Handler - Comment
Comment handler enables commenting used by ESS2. Comments are saved as data cards using a system template meant specifically for that purpose. This handler requires multi value reference attribute. There is no need to set target template for the reference attribute.
Do not use this handler on any attribute that already has some other type of data. This handler removes its entity data values that don't refer to the system template using for commenting.
Table 1. Attribute Settings
| Handler name | Datatype |
|---|---|
Comment |
Reference |
Table 2. Required Attribute Metadata
| Name | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
Ignore data card lock (true/false) |
true/false (Default is false) |
By default, adding a comment will lock the data card momentarily. If another user is editing the data card at the same time, adding comments is not possible. When this setting is set to true, no locks are taken or checked, allowing comments to be added even when another user is editing the data card. When this setting is true: Full save is not triggered when adding a comment, and for example the |
Show as tabs (true/false) |
true/false (Default is true) |
Attributes using handlers with the metadata " NOTE: This setting applies only for the renewed UI (2024.2 and later). Determines whether the attribute with the The following criteria determines whether tabs are shown: There must be at least two attributes with the If the value of In case there is any attribute in between two or more attributes shown on tabs (attributes with |
Show button for adding new comments (true/false) |
true/false (Default is true) |
NOTE: This setting applies only for the renewed UI (2024.1 and later) Determines whether the button for adding new comments is shown. This allows admins to set the |
Read and unread comments
Every user has their own read status for each comment. When someone adds a comment, it is unread for everyone else who can see it, and it is read for the person who wrote it. The read status belongs to one person only, so marking a comment as read or unread changes it only for you and never for your colleagues.
Who sees the read status
- Each user sees only their own read status. The Agent UI does not show which other users have read a comment.
- Comments that you wrote yourself are always read for you. They never show the Unread label, and you cannot mark them as unread.
- The read status is saved for the person data card of the signed-in user. The platform finds the person data card by searching the person template for a card whose user id attribute matches the signed-in user. Deleted cards are ignored, and exactly one card must match. If no person data card or more than one person data card is found for the user, all comments appear as read for that user and the read status of the comments cannot be changed. The Agent UI does not show an error in this case, so users may see the change on the screen until they reload the data card.
- A comment written by a user who has no unique person data card has no author stored, so it is unread for everyone.
Marking comments as read or unread
- Opening a data card or looking at a comment does not mark the comment as read. Select the Unread label in the header of a comment to mark it as read.
- A comment written by someone else that you have already read has a menu with the action Mark as unread. When you select it, the comment shows the Unread label again, but only for you.
- You need permission to read the Comment attribute on the data card to change the read status of its comments. You do not need permission to edit the attribute, because the change affects only your own read status. If the change fails, for example because you lack the permission, the Agent UI does not show an error message. Changing the read status does not save the data card, so it works while another user is editing the data card.
- Marking a comment as read when it is already read, or as unread when it is already unread, does nothing.
Where unread comments are shown
- In the comment list, an unread comment has the Unread label in its header.
- When the Comment attribute is shown as a tab, the tab header shows a small marker while the attribute has unread comments. The marker disappears when you have read all of them.
- In list views, a column that shows a Comment attribute displays a new comment icon for each unread comment. The tooltip of the icon reads Unread comments.
- In the list view settings, you can set the condition of a Comment attribute to has unread comments or does not have unread comments (in the Classic UI Unread comments and No unread comments). The condition is evaluated for the signed-in user, so two users with the same view can see different data cards. The condition works only for a Comment attribute of the template that is searched, not for a Comment attribute that is reached through a reference.
Integrations and other channels
- The external REST API does not return the read status of a comment, and a comment added through the REST API does not change it. Integrations can neither see nor change the read status.
- In the Classic UI, the report wizard offers the conditions Unread comments and No unread comments for a Comment attribute.
- The Worklog handler keeps the read status in a similar way, with its own functions.
Names, settings and behavior can change between versions. The descriptions on this page apply to version 2026.2.
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