A friend of mine had this issue this week, and then I did, too. Both of us were working on documents that originated from Arabic-speaking countries, and this is where I usually see this problem. It’s hard to describe, but completely obvious if you’ve ever experienced it: you’re using Track Changes to mark changes in a document, you go to write a comment in a comment balloon / box, and the text runs from right to left instead of left to right. Sometimes even the word order is reversed. It looks something like this:
The cursor is at the wrong end of the line of text, it’s all justified to the right, it shows oddly as you type, and editing it is a nightmare. So how do we change the orientation of the comment text?
Changing the orientation of comment text in Word 2007
What we want to do is change the comment box text from wanting to run right to left to making it want to run left to right. And the easiest way I’ve found to do this is to add a secret little button to your Quick Access Toolbar, then use that to sort out your text. Go to my article on how to add buttons to the Quick Access Toolbar if you need a refresher (or note that you click the down arrow on the QAT at the top of your screen then choose More Commands).
When you get to the part on the Customize Screen menu where you choose the button to add, type L to get near the right place and/or scroll down until you come to Left-to-Right Text Direction and add that to the Quick Access Toolbar.
Now you will have a button on your QAT which looks like a paragraph mark with an arrow next to it. If you hover the mouse cursor over it, it will announce to you that it’s the Left-To-Right Text Direction button. Make sure your typing cursor is in the comment balloon and press this button …
And now your text in your comment balloon should be the right way round (for you):
Please note: you will have to do this for each comment box you create. But it’s only a matter of pressing one additional button, and it WORKS reliably, where fiddling around with the Styles really won’t always work (I know: I’ve been there).
Changing the orientation of comment text in Word 2010
Now, this works just the same in Word 2010, apart from the fact that the button has a different name and a different appearance! Of course!
So when you have reminded yourself how to add buttons to the Quick Access Toolbar if you need a refresher (or note that you click the down arrow on the QAT at the top of your screen then choose More Commands), you will need to start by typing an L and/or scrolling down, but this time you’re looking for Ltr Run.
And when you want to change the orientation of your text in your comment balloon from right-to-left to left-to-right, you’ll need to click on the little green blob (although, again, it will admit that it is the Ltr Run button if hovered over):
Again, please note: you will have to do this for each comment balloon you create. But it’s only a matter of pressing one additional button, and does WORK reliably, where fiddling around with the Styles really won’t always work (I know: I’ve been there in Word 2010, too).
And if you’re using a Mac? Well, apparently you can’t do it, and will need to send it to a friend with a PC. But if you know better, do let me know!
Want even more detail on how to customise your comment boxes? Read my article on customsing comment boxes!
Related posts: What to do if my comment boxes go tiny in Word.
Changing the language in your comment balloons
Please note, these hints work with versions of Microsoft Word currently in use – Word 2003, Word 2007 and Word 2010, all for PC. Mac compatible versions of Word should have similar options. Always save a copy of your document before manipulating it. I bear no responsibility for any pickles you might get yourself into!
This is part of my series on how to avoid time-consuming “short cuts” and use Word in the right way to maximise your time and improve the look of your documents. Find all the short cuts here …
Krishna Kumar Venkitachalam
July 11, 2012 at 5:23 pm
I know of an even simpler way. First copy all the text with tracks off. Open a new document. Insert a comment and type in something in the comment box. Hit enter. Paste your text. Voila, all your comments are ‘normal’ again!
Liz at Libro
July 11, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for your comment. I have tried that way and it sometimes works … whereas this one always does (so far!). So it’s certainly one people can try.
David at Libro
July 19, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Venkitachalam’s method doesn’t work. Not clear what you mean by “all the text” (the entire contents of the document? – Why would I want to paste that into a comment balloon?), but I did it both for all the text (got all the text in a comment balloon – great) and for a reversed comment (got the reversed text in a left-to-right comment balloon – not very useful). Is there something I’m missing? Could you please give more detail about how to do your method?
Liz at Libro
July 19, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Hi there, David. Have you tried the method outlined in my blog post, which I know works reliably as I use it all the time?
Krishna’s method works on the principle of opening a whole new document, leaving it empty while you create one comment box, which will be by default the right way around, then copying and pasting your main document text into the body of the new, blank document. But I have not found that to be reliable.
My way works on a PC. If you are on a Mac, you cannot do that, apparently. One solution is to find a friend with a PC, get them to do my procedure and send it back to you. This has worked for a friend.
Hope that helps!
វិចិត្រ
September 4, 2012 at 8:25 am
Thanks alot. I met this kind of problem long time ago and have no clue how to solve it until I read your article.
Liz at Libro
September 4, 2012 at 8:27 am
I’m glad I could help!
Moore Ink (@Moore_Ink)
November 19, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Thanks Liz. I had the same problem with a large document I am editing. The text is English but the comment box language is Arabic. I have tried changing the language but you have to do it for every Comment and change the formatting. Into the ‘Too Hard Box’! Your method adds a button, but it works every time! You are a gem! Much appreciated.
Liz at Libro
November 19, 2012 at 6:25 pm
I’m glad I could help! Did you try my instructions on changing the language in your comment boxes? http://libroediting.com/2012/11/07/comment-boxes-language/ That should work globally …
trabaja en internet peru
January 10, 2013 at 8:08 pm
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and
now each time a comment is added I get several emails with the
same comment. Is there any way you can remove
people from that service? Thanks!
Liz at Libro
January 11, 2013 at 12:10 pm
Hi there and thank you for your comment. I hope you see this OK.
I can’t amend your notifications myself – the system will not let me do that.
Next time you get a notification, you will have a link at the bottom saying “manage subscriptions”. Click that and you’ll get a list of all your WordPress subscriptions. You’ve probably subscribed to my blog, and comments on the blog, and replies to your comment on this post. Delete the extra ones and you’ll receive one notification per comment, or per blog post, whatever you want.
I hope this helps!
Regards,
Liz
Kristin
February 1, 2013 at 10:59 pm
What about in Word 2003? I have the same problem.
Liz at Libro
February 2, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Hi Kristin, I’m just checking this with someone who has Word 2003 – watch this space!
Kristin
February 11, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Let me know if you find a good solution. My workaround was to copy the text and “Paste Special” using the Unformatted style to a new document. Of course, then I had to reformat everything else, but that was worth it to resolve the problem.
Liz at Libro
February 11, 2013 at 10:22 pm
I do apologise – my friends Dori and Linda worked it out and I forgot to paste it into here … here goes:
Format->Paragraph in Word 2003. Under General-> Alignment, change it from Left to Right.
You can do this to add an icon to your task bar:
In Word 2003 this seems to work to add the icon ….
Menu bar -> Tools -> Customize …
Commands Tab -> Categories: Format -> Commands: -> Find and select “Right-to-Left” in scroll list
Left click on the icon to the left of the command and drag it to the desired menu bar location.
Once the “Customize” box has appeared and you have selected the “General” tab. Choose “Format” in the left hand column and then from the right-hand list, you can choose “left to right” and “right to left”.
Kristin
February 12, 2013 at 4:11 pm
I appreciate that you investigated this. The solution that you posted doesn’t entirely solve the problem for me though I know it will be helpful for many who google this problem.
In my case, the text now appears left aligned, but when I add field codes, or try to use the comments in Track Changes, those appear left-aligned but still reading right to left. There must be some kind of glitch in my program because everything is indicating that it should be fixed.
Anyway, thanks for the help!
Liz at Libro
February 12, 2013 at 4:17 pm
So it works for the text but not the comments, is that right? … let me investigate further … there WILL be a solution!
Kristin
February 13, 2013 at 4:56 pm
It works for the text, but not the comments or the Endnote references that I’ve inserted. Somehow Endnote and Word aren’t playing nicely… The Endnote references switch to left aligned by doing what you wrote, but the numbering is still on the right!
Liz at Libro
February 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm
I’ve asked my colleagues with Word 2003 about the comments. I have no expertise on Endnote, I’m afraid, but I bet there’s something buried in there …
Sean
March 15, 2013 at 8:56 pm
The toolbar button in Word 2003 sort of fixes the problem, but you have to click it every time you make a comment and it reverts to right-to-left when the text wraps to another line. Quite frustrating and confusing.
Naz Hasan Huda
April 6, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Been using this method over six months and have no problem at all. I’m using for a manuscript right now that is from Egypt and came here just to say thank you!!
Liz at Libro
April 7, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for your comment, Naz, and I’m so glad I’ve been able to help!