Comment on a document

Last updated: September 4, 2026

Highlight any text in a document and add a comment that stays attached to that passage. Each comment starts a thread that teammates can reply to, react to, resolve and re-open, and every thread is listed in the document's Comments panel. You need Can comment access (or higher) to see and add comments.

Add a comment to a document

  1. Open the document and select the text you want to comment on.
  2. In the toolbar that appears above the selection, click the Add comment icon.
  3. Type your comment. Type @ to mention a teammate or a team.
  4. Press Enter or click the send button to post.

The selected text is now highlighted. Anyone with comment access can click the highlight to open the thread, or find it in the Comments panel.

Open the Comments panel

Click the comment icon in the document header to open the Comments panel on the right. The panel has two filters, Open and Resolved, each with a count. Threads are listed in the order they appear in the document; clicking a thread scrolls the document to its highlighted text. A thread whose text has since been deleted is shown dimmed at the end of the list with the note Original text was removed; the discussion is kept even though it no longer points at a passage.

To hide the highlights while you read without losing the threads, use ⋯ › Hide Comments on the document; Show Comments brings them back.

Reply, react and edit

  • Reply to a thread from the panel or from the popover that opens when you click a highlight.
  • React to any comment with an emoji.
  • Edit or delete your own comments. Deleting the last comment in a thread removes the thread.
  • Copy link on a thread gives you a link that opens the document scrolled to that thread.

Resolve and re-open a thread

When a thread has been dealt with, click Resolve. The thread moves to the Resolved filter and its highlight disappears from the document, but nothing is deleted. To bring a thread back, open the Resolved filter and click Re-open. The person who started the thread and anyone with Can manage on the document can resolve, re-open or delete a thread; other commenters see the thread's status but not those buttons.

Mention someone who cannot see the document

If you @mention a person or team who does not have access to the document, Rhythms shows a message such as "Alex can't see this document" with a Grant view access button. One click gives them view access so they can read the thread. See Grant access when you @mention someone.

Comments and AI edits

When the Rhythms assistant rewrites part of a document, it keeps comments attached to the paragraphs it did not change. A comment whose paragraph was rewritten loses its anchor and appears at the end of the Comments panel as Original text was removed, so nothing disappears silently.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if someone deletes the text a comment is attached to? The thread is kept and moves to the end of the Comments panel, marked Original text was removed. You can still reply to it, resolve it or delete it.

Who gets notified when I comment? Anyone you @mention in the comment receives a notification.

Can people with view-only access read comments? No. Comments and their highlights are only visible to people with Can comment, Can edit or Can manage on the document.

Can I comment on content the assistant or an auto-refresh generated? Yes. Comments work on any text in the document.

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