Discussion pane

A discussion thread is created as reviewers add comments or suggest changes to a topic. The Discussion pane displays along with the topic in Reviews. You can choose to display the Discussion pane below or to the right of the topic content, or to minimize the Discussion pane.

This feature enables other participants in the review to easily comment on a suggestion or to take other actions, such as agree or disagree. Editors can accept or reject suggestions. The discussions are interactive in much the same way as social media discussions.

The discussion content is visible while the topic is in the review phase. Suggestions can be made, and reviewers and editors have the option to reply, to agree and disagree, and to accept or reject. When the topic moves to the editorial phase, the discussion pane remains visible, but new suggestions can't be added.

Topic with Discussion Pane

Discussion pane layout

The Discussion pane has three layout options: below or to the right of the topic content, and minimized. Click the Discussions button to toggle among the options, or expand the button menu and choose an option. Author-it stores the settings for your next Reviews session.

Discussions Button Options

Matching the suggestion to the discussion thread

Each suggestion has its own thread in the Discussion pane. To find the associated thread or suggestion in the topic:

To show the corresponding suggestion in the topic, click the suggestion thread in the Discussion pane. The formatting applied to the topic text changes to bold while the thread has the focus.
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To highlight the suggestion thread (in orange) in the Discussion pane, click the suggestion text in the topic.

The discussion header includes:

Suggestion Box

The user who initiated the discussion (with avatar), and the suggested change or comment.

Note: Clicking the user's name opens a window showing their details.

Time elapsed since the suggested change or comment was made.
While the topic is still in review, the header includes options to reply to, and agree or disagree with the discussion thread. The agree or disagree options are removed once you've agreed or disagreed with a suggestion.
Authorized editors also have the option to accept or reject the suggested change or comment. These options are removed once the editor has accepted or rejected the suggestion.