Google Docs / Getting Started with Google Docs
Add comments to documents
If you wish to collaborate on a document and save any messages sent to other users, comments should be used. You can add a comment to any part of a document, and other colleagues working on the document can add replies. Once the comment has been actioned, it can be marked as resolved.
Adding comments
To add a comment to a document:
Click in the document where you wish the comment to appear
Click on the Insert menu and choose Comment or press [Ctrl Alt M]
Type the comment text, then click Comment
You can also add a comment by selecting the text you wish to apply the comment to, then clicking on the blue comment button on the right-hand side of the screen:
Text with a comment attached will show as shaded in the document while the comment itself will appear in the right-hand margin of the document.
To edit a comment, click on the Ellipses in the comment box. Choose Edit.
To remove the comment, click on the Ellipses in the comment box. Choose Delete.
To view all comments in a document, click on the Comments button near the top-right corner of the screen. All comments will be listed in a pop-up window.
To respond to a comment, use either of these methods:
Click on the Comments button to show all comments, then click in the Reply link below the comment you wish to respond to. Type your text and click on Reply.
In the document, click on the comment you wish to respond to, then enter the response text in the box that appears under the comment. Click on Reply to post your response
Once a comment has been resolved, you can click on the Resolve button to hide it from the document. The comment will still stay in the discussion pane so can be viewed by clicking on the Comments button.
You can choose how you are notified of any additions to a document discussion.
Click on the Comments button and choose Notifications
Choose to be notified of All comments or only for replies to comments you have added
Assign actions to colleagues
As well as mentioning a colleague in a comment in a document, sheet or slide presentation, you can also assign an action to a colleague. Your colleague will be able to see if a document has actions assigned to them, and will be able to mark each action as complete. You can assign an action manually in docs, sheets and slides, or assign actions automatically in a document, by typing text in plain English e.g. William to schedule a follow-up meeting.
To assign an action in a doc, sheet or slide:
Select the text, cell or item you wish to assign to a colleague
Click on the Insert menu and choose Comment, or click on the Comment button on the toolbar
Type any text to support the action e.g. action instructions
Type + or @ followed by the name of the person you wish to assign the action to
Select the name from the list of suggestions
Click on the Assign To box
Click on Assign
If you need to reassign an action to someone else, you can do so as follows:
Click on the comment in which the action was assigned
Click in the Reply box
Type + or @ followed by the name of the person you wish to reassign the action to
Select the name from the list of suggestions
Click on the Reassign To box
Click on the Reassign button
In a document, you can assign actions automatically by typing an action in the document e.g. "William to schedule weekly sales meeting" or "Claire to finalise designs". If the document is shared with anyone with these names, Google will suggest that you assign the text as an action - click on Assign to assign the action.
You can see if you have any actions in a shared document by the number that displays next to the document in Google Drive:
Click on the number
Click on Action Items to open the document and display the first action
Mark an action as complete by clicking on the check box next to the item.
