Targeted conversations using comments

Leave comments in a sheet, a specific row in a sheet, or a workspace.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

You can view or print the sheet’s comments if you can access the sheet. These are the permission levels needed for other actions:

ActionPermission level needed
Create or reply to a commentOwner, Admin, Editor, Commenter
Edit or delete any comment or threadOwner and Admin only
Edit or delete your own commentAny level

Rows with new comments are marked with a red dot New Comment indicator. The easiest way to mark an unread comment as read is to open it, but you can also select the Mark as read icon Mark as Read button ​​​​​​.

Conversations in sheets

Select the Conversations icon to open the conversations panel. There, you can view comments for the row, the entire sheet, all comments, and all unread comments.

Conversation access varies slightly depending on your sheet's view. See the table below for details.

 
 Grid View, Card View, 
Calendar View, and Gantt View		Table view, Board view, and Timeline view
Conversations icon locationRight panelTop panel

Row-level comments

Select the row or the Row tab in the panel. This is the default display when opening the Conversations panel. 

Select the row

Sheet-level comments

Select the Sheet tab in the Conversations panel. 

Select the dropdown in the Conversations panel and select:

  • All rows, if using Table
  • All cards, if using Board
  • All items, if using Timeline

All comments (includes read and unread comments for all the sheet)

Select the All tab in the Conversations panel. 

This is the default display when opening the Conversations panel.

Unread comments

Select the Unread tab in the Conversations panel. 

Select the filter icon.

Select Unread. 

Conversations in reports

Select the Conversations icon at the right panel. In reports, you can only see comments for the selected row or card.

 

For alternative access to the Conversations panel in sheets and reports, try these steps:

  • In grid view: In the far left column, select Add a comment.

In card view: Right-click on a card, select Comments. 

Comments in a workspace

Select Add a comment or view a summary list of comments to only see comments about the workspace. You can open another sheet to view comments for a specific sheet in the workspace.

Conversations icon in workspace

Comment display settings

In the comments dialog or conversations pane, you can display comments chronologically, based on the date they were created or replied to:

  • The most recent comment appears at the bottom of the conversations pane or comments form. 
  • When you reply to a comment, the comment and its reply thread move to the top of the pane or form.
  • Replies within a thread are displayed, starting with the oldest reply and ending with the most recent. That is, the most recent reply appears at the end of the thread.
  • Rows with new comments show a new comment notification.