The Notes feature is a collaborative tool to share information and files with other members on the report and/or external guests. It's a free text area where any member can post a message/file and any other user can reply or add their own notes/files. It's possible to create threads and tag specific users or user groups to notify them.
Who can see the Notes?
The notes are never shared with the informant.
All members on the report can see the notes, even if they are directly addressed to a specific member or user group.
A guest user (What is a guest user?) may also see and contribute in the Notes section if they are granted permission (How to grant a guest user permission to contribute in the notes?).
Can I delete a Note?
Notes cannot be deleted, but they can be retracted. Only the owner of a note can retract it. The retract option is displayed under the three dots menu above each message:
When the note is retracted, the system requests a reason for the retraction (for audit trail purposes). Once retracted, the note is displayed in crossed out and in grey, but the text is still displayed for the owner of the note.
For other users, the text is replaced by 'Message removed'.
If a retracted note has thread comments attached to it, the comments will remain active and visible for all, unless retracted by their respective owners.
How can I create a thread in the Notes?
To create a sub-discussion from a note, just click on the number of comments attached to the note, highlighted in red below:
This will open a panel on the right-hand side to add a comment as a thread:
Why should I tag users in the Notes?
Whenever you write a note, it is displayed in the 'Notes' section and other users can know there are new notes when accessing the report: a red badge next to the 'Notes' tab name is displayed whenever they have unread notes:
However, users do not receive notifications to inform them that new notes were added to this particular report. If you need them to be informed, you must tag them: this will send them an email notification (just to inform them they need to check the report, the email will not include the note itself to protect the confidentiality of the data) and in app notification (notifications are available under the bell icon at the top right of the screen).
If you don't tag users, noone will be notified that a note was made. If you need other users to take action or provide information on the report, we advise you tag them.
How can I tag a user or user group?
To tag a user on a note, just type: @
It will open a menu that includes all the users who are members on the report, either as individual users or as part of a user group added to the report. You can then select either a specific person and/or the entire user group:
If you want to notify several individuals, you can tag several people by tagging them one by one on the same note.
What is the purpose of the check icon displayed under each Note?
A check icon is displayed under each note. The icon remains grey as long as the note has not been seen by any other user. As soon as the note has been viewed by at least one other user, it becomes green.
When a user rolls over the icon (whether grey or green), it shows the date/time the note was delivered (meaning when it was submitted on the platform) and the date/time the note was read by another user for the first time (only when the icon is green).
