# Discuss a document with comments

> Add a thread to selected text, reply, and resolve it without changing the passage.



Use a comment to ask a question or discuss a passage. Use [tracked changes](/editor/track-changes) when you want to
propose an edit to the passage itself. Both work with SuperDoc's built-in UI or your own controls.

## Try a comment thread [#try-a-comment-thread]

Expand the Editor and click `September 30, 2026` to open its comment. Add a reply, then choose the checkmark to resolve
the thread. Click the date again to see its **Resolved** status and choose **Reopen comment**.

> **Interactive editor: Discuss the delivery date**
>
> Sample: [open the fixture](/fixtures/comments-sample.docx).
>
> Preset: `comments`.
>
> Comment thread: open the delivery-date comment, reply, resolve, and reopen it. The messages and status change without editing the passage. Layout and permission experiments are hidden; zoom and expansion remain available.
>
> Local DOCX selection: disabled.


The discussion changes; the date in the document does not. To start another thread, select a different passage,
right-click, and choose **Comment**.

## Add comments to your project [#add-comments-to-your-project]

Start with the [Quickstart](/editor/quickstart). Comments are enabled by default, so keep its Editor, `/sample.docx`,
and export button. Provide the current user's name and email using the
[user configuration](/editor/configuration#set-the-startup-configuration) before creating comments.

Select a passage and add a comment from the context menu. Its author should match the configured user. You do not
need a collaboration server for one person to comment on a document and export it.

## Follow the thread lifecycle [#follow-the-thread-lifecycle]

The first comment starts a **thread** anchored to the selected document text. Replies belong to that thread;
they do not need another selection.

| Action              | What changes                                                         |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Reply               | Adds a message to the same discussion.                               |
| Resolve             | Marks the thread as finished but keeps its messages.                 |
| Reopen              | Makes a resolved thread active again.                                |
| Delete your comment | Removes your message; deleting your root comment removes its thread. |

Resolving a thread is not deleting it. Hiding the comments panel does not remove comments from the DOCX either.

## Save the discussion [#save-the-discussion]

Comments, replies, authors, and resolved status are stored in the DOCX. Export using the Quickstart's **Export DOCX**
button, then open the exported file in Word or load it back into SuperDoc. Confirm that the thread and its reply remain,
including the resolved status you chose.

The embedded demo only changes its in-browser document. Your application uses [Load and save](/editor/load-and-save-documents)
to persist the exported bytes. Reloading the original sample is not reopening your saved discussion.

## Choose how people interact [#choose-how-people-interact]

Keep the built-in UI unless your application needs to own the thread list or composer:

* [Configure built-in comments](/editor/built-in-ui/comments) for layout and available actions.
* [Build a custom comments panel](/editor/custom-ui/comments) for application-owned markup and selection handling.
* [Use Document API comments](/document-api/comments) to create, update, or delete comments in code.

Comment settings control browser interaction, not trusted authorization. Your backend still decides who can access
and save the document. Comment actions are separate from permission to accept or reject tracked changes.