# Comments

Comments anchored on a range, with replies, resolved threads and deletes, as Word for the web handles them.

A comment is a note anchored on a range of the document, with a thread of replies under it. The default scenario holds Alice's open comment on `Beta LLC` with Bob's reply, and Bob's resolved comment on `Confidential Information`:

```bash
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/_rystic/inspect?view=document" | jq -c '.comments[] | {author, resolved, text}'
# -> {"author":"Alice","resolved":false,"text":"Is Beta LLC the right legal entity?"}
# -> {"author":"Bob","resolved":true,"text":"Defined in section 1."}
```

From a test, these members work with comments:

| Member | What it does |
|---|---|
| `insertComment` on a range | anchors a comment |
| `getComments` on the body, a paragraph or a range | lists comments, with `content`, `authorName`, `authorEmail`, `creationDate`, `id` and `resolved` |
| `reply` | adds a reply |
| setting `resolved` | resolves the thread |
| `delete` | removes the comment |

A reply has its own `content`, `authorName`, `id` and `delete`:

```js
await Word.run(async context => {
  const hit = context.document.body.search('Acme Corp').getFirst();
  const comment = hit.insertComment('Check the party name.');
  comment.load('authorName,authorEmail,content,resolved');
  await context.sync();
  comment.reply('Confirmed.');
  comment.resolved = true;
  comment.replies.load('items/content');
  await context.sync();
  // comment.authorName -> "Test User", comment.authorEmail -> "user@example.com"
  // comment.replies.items.map(r => r.content) -> ["Check the party name.", "Confirmed."]
});
```

### Threads

Threads behave as in Word for the web on a Microsoft 365 work account. A thread's `replies` list its first comment as item 0, then each reply. So the reply you just made is the last item, and deleting item 0 deletes the whole thread. A resolved thread takes no reply: `reply` throws `NotAllowed`. A comment the simulator writes has `authorEmail` `user@example.com`, its signed-in user's.

### Ids and dates

A comment's or reply's `id` is a number the simulator keeps from run to run. Compare comments by content, not id.

**Differs from Word for the web:** Word mints a random `id` each run.

A new comment's `creationDate` is the simulator's clock.

### Deleted comments

A comment or reply deleted since a collection loaded stays listed in it with its `id`, author, date and `resolved` state. Reading its `content` there throws `GeneralException`. The deleted comment itself, or the collection's `getFirst` that returns it, throws `ItemNotFound` ([Ranges and collections](https://www.rystic.ai/docs/simulators/word/features/ranges-and-collections.md)).

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Source: https://www.rystic.ai/docs/simulators/word/features/comments · Markdown: https://www.rystic.ai/docs/simulators/word/features/comments.md