Updates section overview

The Updates section of an object displays comments that users make on the object or system updates that track changes to the object.

Overview of the Updates section

The Updates section of an object shows system updates, and up to 200 of the most recent updates users made within the past 90 days.

Updates section

The following objects have an Updates section where you can add comments or review system updates:

  • Projects
  • Tasks
  • Issues
  • Programs
  • Portfolios
  • Templates
  • Template tasks
  • Users
  • Timesheets
  • Teams
  • Goals
  • Cards in the Boards area
  • Iterations

Overview of the Updates section

Updates section

  • The Updates section displays information in the following tabs:

    • Comments: Displays comments made by users and replies to those comments. Use the Comments tab to add new comments or reply to existing ones. For information about updating objects, see Update work.

    • System Activity: Displays system updates which are informational messages that Workfront creates to record certain events on an objects. For example, changes in status, name, or custom fields are captured with system updates. Your Workfront or group administrator can enable system updates for your objects. Any replies that were made to system activity records in the legacy commenting experience are populated on the System Activity tab as read-only. For more information, see Configure system updates.

    • All (read-only): Displays both user comments and system activity comments in one place. This is a view-only tab. You cannot reply to comments or tag other users in existing comments in the All tab. To reply to a specific comment, use the link from the All tab to the Comments tab. For information about updating objects, see Update work.

      note note
      NOTE
      The Comments and System Activity tabs update in real-time. You must refresh the All tab to view the most recent updates.
  • The following objects have similar experiences in all three tabs in the Updates section:

    • Projects
    • Tasks
    • Issues
    • Programs
    • Portfolios
    • Users
    • Timesheets
  • The following objects don’t have a System Activity tab or an All tab, and the experience in the Comments tab matches that of all other objects:

    • Team
    • Template
    • Template Task
  • The following objects don’t have a System Activity tab or an All tab, and the experience in the Comments tab differs from that of all other objects:

  • The following objects don’t have an All tab, and the experience in the Comments tab matches that of most objects:

Updates that also appear on higher-ranking objects

Comments, replies, or system updates of certain objects also appear on the Updates section of higher-ranking objects.

For example, when you add an update to a task, the update appears on the Updates section for the task and on the Updates section for the project containing the task.

The following table shows the objects whose comments also display on their higher-ranking objects:

Object where the original update was added
Higher-ranking objects where the original update also appears
Issue
Project
Task
Project
Project
Program, Portfolio
Document
Object where document is attached, Project
Program
Portfolio
User
Team
Timesheet

User, Team

NOTE

Timesheet comments display in the Updates section of the user who makes the comment and the Updates section of their Home Team.

Template Task
Template
Story
Iteration, Team
Iteration
Team
Result
Goal
Activity
Goal

Limitations of the Updates section

There are some limitations in the Updates section of a team and when entering updates on behalf of other users.

Limitations for users and teams

Consider the following when viewing updates for users and teams:

  • You cannot add new comments in the Updates section of a team.

  • The Updates section for teams is populated by updates entered on the following objects:

    • Users
    • Stories
    • Timesheets
    • Iterations
  • You can add a reply to an update you view on a team. The reply displays in the team’s Updates section as well as the Updates section of the object it belongs to.

  • On the Updates section for users and teams, you can view the updates that have been entered in the past 90 days.

    If you want to see all the updates made on a user or a team, beyond the 90-day limit, you can build a report for notes. The report should not have a time filter that displays all updates made for users or teams. For more information, see Create a custom report.

Limitations when entering comments on behalf of another user

Adobe Workfront administrators and group administrators can log in as other users and perform actions in Workfront such as entering comments.

For information, see Log in as another user.

Consider the following when logging in as another user and adding comments:

  • Any comments made on behalf of another user are indicated on the comment.

  • A group administrator can comment on behalf of another person but cannot delete that comment. Only an Adobe Workfront administrator can delete a comment that they made on behalf of another user.

  • A Workfront or group administrator can only edit a comment they added on behalf of another user only when they log out as the user and log back in as themselves. They cannot delete a comment on behalf of another user.

View system updates on work items with the Journal Entry report

The Journal Entry report surfaces system updates from the Updates area of projects, tasks, and issues.

The report allows you to see:

  • How many status changes occurred
  • When a task or issue was deleted
  • How values in important custom fields changed over the course of a project
  • What important dates changed over the course of a project
  • If priority changed over the course of a project
  • If the owner of a project changed

For more information, see Report on the Updates area.

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