Macro of the Month – August 2025 – CommentCollector

Exports comments to a table

This month’s macro offers authors a different way to view and respond to your comments—providing improved functionality and faster performance than CommentCollectTabulated. Also included is information about a new test-mode feature for FRedit.

This Month’s Macro – CommentCollector

Comments placed inside comment bubbles are a common way editors explain their edits and ask authors questions, but a document full of comment bubbles can be overwhelming for authors. CommentCollector addresses this issue by exporting all comments to a separate document, allowing authors to review and respond to them without the clutter of tracked changes.

The macro creates a table that lists the comment number, the text associated with the comment, the comment text, the page number of the comment, and the name of the commenter. It also includes a column for the author to respond.

If you currently use CommentCollectTabulated, CommentCollector provides the same functionality but with significantly faster performance. I recommend switching.

CommentCollectTabulated generates a table of all the comments in a document with the comment number, the text associated with the comment, the commenter name, the page number, and a place for the author to respond.

How It Works

Running the macro involves three simple steps:

1. Open the working document

2. Run CommentCollector

3. Choose whether to include formatting when the pop-up appears (Note: Including formatting may slow the macro down with longer documents, but it is still much faster than CommentCollectTabulated.)

Tips

• When inserting comments, be mindful of the text you attach them to—this text will appear in the “Scope” column to give authors context for your comment. Select enough text so the author can easily understand what your comment refers to.

• Since you’ll typically run this macro once per project, consider running it from the Macro dialog box to reserve shortcuts for more frequently used macros. Or if you have a custom Ribbon tab for your macros, you can run it from there.

• If you are the only commenter, you can streamline the table by deleting the “Commenter name” column: Select the column, right-click the mouse, and choose “Delete columns.” See the customization instructions for another approach.

Download the code

• wordmacrotools.com/macros/C/CommentCollector

How to Customize It

You can customize this macro in three ways: change the names of the columns, reorder the columns, or delete columns you don’t need. These customizations require adjusting the following lines of code located near the top:

myCol(1) = "number #"
myCol(2) = "scope Scope"
myCol(3) = "comment Comment"
myCol(4) = "page Pg"
myCol(5) = "author Commenter name"
myCol(6) = "response Author response"
totCols = 6

Change the Names of the Columns

To change the name of a column header:

1. Find the myCol line for the column you want to change

2. Leave the first word as is (number, scope, comment, page, author, response)—these words control how the macro works

3. Delete the remaining words and type your preferred wording—keep the closing quotation mark

Example: To change “Scope” to “Context,” update the myCol(2) line to:

myCol(2) = "scope Context"

Reorder the Columns

To reorder the columns:

1. Rearrange the myCol lines in your desired order—the myCol(1) line corresponds to the leftmost column in the table

2. Update the numbers in the parentheses after myCol to maintain sequential order

Example: To move the page number (Pg) column right after the number (#) column, update these lines of code to:

myCol(1) = "number #"
myCol(2) = "page Pg"
myCol(3) = "scope Scope"
myCol(4) = "comment Comment"
myCol(5) = "author Commenter name"
myCol(6) = "response Author response"
totCols = 6

Delete a Column

To remove a column from the report:

1. Delete the myCol line corresponding to the column you want to remove

2. Update the numbers in the parentheses after myCol to maintain sequential order

3. Update the totCols line to reflect the new total number of columns

Example: To delete the commenter name column (useful when you’re the only commenter), update the code to:

myCol(1) = "number #"
myCol(2) = "page Pg"
myCol(3) = "scope Scope"
myCol(4) = "comment Comment"
myCol(5) = "response Author response"
totCols = 5

New FRedit Feature: Test mode

As experienced FRedit users know, testing your FRedit list is crucial when setting up a new list or adding new entries to an existing list to ensure you get your desired results and aren’t introducing errors.

Paul Beverley has added a test mode to FRedit that allows you to test entries individually or in groups. When testing is complete, you’ll receive two reports: one listing the entries that FRedit did not use and another detailing the untracked (silent) edits that FRedit made.

For a demonstration of the different ways to test your list and how to use the reports, watch Paul’s video tutorial: youtu.be/-3Wftp0el2I?si=lFpxMgvJJhdbjOpr

Here's a brief overview of the test mode process—refer to the video for complete details:

1. Download and install the updated code

2. Change the first line of the FRedit list to: | FRedit test

3. Run FRedit. A dialog box will appear with options to test the next entry, test the next group of entries, or stop the macro

4. Choose your testing approach and continue until you’ve tested all the entries you want to review

5. When you’re ready to stop testing, choose “run to the end” (option 1) to generate the reports

6. Review the reports, refine your FRedit list entries as needed, and repeat the testing process if necessary

7. When you’ve finished testing and refining your list, change the first line back to | FRedit (delete “test”) and run FRedit as normal

New to FRedit? It is a powerful find-and-replace macro that can make dozens, even hundreds, of global edits at once. Learn how to use it by downloading the free FRedit from Square One guide.

Have a question or want to suggest a macro for a future newsletter? Reply to this email and let me know.

Happy macroing,
Jennifer

ps: Don’t forget to back up your macros.