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Comments and notes let you add additional information and detail to help others understand the data, assumptions and calculations in a spreadsheet.
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The comment functionality
in sheets is robust.
0:00
The way we make a comment is we click on
the cell where we wanna make a comment,
0:03
and we go up to Insert,
and select Comment.
0:07
Note there's also a keyboard shortcut for
this.
0:09
And this box pops up.
0:13
I can say,
this is an example comment to myself.
0:15
And there we go.
0:23
Now I click somewhere else and
the comment disappears.
0:25
And I go over here, now if I mouse
over the cell with the comment in it,
0:29
it will pop up again.
0:34
You can see that there are comments in
cells because of this yellow-ish orange
0:36
triangle here at the top of the cell.
0:40
So I scroll over the cell with the comment
in it, and I can reply to this comment.
0:44
I can also tag colleagues and
0:51
they'll get notified via email
that they've been tagged.
0:54
So I could say @Rich.
0:56
And there, his email pops up.
1:01
And this is just a test, ignore.
1:04
At your own peril [LAUGH].
1:11
And there we go.
1:14
Now, another thing is if I'd actually
been asking to do something in this
1:16
spreadsheet, or answer a question,
I could do that there.
1:20
And then when it's been resolved,
then the comment goes away.
1:23
And you can see the history of all
the comments by just going back up here.
1:26
Comments are great for collaboration
as they can speed up the exchange of
1:32
information and
identify where action is required.
1:35
We generally use notes
differently than comments.
1:38
You can use notes to explain
what certain cells mean or
1:41
why you set something up or also the
source of an assumption that's being made.
1:44
Here we are in our retail budget
example back on the Input tab.
1:49
I'm gonna scroll down to the Expense
Assumptions section and focus on row 26.
1:54
The rent is going up every year, which we
know why it is, but to other people who
2:03
are using the spreadsheet, they might
not know and that might look weird.
2:07
So, I'm going to insert
a note to give context.
2:11
Lease agreement requires 10%
2:17
increase in year 1 rent.
2:22
So now, someone who might
wonder what's going on there
2:29
can scroll over the cell and see the
comment that explains why it's going up.
2:32
What about on the revenue side?
2:39
$25 for the hats.
2:42
What and how did we arrive at that price?
2:44
Well, it might be because we know it
costs us $10 to make the hats and
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we're gonna mark them up by $15.
2:51
So instead of just putting $25, we've
actually entered in that information into
2:54
the formula, but
it's still not immediately obvious.
2:59
Another way to do this is we could
say okay, it's gonna be $10 + 15.
3:03
And here because we're referencing
the cell, people can see, okay,
3:09
well the cost is $10 and we're adding
$15 on the cost, which is fine.
3:14
But just for the example's sake.
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We'll insert a note.
3:25
$10 cost plus $15 markup.
3:28
Now it's certainly best practice
when you're inserting notes to also
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say who put it, with initials.
3:40
You could spell out your full name.
3:43
Everyone around here calls me Watson,
so I'll just write Watson.
3:44
Also note that you can adjust
the size of the comment box.
3:49
The difference between comments and
notes is subtle, and in some cases,
3:55
doesn't really matter.
3:59
Indeed, lots of spreadsheet
software doesn't have the common
4:01
functionality that Sheets has and
are really just notes.
4:04
Keep that in mind because they can help
clarify things in your spreadsheets,
4:07
particularly when you're
collaborating with other users.
4:11
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