Excel's threaded comments and notes: where each keeps the author's name
Last updated: 25 October 2026
Short answer: Excel has two kinds of comment, and each keeps the author's name in a different place. A threaded comment is labelled with the name of the account that is signed in, which you cannot change; the file lists each person once, in xl/persons/person.xml, with a display name and often an account id, and each comment points to its person. A note, the older kind, is labelled with the user name set in Excel's options, stored with the notes in xl/comments1.xml and the like. Excel also keeps a plain copy of each threaded comment for older versions. These are the usual part names. Resolving keeps a comment; delete the comments and notes, then check the copy for the list of people.
Threaded comments and notes
Microsoft's page The difference between threaded comments and notes says: "Comments are now threaded, and allow you to have discussions with other people about the data", while "Notes are for making notes or annotations about the data" and work like comments did in earlier versions of Excel. On names, it says of comments "You cannot remove or change your name" and of notes "You can remove or change the name".
The page Insert comments and notes in Excel explains where each name comes from: "Excel labels each comment with the name of the person who is currently logged in with their account", and "Excel labels notes by using a name that you specify in the Options dialog box". If the User name box there is empty, it says, Excel "automatically sets the value of the User name box to your user name, and uses that name for the label". So a note can carry a name you set once and forgot, or your sign-in user name; see removing your name as author for the same kind of setting in Word.
Where the names are in the file
| Kind | Text | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Threaded comment and its replies | xl/threadedComments/threadedComment1.xml and the like, one for each sheet with comments | A personId on each comment, pointing to an entry in xl/persons/person.xml |
| The copy for older versions | xl/comments1.xml and the like, beside the threaded comments | In the same part |
| Note | xl/comments1.xml and the like; the box it is drawn in is in xl/drawings/vmlDrawing1.vml | The authors list in the same part, which each note points to |
Microsoft's reference for the Open XML SDK describes the elements. A threaded comment has the cell it is on (ref), the date and time (dT), the personId, a parentId that makes it a reply, done for a resolved thread, the text and any mentions. Microsoft's specification of the person ([MS-XLSX] CT_Person) says it holds "the information about an author of a comment or a person mentioned in a comment": a required displayName and id, the id that comments and mentions point to, and an optional userId and providerId. Its examples of a userId include an Active Directory security identifier, an Office 365 id and an email address, and, with no provider, the author's name. Notes and their list of authors are defined in ECMA-376 Part 1, §18.7 (ECMA-376).
The copy for older versions is described on Microsoft's page Converting to threaded comments: people with an older version of Excel "will see a copy of the comment, unthreaded". The same page says that converting notes to threaded comments (Review › Notes › Convert to Comments) removes any shapes or images that were in the notes.
What resolving and deleting do
Resolving a thread does not remove it. The Insert comments and notes page says a resolved comment "will still be viewable, but no further additions can be made to it unless it's reopened". To remove a comment, right-click the cell and choose Delete Comment; for a note, Delete Note. We found no Microsoft page that says whether a person stays in person.xml after all of their comments are deleted, so check the copy.
What Document Inspector removes
Microsoft's Document Inspector page lists, for Excel, "Comments" and "Ink annotations" under Comments and Annotations, because "This information can let other people see the names of people who worked on your workbook". It does not say whether threaded comments, notes and the list of people are handled differently, and it cannot be used on the comments of a workbook saved as a shared workbook. Names elsewhere, such as in the document properties or typed into a cell, are separate items; for Word and PowerPoint as well, see comments, ink and annotations.
How to check a copy yourself
- In Excel, show every comment and note: the Comments pane, and Review › Notes › Show All Notes. Look on every sheet, hidden sheets included.
- Make a copy, rename it to .zip and unzip it.
- Look for
xl/threadedComments,xl/personsandxl/comments*.xml, the usual names;[Content_Types].xmllists each part with its type if the names differ. If any is there, open it and read the names:displayNameanduserIdinperson.xml, and each<author>in the comments parts. - Search every part for your name and your account's email address, in case they are in a mention or a cell.
What ScrubDrop does
ScrubDrop reads the workbook in your browser; the file is not uploaded. It lists the comments it finds, counting each threaded comment and reply once rather than counting Excel's copy for older versions as well. The examples it shows come from the notes and from those copies, with the author they name; it does not look up the name behind each threaded comment in the list of people. For free, one file at a time, it removes all of them: the threaded comments and their replies, the list of people, the copies for older versions, and the notes with their list of authors and the boxes they are drawn in, keeping other shapes in the same drawing, such as buttons. It also removes the comments Excel can keep on tables, defined names and scenarios. It removes the names rather than replacing them, and it does not change the user name in your Excel options; change that yourself for the next note.
Questions
Can I change the name on a threaded comment in Excel?
Microsoft's page says you cannot remove or change your name on a comment: Excel labels it with the account that is signed in. On a note, the name comes from the User name in Excel's options: changing it there changes the name on new notes, not on notes already in the file.
Does resolving a comment in Excel remove it?
No. Microsoft's page says a resolved comment is still viewable and can be reopened. Delete it, or remove all comments, before you send the file.
Where does an .xlsx keep the names of people who commented?
For threaded comments, in xl/persons/person.xml, with a display name and, often, an account id such as an email address; each comment points to its person. For notes, in the list of authors at the top of xl/comments1.xml and the like.
Sources: the Microsoft pages linked on this page were checked on 25 October 2026. ScrubDrop is not affiliated with Microsoft.
Remove the comments and the names with them, in your browser. Free: one file at a time; every supported kind of hidden data it finds is listed, and properties, comments and tracked changes are removed. Check a file.