Adding Comments to a Data Cell

You can't add comments to table cells from blended models or live data models (except SAP BW and SAP BPC live data models).

You can’t add comments to tables in a section.

You can’t add comments to tables in a digital boardroom presentation.

When trying to add comments, you might see the following message:

Comments were not saved due to data access control or role-level security, conflicting dimension members, or dimension members missing from the model.

There a few scenarios where you can see this message:

• You try to add a comment to an unbooked cell, but you don't have the read access to one or more of the dimension members that make up its data context.

• You try to add a comment to an unbooked cell, but there're conflicting dimension members.

For example:

RMStoryTennisShoes is a restricted measure defined in the story that restricts the Product dimension to Tennis Shoes. One comment is successfully added for Tennis Shoes but a comment can't be added to the unbooked cell in the row below, as there is a conflict of dimension members.

There are also rare cases where you try to add a comment to a booked cell, but one or more of the dimension members that make up its data context have been deleted from the model, or the read access to one or more of the dimension members that make up its data context has been removed.

You can’t add comments to data cells sourced from calculations defined in the table, except restricted measures (or accounts). However, these measures (or accounts) cannot be based on any underlying restricted or calculated measures (or accounts) that are created in the table, but they can be based on underlying calculated measures (or calculated accounts, i.e., accounts with formulas) defined in the Modeler.

When commenting on a data cell sourced from a restricted measures (or account) defined in the table, the context includes the specific filters on dimensions used to create the restricted measure (or account). The comment will display in other tables and stories that apply the same filter combinations to the dimension.

You can add comments to data cells sourced from calculations defined in the Modeler, which include calculated accounts (accounts with formulas), calculated measures, and conversion measures. The context of such comments does not include the specific filters on dimensions or variables used to create such a calculation, but it does include its name (or ID). Even with other tables and stories that apply the same filter combinations to these dimensions, as long as the calculation with the same name (or ID) is not available, the same comment won’t display.

For example:

The calculated measure in the column of this table is calculated by the following formula:

RESTRICT([amount] ,[d/Version] = "public.Actual" )

A data point comment of “Comment1” is added to the data cell (but managed and shown in the comment column) sourced from this calculated measure, with the version dimension filtered to Actual via the formula.

The table above is built on the same model and has a filter that restricts measure to Amount, which is the base measure of the calculated measure mentioned above. However, even though the data cell also has its version dimension filtered to Actual, the comment of the first table is not shown in this one, as the calculation with the same name is not available. Rather, you can add a different comment, like “Comment2”.

You can also add comments to data cells sourced from calculations mentioned above that include variables, which can be of number, dimension, and currency types. The same rule regarding the data context also applies: the name (or ID) of the calculation is included in the data context. For example:

The conversion measure of “CNY_Currency” has its target currency fixed to CNY while the conversion measure of “dynamic_Currency” has its target currency taken from a currency variable. Even when the currency variable is set to CNY, the same comment for “CNY_Currency” won’t appear for “dynamic_Currency”, as they’re two different conversion measures (with different names). And if the currency variable is changed to another currency, like EUR, the same comment of “comment for dynamic_Currency when the variable = CNY” will remain there, because the name of the conversion measure hasn’t changed.

Comments are not supported when you set a filter using member navigation. For example, in an optimized design experience story or in view mode of an optimized view mode story, a dynamic range filter is set on a user-managed time dimension. If a story in the non-optimized (classic) experience that includes such a filter is converted to one in the optimized story experience, comments will also become unavailable

When flat presentation and one hierarchy are used in two or more filters of a dimension of parent-child hierarchy, comments are not supported on members in flat presentation of this dimension if these members are parent nodes in the other hierarchy.

When your table has multiple hierarchical dimensions and the comment is added to a lower level member of an inner dimension, you won't see the comment wedge icon when you collapse the outer dimension.