Commenting and collaboration
Commenting and collaboration features enable you to add contextual discussions directly within the PowerTable sheet. Use these capabilities with your team to collaborate, review data, provide feedback, assign tasks, and track discussions all within the table.
Prerequisites
A PowerTable sheet with the required data table.
You have appropriate user permissions to create, reply to, or manage comments.
Add comments
Use comments to add context or discussions to a specific cell, row, or column in the table.
To add row-level comments, set up the comments column.
To add comment to a cell or a column,
Select the cell or column where you want to add a comment.
Select Comments from the toolbar or Add new comment from the Comments dropdown.
Enter the comment in the comment editor.
You can apply text formatting, such as bold, italic, or underline, by using the standard keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, and Ctrl+U.
Select Assign to User to assign a user from the dropdown list as needed. By using this feature, you can assign and track tasks for effective workflow collaboration.
After assigning the user, select the Send icon to post the comment.
A green triangle appears in the top corner of the cell, indicating that the cell contains a comment. The comment is saved with metadata such as the author name, timestamp, and, if applicable, the assigned user.
To make a comment important, select the star icon
to make it a starred comment.
When you assign a comment to a user, PowerTable sends them a Microsoft Teams notification. The notification includes the PowerTable sheet name, the comment's cell location, the assigner's name, the comment text, and a link to the PowerTable sheet.
The assigned user can then take action or reply to the comment.
Mention users to collaborate and assign tasks
In addition to assigning a user by using Assign to user, you can notify more users by using @ and mentioning them in the comment. Comments with mentions help you assign and track tasks for effective workflow collaboration.
Select the cell and add a comment.
Type @ followed by the user’s name.
Select the user from the list of suggestions.
Post the comment by selecting the Send icon.
Mentioned users also receive Teams notifications with all the comment details and a link to the sheet so they can respond or take action.
The task status is initially Open and can later be updated to Resolved when the task is completed.
Reply to comments
Comments support threaded conversations that allow multiple users to collaborate.
Hover over the green comment indicator to open the comment thread.
Enter your response in the Reply editor.
Post the message by selecting the Send icon.
Replies appear as part of the same comment thread, making it easier to track discussions.
Resolve and reopen comment threads
You can manage comment threads to control discussions.
To resolve a thread,
Hover over the comment indicator to open the comment thread.
Select Resolve Thread icon.
You can reopen a resolved thread if further discussion is needed. Reopen the thread by selecting the undo icon or by replying to the thread.
Add comments column
You can add a separate Comments column in the sheet to capture row-level discussions.
To add a comments column:
Go to Comments dropdown > Settings and then enable the Show comments column toggle in the side panel. A Comments column is added to the table.
Double-click the required row in the Comments column. The comment editor opens.
Enter the comment, and then select the Send icon to post it.
Comments in the Comments column support replies, user assignments, and task status tracking.
When you assign or mention a user in a comment, PowerTable automatically adds the Status and Assignee columns. The Assignee column displays the assigned user, and the Status column displays the current status of the assigned comment, such as Open or Resolved.
To show or hide the Assignee and Status columns, select the > icon in the Comments column header.
To remove the Comments column, turn off the Show comments column toggle in the Comment Settings panel.
You can view all row-level comments in the All Comments panel under Row Comments.
View all comments
You can view all comments in a centralized panel to track discussions across rows, columns, and cells.
Select View all comments from the Comments dropdown. The All Comments panel opens.
Comments are organized by category, along with the number of comments in each category:
Row Comments: Comments associated with specific rows (comments in the comments column).
Column Comments: Comments associated with specific columns.
Cell Comments: Comments added to individual cells.
Expand each section by selecting > to view the associated comments.
Configure comment settings
You can customize how you want to display comments and configure notification settings.
To open the Comment Settings pane, select the Comments dropdown, and then select Settings.
The following options are available:
Show Indicators: Enable or disable the green comment indicator on the PowerTable sheet. On disabling, the comment indicators and comments are hidden from the sheet. You can view them only in the All Comments panel.
Show comments column: Show or hide the dedicated Comments column. To learn more, see Add comments column.
Notification: Turn Microsoft Teams notifications for comments on or off.
Delete all comments: Permanently remove all comments from the table.
Reset: Discard any unsaved changes and restore the previously saved settings.
Finally, select Save to apply the changes made in the Comment Settings pane.
Note
Deleting all comments permanently removes all comment threads from the table. This action cannot be undone.
Configure comment access
You can control who can access, manage, and interact with comments using the Security settings.
Select Security from the toolbar.
Select the Roles tab on the left and scroll down to the Comments section.
Manage comment access
Use the following options to define access:
Who can view comments Specify users who can view comments. Enter names or email addresses to grant access.
Who can add comments
Specify users who can add comments. Enter names or email addresses to grant access.
Who can star comments Specify users who can mark comments as important (starred).
Select Save Changes to apply changes.
Note
Report authors and editors can delete comments from other users, such as, inappropriate comments.
Last updated
Was this helpful?