If your Word comments are appearing right-to-left (RTL) when they should be left-to-right (LTR), it’s usually because the comment’s paragraph direction is set to RTL, often inherited from the document’s language or a keyboard shortcut. You can fix this in under two minutes by selecting the comment text and changing its paragraph direction to left-to-right, or by adjusting the document’s language settings.
Why Word Comments Suddenly Go Right-to-Left
Microsoft Word supports both left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) text directions, primarily for languages like Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Urdu. When you insert a comment, Word inherits the text direction from the document’s language context. If your document’s language is set to an RTL language, or if you’ve accidentally pressed a keyboard shortcut that toggles the direction, your comments will appear right-aligned with text flowing from right to left.
This is not a corruption or a bug—it’s a formatting attribute that can be changed. The same applies to paragraphs in the main document, but comments are often more confusing because they appear in the margin and the direction change is less obvious.
How to Change Comment Direction to Left-to-Right
Here’s the step-by-step fix for both Windows and Mac versions of Word (2016, 2019, 2021, Microsoft 365):
- Click inside the comment text you want to fix. If you have multiple comments, you’ll need to do this for each one, or select all comments by holding Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and clicking each.
- Go to the Home tab on the ribbon.
- In the Paragraph group, look for the text direction buttons. They are two small icons: one with a paragraph symbol and an arrow pointing left (LTR) and one with an arrow pointing right (RTL).
- Click the Left-to-Right button (the one with the arrow pointing left).
- The comment text will immediately reflow to left alignment and left-to-right reading order.
If you don’t see these buttons, it’s because the RTL/LTR feature is disabled. To enable it: File > Options > Advanced > scroll to “Show document content” and check the box for “Show text direction” (on Windows). On Mac, go to Word > Preferences > General and check “Show text direction.”
Keyboard Shortcuts That Cause the Problem
Many users accidentally trigger RTL mode by pressing a keyboard shortcut. The most common is Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Right Arrow (Mac), which sets the paragraph direction to RTL. Similarly, Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow sets it back to LTR.
These shortcuts are meant for users typing in RTL languages, but they’re easy to hit by accident, especially when you’re trying to select text with the shift+arrow keys. If your comments suddenly flip direction, check whether you’ve recently used these shortcuts.
How to Set the Default Language for Comments
If you want to avoid this issue entirely, you can set the default language for your document to a language that uses LTR direction. Here’s how:
- Select all text in the document (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A).
- Go to the Review tab and click Language > Set Proofing Language.
- Choose a language like English (US) or any other LTR language, and click OK.
This will change the proofing language, which in turn affects the default paragraph direction for new comments. However, it won’t retroactively change existing comments—you’ll need to fix those manually.
Why the Direction Change Happens in Some Documents
Word stores text direction as a paragraph-level attribute. When you copy text from an RTL document or a website, the direction can be pasted into your comment. Also, if you use Word’s “Track Changes” feature and someone else’s comments were made in an RTL context, their comments might appear RTL for you.
Another scenario: you’re working on a document that has a mix of languages. If you insert a comment while the cursor is in an RTL paragraph, the comment inherits that direction. The fix is the same—select the comment and change its direction.
How to Prevent It in the Future
To prevent comments from flipping to RTL:
- Be careful with keyboard shortcuts that include Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+Arrow keys.
- Set your document’s default language to LTR before starting.
- If you copy text from an RTL source, use “Paste Special” > “Unformatted Text” to strip the direction attribute.
- Check the status bar for the language indicator (e.g., “English (US)”) and click it to change if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my comment in Word in Arabic or Hebrew?
This usually means the comment’s paragraph direction is set to RTL, which is common for Arabic or Hebrew. It doesn’t mean the text is actually in those languages—it’s just the direction. Change the direction to LTR using the steps above, and the text will appear normal.
How do I change the direction of all comments at once?
There’s no one-click button to change all comments at once. You can select multiple comments by holding Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and clicking on each comment, then change the direction for all selected. Alternatively, you can use Word’s VBA macro to loop through comments, but that’s more advanced.
Does this affect printing or PDF export?
Yes, the text direction will appear as it does on screen when you print or export to PDF. If you want the PDF to have LTR comments, you must fix the direction in Word first.
Why does the whole document flip to RTL?
If the entire document flips, it’s likely because the document’s language is set to an RTL language. Go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language and choose an LTR language. You may also need to check the paragraph direction for each paragraph.
Can I make Word always use LTR for comments?
Yes, by setting the default language to LTR and avoiding RTL keyboard shortcuts. There’s no specific setting for comments only, but the language setting controls the default direction.