Adding comments to files in Assets 10

Working on a publication is team work. In a typical workflow therefore, a file will go through many changes before it can be published.

To discuss or communicate these changes, comments can be added to any file of any type that is stored in Assets, including those that are part of a Collection or a folder (but not to the Collection or folder itself).

How to add and manage comments to any file in Assets is explained in this article. This includes the following topics:

• Adding a comment and replying to a comment
• Editing and deleting comments
• Resolving comments

Managing comments

Managing comments by adding, editing, deleting, resolving them, or replying to them, is done in either the Comments panel or in the Comments feed of the Activity hub.

Note: The Comments feed is a central place in which you can see all comments in which you have been tagged. For details on managing comments in the Comments feed, see Managing your comments in Assets 10.

The Comments panel can be accessed by clicking its icon in the toolbar on the right side.

Figure: Comments for a file can be added and viewed in the Comments panel.

The panel contains two tabs: the Active tab shows comments that are currently active and that need attention, and a Resolved tab that contains comments which have been completed.

At the top of the panel, the name of the file or object to which the comments belong is shown.

Behavior and limitations

Take note of the following behavior and limitations:

• Comments can not be added to Collections or folders.
• A comment can have a maximum of 10,000 characters.
• To each comment, a maximum of 50 replies can be added.
• A single object can contain a maximum of 100 comments.
• Comments are sorted by newest first.

Adding a comment

Adding a comment is done by selecting any file anywhere in Assets (except Collections or folders) and then adding the comment in the Comments panel.

Step 1. Select any file anywhere in Assets, as long as it is not a Collection or folder.

Step 2. In the toolbar on the right side, click the Comments icon to open the Comments panel.

Step 3. Click Create a new comment.

Step 4. In the field that appears, add your comment.

Notes: Make text bold, italic, or underlined by using the options in the toolbar or by using the standard keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+B, Cmd/Ctrl+I, or Cmd/Ctrl+U. Add other users by tagging them. See the next section below.

Tip: Press Shift+Enter to add a line break, pressing Enter saves the comment.

Step 5. Save the comment by clicking Create or by pressing Enter.

Tip: To cancel adding the comment, click Cancel or press Escape.

Tagging other users

Users whose assistance is needed or who need to be made aware of what is being discussed can be tagged in a comment. These users are then notified that they have been mentioned in the comment so that they can assist with resolving the comment.

Tip: Comments in which you have been tagged yourself can be seen and managed in the Comments feed of the Activity hub.

Step 1. Type the @-symbol within any comment or reply.

A list of users appears.

Notes: The list is sorted alphabetically. The list only displays users who have access to the file on which is commented. This way you can be sure that the person you are tagging has access to the file. Users who have been deactivated or deleted appear as 'Unknown user', with a question mark avatar to indicate that they are no longer active in the system.

Step 2. Type additional letters after @ to filter the list on the closest matches, with first names taking priority over last names.

Step 3. Select a user by clicking it. Add additional users when needed.

Note: Tags with your name have a blue background; tags for other users have a light-gray background.

Replying to a comment

To reply to a comment, do one of the following:

• In the Comments panel, click Reply on an existing comment. The steps are then identical to creating a new comment.

• Use the Comments feed in the Activity hub to reply to comments in which you have been tagged. For details, see Managing your comments in Assets 10.

Viewing existing replies in the Comments panel

When replies are added to a comment, the number of replies and the time when the last reply was added is shown.

To view all replies that have been added to a comment, click the Reply label.

Editing and deleting comments

Any comment or reply that has been added by yourself can be edited or deleted.

Note: The following comments or replies cannot be edited or deleted: Comments or replies from other users. Comments that are resolved. To edit or delete a resolved comment, make the comment active first (see Resolving comments).

To edit or delete one of your comments or replies, locate your comment in either the Comments panel or in the Comments feed tab of the Activity hub, click the Edit or Delete icon and follow the steps.

Resolving comments

When a comment needs no further action, it can be set to the Resolved status. Comments that are resolved are moved to the Resolved tab in the Comments panel to keep them accessible but make them less visible.

Comments that have been resolved can also be removed from the Resolved status to make them active again. They then appear in the Active tab of the Comments panel.

To resolve an active comment, or to make a resolved comment active again, click its Resolve icon in either the Comments panel or in the Comments feed tab of the Activity hub.

When a comment is resolved, its Resolve icon is green.

Figure: A resolved comment in the Resolved tab of the Comments panel.

Downloading or deleting a file

When downloading a file, any added comments are not available with the downloaded file.

When deleting a file, the comments are deleted from the system as well.