This article applies to versions 4.6.2 and later of IFS OI Explorer. For more, see Release History.
Overview
IFS OI Explorer Comments are associated with time series data: tags, entities, and attributes.
Comments can be entered, viewed, and replied to from IFS OI Explorer trends, as well as pages that have been configured for comments. This article describes how to identify existing comments and how to add new ones.
Comments can be accessed from a Points Detail page, an Explorer Trend, or an Explorer Page.
You access the comments list from:
A Comments button that is on a page, or on a trend or chart hairline
A Comment marker on a trend or chart
A Comments list on a page, or on a Point Details page
All comment indicators respond to the data and timestamp of the comment: for example, a comments button is filled in if there are comments for the data and timestamp it applies to.
A Comments button on a page
Comments buttons on a trend hairline
A Comment marker on a trend
A Comments list on a page
The Comments button is filled in if there are comments for the time period.
The Comments button is just an outline if there are no comments for the time period.
The Comment marker appears if there are comments for the timestamp, and is coloured to match the trace line.
These Comments appear on the page, and there are no markers or buttons to click.
Tip: Hover over the button to see how many comments there are.
Tip: Hover over the hairline info box to see the full data name.
Note: In smaller charts, the marker is also smaller.
Tip: Hover over the data name, or the date, to see the full name or date in a tooltip.
When the comments list is opened, you can view the comments within the default time period (or for the timestamp, for trends and charts) and you can search for comments for a different period (* see note below).
From the comments list, you can:
Search for comments for a different period
Add a new comment
Delete a comment (privileges apply)
Edit a comment (privileges apply)
Reply to a comment
* Note: For comments on a page, you need a time picker on the page to change the time range of comments
Explore icon: This icon appears when the Explore panel is open (in this case, for the selected Comment).
Click the icon to open/close the Explore Panel.
2.
Comment header: The header is 'Explore', with a sub-header showing the data name.
Click the pin to keep the panel open, otherwise it will close if you click elsewhere in Explorer (for example on a display, or on the ribbon). Click again to unpin. See more: Explore Panel Pinned.
Click the Close button to close the Explore panel for this case.
Click the Help button to open contextual help.
3.
New Comment: Start typing in here to add a new comment. See more: Adding a Comment.
4.
Comment Time Range: You can adjust these dates to search for more comments. See more: Finding a Comment.
5.
Comment List: This list of existing comments is ordered with the most recent at the top. See how to: Reply, Edit and Delete comments.
Explore Panel Pinned
When the Explore Panel is pinned, it remains open as you tab through different comments. Each time you click on a comment button or marker, the new comments list appears in the Explore panel.
Clicking on a comment marker (1) with the Explore panel pinned
Clicking on a comment marker (1), the comments on the Explore panel are updated
Comment Features
Comments, whether they appear on a list in the Explore panel, or in a list on a page, have the same structure.
Each comment includes the data's name and timestamp, the date and time the comment was added, and the name of the user who commented. Comments can also have replies, each one with the name of the user who replied, and when they replied.
1. Comment Header
Each comment has a header containing the name of the user who commented, as well as the data's name and timestamp.
In this example, the name of the user: P2 User 3, the data name: TWell 1, the timestamp: 24 August 2018 12:00:00 AM
2. Comment Details
The comment text appears here. Comments can include entities in pills. Click an entity pill such as this one to open the Entity Details in the Explore panel. Comments can also include user names in a pill (see Comment Mentions).
3. Comment Footer
The comment footer shows the time that the comment was added. Click the Reply icon to reply to the comment. Click Show Replies (n)… to show replies to this comment, and Hide Replies (n)… to close the replies again. Click the Edit icon to edit the comment, or click the Delete icon to delete the comment.
In this example, the comment was added on: 23 Aug 2018 10:44:45 AM, and there are 2 replies to the comment. The currently logged in user has Edit and Delete privileges.
4. Replies
Each reply has the same structure as the main comment, and all replies apply to the main comment. Replies can also be edited or deleted; privileges apply as they do to comments.
Comment Data
In a trend or chart, a trace's comments are about the trace data (a tag or an attribute). On a Point Details page, the comment is about the Point Detail's data (a tag or an attribute). On a page, the data can be about an entity, a tag, an attribute, or a hierarchy section, and there can also be a comment context - depending on how the Comments Button or Comments component is configured.
In the Comments List, a comment's data is displayed in its header portion [1]. Any new comments that are added relate to the data shown in the list header [2].
Trends and charts show data changes over time and can include comments for several different timestamps.
In this chart, there are three comment markers for this data over the period
Note: The Embedded Trend and Chart components need to be configured for including comments. For page designers: Read about how to configure Hairlines and Comments in a Chart.
Existing Comments
Comments in trends, charts and embedded trends are indicated by a comment marker: a small, inverted triangle coloured to match the comment data's trace line. The comment marker has a dashed line that extends through the trace line to the X Axis, so that you can approximate the comment's time (the actual timestamp appears when you open the comments).
Click the comment marker to open the comments list in the Explore panel. You can view/edit/delete, or reply to comments, and you can add a new comment here: see Working with Comments.
On trends and charts, comments can be added against tags, calculation tags, and attributes, but not against ad hoc calculations.
New Comments
To add a new comment, click the trace to add a hairline, then click the comment button in the hairline box for the data you want to comment on. The comment is added for the data at the hairline's timestamp: see Working with Comments.
On an Explorer page, comments are indicated by Comments buttons which are filled in if there are comments for the comments time period, and just an outline where there are none.
Comment lists can also be displayed on the page, if the page designer used a Comments component.
The example below shows Comments buttons and a Comments list on the page, with the opened Explore panel on the right.
1.
Comments list on a page.
2.
Click the comments button to open the Explore panel on the right.
3.
There are no comments for this comments button's data and the time range.
Whether the comments list is on a page, or in the Explore panel, you can add, reply, edit, and delete comments in the same way.
In the Explore panel, you can also search for a different time range of comments, by changing the date and time for Show From and To.
Finding a Comment
Comments relating to the data are shown in the comments list. They only appear if their timestamp is within the specified time range.
The most recently added comment appears at the top of the list.
To change the time range, click the calendar or time icon for the Show From or To date and time. You can do this in the same way you would use the date picker.
Note that these times do not affect the time of any new or edited comments.
The time range changes, and comments with their timestamp within the new time range appear in the list.
Adding a Comment
When you add a comment, the only property that you can edit is the comment's content: Type this in the edit box (maximum 4000 characters), then click Save or press Enter.
As you type, the comment appears in the Live Preview tab below the edit box. The preview tab disappears after you save the comment.
Note: Live Preview only applies to version 4.6.2. In later versions, mentions are supported natively and a text format toolbar is also available.
The following properties are automatically set, and saved with the comment:
1. User Name:
The user name of the person adding the comment.
2. Data Name:
This is a tag, an entity, or an attribute. It matches the data in the configured Comments Button or Comments component (or the hairline's data, for trends and charts), and also appears in the Explore panel header.
Note that if the page has a control (such as an entity selector) for changing an entity, then you can change the comment's data by using this. This depends on how the page has been configured.
3. Timestamp:
The new comment's time is the configured component's timestamp (by default, the page's end time), and for trends or charts it is the hairline's timestamp.
Note that if the page has a control (such as a date/time picker) for changing the end time, then you can change the comment's timestamp by using this. This depends on how the page has been configured.
4. Time Comment Added:
The time that the comment is added (current time).
Mentions and Hashtags
In the comment content, you can mention users, by using the at @ symbol, to send them a notification for the comment. You can also add an entity pill to a comment by using the # symbol, to provide a link to Entity Details.
Watch this video to see how a comment's data and timestamp change when a date range picker and entity selector are used. The comment in this video also content includes mentions and hashtags.
Replying to a Comment
A comment can have multiple replies, effectively forming a conversation point. To reply to a comment:
1. Locate the comment you want to reply to, and click the Reply icon.
2. Type in a reply, then click Save or press Enter.
Editing a Comment
You can edit the comment text or a comment reply, if you are the one who has added the comment/reply, or if you have privileges to edit comments.
1. Locate the comment or reply that you want to edit, and click the Edit icon.
Using Comments for Collaboration 4.6.2 (this release)
Comments can now include hashtags # in the content, for creating an entity 'pill'
Comments can now include mentions @ in the content, for sending a notification to another user
'Live Preview' tab when adding or editing comments or replies. Note that in later versions Live Preview was removed, as mentions are now supported natively.
Using Comments for Collaboration
ON THIS PAGE:
This article applies to versions 4.6.2 and later of IFS OI Explorer. For more, see Release History.
Overview
IFS OI Explorer Comments are associated with time series data: tags, entities, and attributes.
Comments can be entered, viewed, and replied to from IFS OI Explorer trends, as well as pages that have been configured for comments. This article describes how to identify existing comments and how to add new ones.
Read more: Comments in Explorer, Formatting Text
Accessing Comments
Comments can be accessed from a Points Detail page, an Explorer Trend, or an Explorer Page.
You access the comments list from:
All comment indicators respond to the data and timestamp of the comment: for example, a comments button is filled in if there are comments for the data and timestamp it applies to.
When the comments list is opened, you can view the comments within the default time period (or for the timestamp, for trends and charts) and you can search for comments for a different period (* see note below).
From the comments list, you can:
* Note: For comments on a page, you need a time picker on the page to change the time range of comments
Read more: Locating Comments
Comments Button Appearance
The Comments button is filled in
if there are comments for the comment's time period, and just shows an outline 
if there are none.
Note: The Comments button icon appearance on a page may vary, depending on styling.
Comments List
A list of comments appears on a page when a Comments component has been used, otherwise the list appears in the Explore panel.
Comments are ordered with the most recently added at the top of the list.
Read more: Comments Structure
Comments in the Explore Panel
Most comment lists appear in the Explore panel.
Explore Panel Pinned
When the Explore Panel is pinned, it remains open as you tab through different comments. Each time you click on a comment button or marker, the new comments list appears in the Explore panel.
Comment Features
Comments, whether they appear on a list in the Explore panel, or in a list on a page, have the same structure.
Each comment includes the data's name and timestamp, the date and time the comment was added, and the name of the user who commented. Comments can also have replies, each one with the name of the user who replied, and when they replied.
Comment Data
In a trend or chart, a trace's comments are about the trace data (a tag or an attribute). On a Point Details page, the comment is about the Point Detail's data (a tag or an attribute). On a page, the data can be about an entity, a tag, an attribute, or a hierarchy section, and there can also be a comment context - depending on how the Comments Button or Comments component is configured.
In the Comments List, a comment's data is displayed in its header portion [1]. Any new comments that are added relate to the data shown in the list header [2].
Read more: What are Comments About? This also includes a section on Comment Context, which is a filter that the page designer can configure for comments.
Comments on a Trend or Chart
Trends and charts show data changes over time and can include comments for several different timestamps.
Note: The Embedded Trend and Chart components need to be configured for including comments. For page designers: Read about how to configure Hairlines and Comments in a Chart.
Existing Comments
Comments in trends, charts and embedded trends are indicated by a comment marker: a small, inverted triangle
coloured to match the comment data's trace line. The comment marker has a dashed line that extends through the trace line to the X Axis, so that you can approximate the comment's time (the actual timestamp appears when you open the comments).
Click the comment marker to open the comments list in the Explore panel. You can view/edit/delete, or reply to comments, and you can add a new comment here: see Working with Comments.
On trends and charts, comments can be added against tags, calculation tags, and attributes, but not against ad hoc calculations.
New Comments
To add a new comment, click the trace to add a hairline, then click the comment button
in the hairline box for the data you want to comment on. The comment is added for the data at the hairline's timestamp: see Working with Comments.
Related: Creating a Trend, Viewing Charts
Comments on a Page
On an Explorer page, comments are indicated by Comments buttons which are filled in
if there are comments for the comments time period, and just an outline 
where there are none.
Comment lists can also be displayed on the page, if the page designer used a Comments component.
The example below shows Comments buttons and a Comments list on the page, with the opened Explore panel on the right.
Working with Comments
Whether the comments list is on a page, or in the Explore panel, you can add, reply, edit, and delete comments in the same way.
In the Explore panel, you can also search for a different time range of comments, by changing the date and time for Show From and To.
Finding a Comment
Comments relating to the data are shown in the comments list. They only appear if their timestamp is within the specified time range.
The most recently added comment appears at the top of the list.
To change the time range, click the calendar or time icon for the Show From or To date and time. You can do this in the same way you would use the date picker.
Note that these times do not affect the time of any new or edited comments.
The time range changes, and comments with their timestamp within the new time range appear in the list.
Adding a Comment
When you add a comment, the only property that you can edit is the comment's content: Type this in the edit box (maximum 4000 characters), then click Save or press Enter.
As you type, the comment appears in the Live Preview tab below the edit box. The preview tab disappears after you save the comment.
Note: Live Preview only applies to version 4.6.2. In later versions, mentions are supported natively and a text format toolbar is also available.
The following properties are automatically set, and saved with the comment:
Mentions and Hashtags
In the comment content, you can mention users, by using the at @ symbol, to send them a notification for the comment. You can also add an entity pill to a comment by using the # symbol, to provide a link to Entity Details.
Read more: Mentions and Hashtags in Comments
Watch this video to see how a comment's data and timestamp change when a date range picker and entity selector are used. The comment in this video also content includes mentions and hashtags.
Replying to a Comment
A comment can have multiple replies, effectively forming a conversation point. To reply to a comment:
1. Locate the comment you want to reply to, and click the Reply
icon.
2. Type in a reply, then click Save or press Enter.
Editing a Comment
You can edit the comment text or a comment reply, if you are the one who has added the comment/reply, or if you have privileges to edit comments.
1. Locate the comment or reply that you want to edit, and click the Edit
icon.
2. Edit the text, then click Save or press Enter.
Read more: Comments Security
Deleting a Comment
You can delete a comment or a comment reply, if you are the one who has added the comment/reply, or if you have privileges to delete comments.
1. Locate the comment or reply that you want to delete, and click the Delete
icon.
2. In the Delete Comment confirmation box, click, Yes, delete it.
The comment and all of its replies are deleted.
Read more: Comments Security
Release History