-tab workbook needs the action repeated per sheet and one is easily forgotten. The purger removes comments across every sheet in a single pass, eliminating the miss-a-tab failure mode.
Free tier user
Rejected — Pro requiredThe tool is Pro-gated and rejects Free accounts before processing. Upgrade to Pro to run it.
Recipient still sees a data-validation prompt
Not a commentIf a recipient sees a small popup when selecting a cell, that's a Data Validation input message, not a comment — it lives in the validation object and is preserved. Edit or clear it in Excel (Data → Data Validation) if it needs to go.
Comment anchored to a shape or image
Shape preservedThe note's legacy-drawing marker is cleared so Excel doesn't warn about a missing target, but actual shapes, images, and charts (xl/drawings/) are kept. Only the comment scaffolding is removed.
File you received is a legacy .xls
Rejected (wrong format)Binary .xls doesn't store comments as the OOXML parts this tool reads. Re-save as .xlsx first, then purge, then forward the clean modern file.
Workbook has no comments — purger reports 0 changes
Safe no-opIf the file is already clean, the purger removes nothing and reports 0 changes. The output is functionally identical, so running it as a safety check before every send is harmless.
Frequently asked questions
Can clients really see comments I add in Excel?
Yes. Comments and notes are visible to anyone who opens the file — there is no private mode. A red corner triangle marks notes; a purple indicator marks threaded comments. Hovering or clicking reveals the text. Always purge before sharing.
Why do my comments still appear after I deleted them?
Two reasons. First, native Delete-All only clears the active sheet, so other tabs keep their comments. Second, deleting a threaded comment can leave the author's xl/persons/ record. This tool fixes both by removing all comment and person parts across the whole workbook.
Does it remove the red triangles and comment indicators too?
Yes. Because the underlying comment parts and their drawing markers are deleted, the red corner triangles and threaded-comment indicators disappear — there's nothing left for a recipient to notice or hover over.
Will the recipient be able to tell I removed comments?
Not from the file itself — there's no 'comments were here' marker left behind, and the workbook opens normally without a repair prompt because the tool fixes the relationship and content-type manifests.
Does removing comments change any data?
No. Only comment/note/person parts are removed. Cell values, formulas, formatting, charts, and data-validation rules are preserved exactly.
Can I remove comments from just the sheets the client will see?
No — it's a whole-workbook purge. If certain sheets shouldn't ship at all, also remove them in Excel or use excel-hidden-sheet-destroyer for hidden ones; the purger handles comments, not sheet deletion.
How do I check a file is clean before sending it?
Open it, enable Review → Notes → Show All Notes, and check the Comments pane on every tab — both empty means clean. To verify outside Excel, unzip the file and confirm there are no xl/comments, xl/threadedComments, or xl/persons entries.
Is my file uploaded anywhere when I purge it?
No. The purge runs in your browser via JSZip. The file and its sensitive comment text never leave your device, so cleaning the leak doesn't create a new exposure.
Does it work on threaded comments from Excel 365?
Yes. It removes both legacy Notes and Excel 365 threaded Comments, plus the person records that store threaded-comment authors — all in the same pass.
What file types are supported?
.xlsx and macro-enabled .xlsm. These OOXML formats contain the comment parts the tool targets. Convert older .xls files to .xlsx in Excel before purging.
Is there an undo?
No — comment parts are deleted from the output. The tool writes a new -no-comments.xlsx file instead of overwriting your input, so keep your annotated copy as your reference.
Do I need a paid plan to use this?
Yes. The Comment Purger requires Pro tier or higher. Free accounts are blocked. Pro handles files up to 50 MB; Pro-media up to 200 MB; Developer up to 500 MB.
Privacy first
Every JAD Excel tool runs entirely in your browser using SheetJS and ExcelJS. Your spreadsheets, formulas, and data never leave your device — verified by zero outbound network requests during processing.