# Data-level comments

Data-level commentary is very common in real-life scenarios. In this section, we'll see how you can add data-level comments and the comments column, mention other users, reply to comments, star comments, and receive instant notifications on replies/mentions.

{% hint style="info" %}
Both cell-level comments and comments column are [written back](/planning/data-writeback.md) to databases or shared drives.&#x20;

During export, only the [comments column](#id-4.-comments-column) can be exported to an Excel or PDF file. Cell-level comments are not exported, unlike notes.
{% endhint %}

### 1. Add a comment

You can add formatted data-level comments, which are saved securely to the database along with details such as author and time stamp.

1. Select a cell, row, or column. Then click **Comments > Add New Comment** to add a comment. Alternatively, you can simply click on the 'Comments' icon after selecting a cell/row/column to add a comment.

<figure><img src="/files/oetcPwHRYbRcWuz5yAHv" alt=""><figcaption><p>Adding a data-level comment</p></figcaption></figure>

2. The comments editor opens up. Enter a comment as shown below.

<figure><img src="/files/c1IFhH2wO617JBclSfFa" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comment editor</p></figcaption></figure>

3. Let's apply some formatting to the 'Revenue'. Select the text, click on the **font color** icon, and select a color from the color picker.

<figure><img src="/files/s1tHSahBQx3SEu4VtnKI" alt=""><figcaption><p>Changing the text color</p></figcaption></figure>

4. The font color gets updated. Let us now add a hyperlink to the word 'document'. Select the text and click on the **link** icon.

<figure><img src="/files/FhZFj38Sj0zcuIL5lkVk" alt=""><figcaption><p>Adding hyperlink</p></figcaption></figure>

5. Enter the URL as shown and click **Insert**.

<figure><img src="/files/UWoB07JXjEUltiQbjiTh" alt=""><figcaption><p>Entering the URL</p></figcaption></figure>

6. The hyperlink gets added. Now, click on the **Send** icon to post the comment.

<figure><img src="/files/x8JvpXdIVoJkZGNlSFfi" alt=""><figcaption><p>Posting a comment</p></figcaption></figure>

7. The comment is added, and a **green indicator** appears on the top-right corner of the cell.&#x20;

<figure><img src="/files/gtDsXA2xkFHVYAa4vLCB" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comment Posted</p></figcaption></figure>

The comment box includes several options, which are covered in the following sections.

### 2. Edit/Delete a comment

You can edit or delete your comments by clicking the pencil and bin icons, respectively, as shown below. Report owners and editors can also edit or delete comments added by other users.

<figure><img src="/files/PXE4gdiyI1MXW69lzBD0" alt=""><figcaption><p>Edit/Delete a comment</p></figcaption></figure>

### 3. Lock comment thread

1. Certain comments can be locked to prevent editing and replies. To lock a comment thread, click on the **three-dots** icon and select **Lock Thread**.

<figure><img src="/files/8OaywQU4LMEXSjhkQjkE" alt=""><figcaption><p>Lock Thread</p></figcaption></figure>

2. The comment thread is greyed out. To unlock the thread, click the **Unlock** icon.

<figure><img src="/files/4GgDWKaB8VEG6s1JbfFK" alt=""><figcaption><p>Unlocking the comment thread</p></figcaption></figure>

### 4. Delete all comments

To delete all comments, open the **Comments** dropdown and select **Settings**.

<figure><img src="/files/ZpO962gWzi64R9B24ZPG" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comments - Settings</p></figcaption></figure>

In the side panel, under the **General** tab, click **Delete all comments**.

<figure><img src="/files/btKCvabkH8fOtEPUyC6x" alt=""><figcaption><p>Delete all Comments</p></figcaption></figure>

### 5. Mention other users

You can use the @ symbol to tag other stakeholders and draw their attention​.

1. Select a cell and click on **Add New Comment** from the **Comments** drop-down. Type @ in the comment editor. You will see a list of users in the workspace.

<figure><img src="/files/sKpzAe5LMz8OfzL9zjAi" alt=""><figcaption><p>Using @ mentions</p></figcaption></figure>

2. Select the desired user(s), add the comment, and click on the **Send** icon.

<figure><img src="/files/hQFKDTc4ZizhqQWgQcbx" alt=""><figcaption><p>Mention desired users</p></figcaption></figure>

3. The comment gets posted successfully.

<figure><img src="/files/qAp6FE7yhrqkXH4TmT7z" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comment posted successfully</p></figcaption></figure>

### 6. Reply to comments

Users can reply to comments posted by others and have interactive conversations.​​

1. Click **Reply** to reply to a comment.

<figure><img src="/files/okO5G9mv62sax6byCgb2" alt=""><figcaption><p>Reply to comments</p></figcaption></figure>

2. Enter the reply in the comments editor and click the **Send** icon.

<figure><img src="/files/oTD8PUBlM2SQYf5Yhfvf" alt=""><figcaption><p>Reply added</p></figcaption></figure>

3. The comment reply gets added as a thread.

<figure><img src="/files/eeEGH1reSKmQUw8WUcpD" alt=""><figcaption><p>Threaded comments</p></figcaption></figure>

### 7. Comments column

You can add a dedicated comments column to capture row-level comments.

1. In the **Comments** dropdown, turn on the **Show Comments Column** toggle.

<figure><img src="/files/dLg645FsrwJwDK0coWD9" alt=""><figcaption><p>Turn on comments column</p></figcaption></figure>

2. The **Comments column** gets added.

<figure><img src="/files/7zjfsipn8fet0O7VJBYv" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comments column added</p></figcaption></figure>

3. To add a row-level comment, click the cell beside it in the **Comments** **column** to open the comment editor. Enter your comment and click the **Send** icon.

<figure><img src="/files/jWOQkVrATI8PjhTt05zg" alt=""><figcaption><p>Entering a comment inside comments column</p></figcaption></figure>

4. The comment is added successfully, as shown in the image below.

<figure><img src="/files/HUb4ep2z7IjtoRnI6UFV" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comment added</p></figcaption></figure>

5. To reply to a comment in the **Comments column**, click the comment and select **Reply**. Add the reply and click **Send.**

<figure><img src="/files/UitfDVFnoDGfPfI8eidn" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comments column supports replies</p></figcaption></figure>

6. The number of replies added is displayed in the comments.

<figure><img src="/files/0EaFI528U2xO2yNvGmAR" alt=""><figcaption><p>Comment with the number of replies</p></figcaption></figure>

7. To hide the comments column, turn off the **Show Comments Column** toggle from the **Comments** dropdown.

<figure><img src="/files/hR6j28ILShz6zyKuUFiM" alt=""><figcaption><p>Hide comments column</p></figcaption></figure>

### 8. Roll-up comments

In reports with a large number of hierarchies, you can see comments rolled up at the subtotal and grand total levels, even if the hierarchies are collapsed. This enables executives to see collapsed and summarized reports but still see exception comments rolled up at the parent levels.

In the below image, comments are added at the brand and variant levels, which are consolidated and shown at the category level.

<figure><img src="/files/odJeBFT6JJeheVnEwEHD" alt=""><figcaption><p>Rollup comments in parent level cell</p></figcaption></figure>

Roll-up comments work in the **Comments column** too. In the image below, comments are added at the product category, brand, and variant levels, which are consolidated and shown at the category level.

<figure><img src="/files/KFpolHTWmED20jpLLulm" alt=""><figcaption><p>Rollup comments in comments column</p></figcaption></figure>

To enable roll-up comments, turn on the **Show Rollup Indicator** toggle from the **Comments** dropdown.

<figure><img src="/files/uP5RHJDdyxqTCvPGKMm1" alt=""><figcaption><p>Rollup Indicator</p></figcaption></figure>

### 9. Email notifications

The ‘@user’ mention in the comment automatically sends an email notification to the user, with a link to the report, so that the user can respond to this comment and update the report. Replies to the comments are also notified to the user instantly.

<figure><img src="/files/P7QwRvvyUxgQI2N0jsZ4" alt=""><figcaption><p>Email notification on user-mention</p></figcaption></figure>

You can turn off email notifications for new replies or mentions by navigating to **Settings** from the **Comments** dropdown and unchecking the option highlighted in the image below.

<figure><img src="/files/2UPquCV5Wra1jHbVEjZg" alt=""><figcaption><p>Turn off email notifications for new replies and mentions</p></figcaption></figure>

### 10. Starred comments

**Starred comments** help you highlight and prioritize important discussions directly on your data. By starring a comment, you can quickly identify items that need attention or follow-up. Starred comments are visually marked on the sheet and can be easily filtered in the **All Comments** **panel**. This makes it simpler to track critical feedback and collaborate more effectively.

You can mark a comment as starred while creating it by clicking the **star icon**, as shown in the image below.

<figure><img src="/files/Cei9D0EMZIrEumTpeAMb" alt=""><figcaption><p>Star a comment while creating it</p></figcaption></figure>

You can also start comments that are already created. By clicking **View All Comments** from the **Comments** dropdown, the **All Comments** panel becomes visible.

<figure><img src="/files/9QHsQjJoMbrnMmhLfN0h" alt=""><figcaption><p>View all comments</p></figcaption></figure>

Once the **All Comments** panel is visible, a **star icon** appears on the right side of every comment, as shown in the image below.

<figure><img src="/files/5wCkEjdZWAKNzOArOhKL" alt=""><figcaption><p>Star icon</p></figcaption></figure>

Select the **star icon** for the desired comment to mark it as starred. A **star indicator** appears on the corresponding data point, helping users easily notice and focus on important comments.

<figure><img src="/files/s3nkTj6ACF4Us4z4rnxp" alt=""><figcaption><p>Starred comments</p></figcaption></figure>

You can see that from the image below, the entire thread is starred.

<figure><img src="/files/T0Thr3ZcWwkQBD6mBc7L" alt=""><figcaption><p>Starred comment thread</p></figcaption></figure>

In the next section, we'll see how you can [assign tasks & monitor progress](/planning-sheets/how-tos/7.-planning-budgeting-and-forecasting/8.-commenting-and-collaboration/comments/comments-1.md).


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