How to Copy a Google Doc Without Copying the Comments

You copied a document to send outside the team and every internal comment came along with it. Make a copy keeps comments and suggestions by default, resolved ones included, and copying from the Drive file list never asks. Turning the option off from inside the document gives a clean copy.

Accept or reject suggestions first

Leaving comments out also drops any tracked suggestions, and the copy keeps the original text as if they were never made. If the suggested wording is the wording you want, decide them before copying: choose Tools, Review suggested edits, then Accept all or Reject all. Individual suggestions can still be handled one at a time in the margin.

Open Make a copy from inside the document

Open the document itself and choose File, Make a copy. This dialog is the only place the comment option exists; the right-click Make a copy in Drive copies everything.

Uncheck Copy comments and suggestions

In the dialog, clear the checkbox for Copy comments and suggestions. If the new file should not go to the same people, also clear Share it with the same people.

Name the copy and choose a folder

Replace the default "Copy of" name in the name field, pick a folder, and click Make a copy. The copy opens in a new tab.

Check the margin of the copy

Click the comment icon at the top right of the copy. The comment history should be empty, with no open or resolved threads, and the document should contain no suggestion marks.

If you already copied from Drive. Delete that copy and repeat the steps from inside the document. There is no way to strip comments from an existing copy other than resolving and deleting each one.

If you need the revision history. The copy starts with no version history, so keep the original if you may need to see who changed what.