Word 97 - Delete non-authored comments

What happens when you go to Tools>Protection? Turn protection off if possible.
You could also copy to another document.

Maybe it is not clear to me what you did. I made a document in Word 97. After finishing it I use Tools, Track changes, Highlight Changes? check Track changes while editing, OK and next save the document. This is what I always do before I give any document to somebody else for review. I went to another machine [as a different user]with Word 97 and added a lot of comments and also made changes in the text. These changes would be clearly marked. Next I saved the document.
Next I logged on again as a third user on the first machine and opened the document. So at that moment I was neither the originator, nor the reviewer. Again Tools, Track Changes and Accept or Reject Changes? I reject everything. So, all changes and comments have disappeared. I could switch off the Highlight changes, make a copy, switch off fast saving and anything else an extra safeguard.
Maybe you worked in a different way. In that case clarify your situation. Maybe you used that in my view very dangerous workgroup system? I would really have to look into that. It is years go I saw it and decided this is not for me. Since then I use the option above which has the disadvantage that the document goes from one person to the other. By the way, I use always a (simple) pass word to protect the document for tracked changes. If I know the pass word I can use it as any user in order to remove the protection for accepting or rejecting changes.
Good luck.

If you would have made the documents in the way I described the comments could easily be removed! That is what I am trying to say!
Now you will have a lot of work. First select the complete document, go to Tools, Language, (no proofing). This is tomake sure that right clicking will not result in the spelling checker to come up with suggestions.
Next, start at the top of the document. Click on the little dot between the two buttons with double arrows [right below] and choose Browse by Comment[the yellow note].
Once it is at a comment, right click with the mouse and select delete comment. Go to the next comment [with the two double arrows on the button right below, pointing down wards and now blue] Repeat right click with he mouse, etc.until all comments have been removed. Have fun. [Do it next time perhaps my way?]
Reset the dot button by opening again and clicking on page [top right of all the pictures] and save the document. Do not use fast save!
During Friday [office hours] I will not be in. So, if you want to reject this answer as well, rather than clarifying the situation below your own posting it is up to you. Do not expect further help from me in that case.

OK One other possibility. Save the document as a .txt file [not .rtf !]

Close it and open it again. You will see [userinitials#] behind a lot of text and the same stuff at the bottom with the comments visible.

Delete first all comments at the bottom.
Next do replace with CRTL H
Search string [userinitials^?]
Replace with nothing [leave replace box empty]
Replace all.
If there are many comments again:
Search string [userinitials^?^?] and if more than 100 comments add for the third time another ^?

Next replace two spaces [blanks] with one. Continue until with replace all 0 replacements.
Perhaps do auto format.
If it is a contract you probably should have used (multi level) auto paragraph numbering. That is lost by this trick. Auto format can improve the layout a little bit.

NOTES
^? Stands for any character
Userinitials stands for what you see when you move your mouse across the comment or when you look into the comment.
# is a sequence number
Spaces will be left in the document, therefore the repeated replacements of double spaces by a single one.
Auto format is under format
Save each time the intermediate result under a different name [just in case something is not improving your result].
Do not forget to save the end result again as a Word document.
So you will have to use Save as? every time.
1.1.2 numbering which is not auto numbering is in my eyes rather unprofessional. I used it already with good old WordPerfect [4.2, 5.0 and 5.1] You probably know better.

It may seem superfluous to add all these notes. However, your first comments make me believe that it may have some merit.

Good luck.

PS the TechRepublic system does me not allow to see my second answer, likely due to strange caching.

See, the problem with using Track Changes is that the clients use it for Legal to redline their changes. So I don't see how we could use Track Changes for our purposes. Our comments are meta-stuff like "Delete this paragraph if client has not purchased X services", etc. - instructions for us to use in preparing the contract to send to the client. Hope this helps.

Turning Protection on and off should free the comments for deletion. Here's a macro I picked up in the WOPR forum:

Public Sub RemoveCommentsByAuthor(strAuthor As String)
Dim n As Long
Dim oComments As Comments
Set oComments = ActiveDocument.Comments
For n = oComments.Count To 1 Step -1
If LCase(oComments(n).Author) = strAuthor Then
oComments(n).Delete
End If
Next 'n
Set oComments = Nothing
End Sub

Sub TestIt()
RemoveCommentsByAuthor "joe blow"
End Sub

Actually I consider your behaviour as a personal offence.

I am trying to help you, free of charge, and the only thing you can do is saying like a genuine layer: ?Yes, you helped me, but not for 100%. So I am not going to pay you. Even not the normal expenses, as most layers do while advertising, no cure, no pay? Those lousy 150 points you are offering for a question which may save your company a lot of work is really nothing. I from my part want only recognition that I helped you a least tofind the right direction. I do not know what other questions you posted. However, rejection of 7 answers and only accepting 1 with 4 questions might indicate that you are a free rider.

Just to show that I really want to help you I will give another approach based on your comments. By the way these comments you could have added to your original posting, rather than rejecting my help. This, unless they changed at TechRepublic the system. In that case I apologize for accusing you.

As far as I understand your requirements at the moment, you want to have a text with comments helping people to know what to do in certain cases. In addition they might be able to make changes to the text. Maybe they want to add comments as well. One way or the other you want to be able to see changes and to process these. Likewise you want [perhaps after checking and reading the (additional) comments] to remove all comments in one go, rather than having to remove these comments one by one.
If I am not correct in my assumptions, do not immediately reject my answer and do not react like a devious layer.

What should you do?

Point value changed by question poster.

This question was closed by the author

DKlippert - I could not see your answer before for some reason (page caching or something), but I should have given you the points, because turning protection on then off worked like a charm, with no need to redo our document. Thank you & sorry I didn't accept your answer.

kees.valkenswaard - While you did try to help me, and I do appreciate your time & effort, I resent the fact that you basically bullied me into giving you the points. I did not post a question looking to be berated for creating my document a certain way or told that I was offending you by not awarding you the points immediately regardless of whether or not your answer helped me. I was looking for an answer that would do what I wanted, with the least amount of effort on my part. I don't think that makes me a "free rider" at all. I'm sorry if you feel otherwise, but that's not the way the Tech Q&A system works. If you have a problem with that, perhaps you should take it up with the Admins. If I had held my ground and waited, I could have awarded the points to the answer that actually helped me the most, which was DKlippert's 2nd answer.