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Hi Stacy, 
 
I just tested this with Word 2016 and can't seem to reproduce the behavior you're describing. I too saved the document, then reopened it and checked the comments again. Still indented. 
 
See below. This is how it looked after I've saved, closed Word and then reopened the document by double-clicking on it. 
 
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411868/Comments_Indented.png" target="_blank" title="Comment indentation test in Word 2016 (12 KB)"><img alt="Comment indentation test in Word 2016" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 628px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411868/Comments_Indented.png" /></a> 
My copy of Word is set pretty much to defaults, so I suspect either an add-in is interfering, or changes have been made to your default Normal.dotm template that is causing this behavior. 
 
Please try exiting Microsoft Word completely and then browse to the following folder in Windows Explorer. 
 
C:\Users\YOUR USER NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates 
 
Rename the Normal.dotm file in there to Normal.bak &nbsp;(Word will automatically create a new one the next time it's opened) 
 
Now test again - did that solve it? If yes, then modify the new template to your liking again. 
 
If not, then you can go through the above process again, delete the new Normal.dotm file which word created and rename the Normal.bak file to Normal.dotm again and you're back to where you started. 
 
Next is to rule out add-ins as a case. Start Word in the following way. 
 
Press your Windows Key + R 
Type Winword.exe /safe into the Run box that opened and hit your Enter key 
 
Word will open in Safe Mode. Try comments again and see if the behavior is corrected after saving, closing and re-opening. Ensure you re-open the document in Word Safe Mode again. Just use the above process to open word and then browse to the test document and open it again. 
 
Did that cure it? If yes, then you likely have an add-in that is interfering with the comment function. 
 
Close and Re-Open Word normally and look in File &gt;&nbsp;Options &gt;&nbsp;Add-Ins and take a snapshot of the Add-Ins Window and share it here. I'll see if there is anything obvious there or not. If not, we may need to disable all and keep testing while re-enabling one add-in at a time. 
 
Please try the above troubleshooting exercises and let me know how you get on. 
 
Regards, Andrew
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Comments_Indented.png

Senior Applications Administrator

Stacy Brown

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Thanks for the advice Andrew. &nbsp;No luck though. 
 
I have renamed my Normal.dotm and had Word recreate it. &nbsp;Created new document, added comments, replied to comments (indent present), saved, closed, reopened and all comments are now at first level...no indentation. 
 
I have removed all startup templates and unchecked all Word addins and retested. &nbsp;Same results. &nbsp;I swear this use to work. &nbsp;Wondering if a new patch may be causing the issue. 
 
I tried safe mode as well with new Normal.dotm in place. &nbsp;Same results. 
 
I did find another person experiencing the same issue over on the Microsoft boards. &nbsp;No answers there as of yet though 
 
Also, I am running 64-bit Office 2016 Pro Plus. &nbsp;Not sure that makes a difference but I thought you should know.
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Hi Stacy, 
 
I would next suggest doing a repair of your Office installation from Apps and Features (click Modify instead of Uninstall) and then click Repair - See below 
 
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w07/1412029/Office-1.png" target="_blank" title="Modify (173 KB)"><img alt="Modify" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 800px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w07/800_1412029/Office-1.png" /></a> 
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w07/1412030/Office-2.png" target="_blank" title="Repair (16 KB)"><img alt="Repair" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 531px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w07/1412030/Office-2.png" /></a> 
If you have an option to do an &quot;Online&quot; repair, as shown above, go with the Online option right away - if not, you'll likely get a dialogue box that will just offer a &quot;Repair&quot; - if that's the case for you, then just select that. 
 
No data will be lost. Test after doing a repair and see if that helped. 
 

<blockquote>
Also, I am running 64-bit Office 2016 Pro Plus.
</blockquote>
 
That's helpful information as it's a definite difference and what I suspect could also be the cause. The fact that it's 64-bit rather than 32-bit. 
 
I've seen issues like this before (not with indentation but other things) where something would work perfectly fine on a 32-bit version install, yet fault on an equivalent 64-bit install. Have seen this with Word and Excel and there have been prior questions on Experts Exchange where that was determined to be the cause as well. 
 
Is there any particular reason you installed 64-bit? It's really only needed if you tend to use HUGE Word or Excel files and doesn't enjoy the same size user base that the 32-bit version installs enjoy. 
 
I'm currently using Office 365 Version 1901 (Build 16.0.11231.20130 Click-to-Run) 32-bit version of Microsoft Word 2016 and haven't been able to reproduce the error here. 
 
The only way to know for sure would be to uninstall your copy of Office and reinstall using the 32-bit version instead, but not sure if you want to go to that trouble to confirm? 
 
My final suggestion, given you've tried the two most obvious causes for the behavior is to contact Microsoft Support directly about the issue. I've used the following resource for free Microsoft support many times and have always found them to be very helpful. 
 
<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus/" rel="ugc">https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus/</a> 
 
On the above page, you can use the &quot;Open Get Help app&quot; button if you're using Windows 10 - or alternatively - click the &quot;Contact support in the browser instead&quot; link. Both will get you in touch with a Microsoft Technician via live chat. 
 
Live chat support on that page is available 24/7 
 
Note that if you do elect to try the 32-bit office install option, you will need to first uninstall Microsoft Office completely using Add/Remove programs in Windows, and then re-install it again, only this time select to do a 32-bit installation rather than 64bit. I suspect that may cure the problem for you and again, no user data should be lost. 
 
Other than those suggestions, save uninstalling and reinstalling if it worked for you before (though a repair should be able to avoid that) I'm at a loss as to what else to recommend trying, given that I can't reproduce the error here. 
 
Please let me know how you get on. 
 
Regards, Andrew
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Office-1.png

Office-2.png

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Thanks again, Andrew. &nbsp;Repair of Office didn't help. &nbsp;Moving my Firm backwards to 32 bit isn't an option. &nbsp; 
 
I appreciate all your advice!
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No worries Stacy. Shame about not being able to switch back to 32-bit to try, but if you can't, you can't. Only things left to my mind to try are (if you're sure it behaved properly before) an uninstall and reinstall in case Repair didn't correct something, and Microsoft Support. 
 
I've got a gut feeling this will be related to a 64-bit office update though. 
 
Best regards, Andrew
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Update: &nbsp;We have also found that the &quot;Mark Comment Done&quot; formatting (it fades the comment out) is removed upon saving and closing. &nbsp;This may be due to an update or an update that has changed the way one of our user policy files interacts with comments. &nbsp;We've tried the obvious user policy options but nothing has worked so far. &nbsp;Ideas anyone?
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Update: &nbsp; Looks like the culprit is &quot;Store random number to improve merge accuracy&quot; located under File &gt;&nbsp;Options &gt;&nbsp;Trust Center &gt;&nbsp;Trust Center Settings &gt;&nbsp;Privacy Options. &nbsp;Our GPO had this set to DISABLED. &nbsp; &nbsp;If set to Not Configured then all works as it should where comments are concerned.
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<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
In Word 2016, you can reply to a comment in a document. &nbsp;When you do, the reply is indented. 
 
If I save the document and reopen it, that same reply is no longer indented. &nbsp;Why? &nbsp;Is there a way to control the Comment Balloon indentations? 
 
Here is what it looks like when I reply to a comment 
 
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411792/CommentBalloonsIndented.jpg" target="_blank" title="Comment Balloons showing as Indented (23 KB)"><img alt="Comment Balloons showing as Indented" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 312px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411792/CommentBalloonsIndented.jpg" /></a> 
Here is what the same comment looks like after I save, close, and reopen the document: 
 
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411793/CommentBalloonsNoLongerIndented.jpg" target="_blank" title="Indentation removed (15 KB)"><img alt="Indentation removed" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 234px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2019/02_w06/1411793/CommentBalloonsNoLongerIndented.jpg" /></a>
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CommentBalloonsNoLongerIndented.jpg

CommentBalloonsIndented.jpg

In Word 2016, you can reply to a comment in a document.  When you do, the reply is indented.

If I save the document and reopen it, that same reply is no longer indented.  Why?  Is there a way to control the Comment Balloon indentations?

Here is what it looks like when I reply to a comment



Here is what the same comment looks like after I save, close, and reopen the document:



Replies to Comments no longer display as Indented

Microsoft Word is a commercial document editing program that is part of the Microsoft Office suite. It features numerous text-editing tools for creating richly formatted documents, along with tools for the use of macros in Word documents. Word's native file formats are denoted either by a .doc or .docx file extension. Plugins permitting the Windows versions of Word to read and write formats it does not natively support, such as the OpenDocument format (ODF) are available. Word can import and display images in common bitmap formats such as JPG and GIF. It can also be used to create and display simple line-art.