There was a time when Excel only had a “Notes” feature where one can insert a note in any cell. Well, at some point, they added a “Comments” feature, which allows people to have discussions in any cell. Comments are threaded, timestamped, and authored accordingly. Its a neat feature, and was introduced sometime around when Office 365 subscription came about. The following links help explain more on the Comments feature in Excel:
Problem
There was some confusion based on my experience. I remember wondering why I had both the Comments and Notes feature at the office, but then on my personal computer only had the notes feature? Why? They were the same version of Excel, and I could not figure out why there were differences. I would write Comments in an excel file at the office but then would not see the Comments when I opened the same excel file at home on my personal computer. There’s a simple, yet annoying, explanation to this anomaly. The license I carried at home is a perpetual license and the license at the office is an Office 365 subscription license. The perpetual license doesn’t allow for commenting. I think this is a significant difference that should be made clear in the product comparison page between Office 365 and Office Home and Student licenses, but it’s not. You might have to dig deep to find that information.
Solution
Don’t use Comments at all and stick to Notes instead, or switch from a Retail License (perpetual) to an Office 365 License (subscription) to unlock the Comments feature. The latter costing you more in the long run.
Conclusion
I think it’s a complete ripoff only to include the Comments feature in Office 365 and not in the Retail License. I hope this story, rant, and suggestion to a solution helps others in a similar situation or at least shed some light on the matter.