About managing Web document discussions

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The Web document discussions feature enables users to attach comments to a Web page or to any document that can be opened with a browser (such as .htm, .xls, .doc, and .ppt files). Users can place comments in the document or have them appear in the discussion pane at the bottom of the Web browser window. All comments are stored on the SharePoint team Web site. Anyone reviewing a document can view and reply to comments. The document owner can then review discussions and incorporate changes based on the feedback received.

Managing discussions involves:

  • Enabling or disabling discussions for the team Web site 

  • Specifying discussion settings

  • Monitoring discussions

  • Deleting old discussions

You can also specify whether team members can discuss any document on the Internet or just those on the team Web site. You can also specify how long discussion threads will be saved.

Note   Don't confuse the Web document discussions feature with the discussion boards that you can create. A discussion board is a Web page on your team Web site that hosts discussions. The Web document discussions feature appears within individual documents.