> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/administration/basics/timeline-events-and-comments.md). # Timeline events and comments Timelines show the history of activity on a record. Asset changes from an inspection report appear once per action. Entries use readable names and labels; an unavailable saved reference is shown as “Unavailable option” or “Unavailable record”. Essential adds timeline events when the system or a user takes an important action. Users can also add comments so the office can keep context on the customer, property, job, quote, invoice, or other record. Use timeline comments for operational context that should stay attached to the record instead of living only in email or chat. > **Where to find it:** Record detail pages with a Timeline section Comments are internal — only you and other staff can see them. ## Search and filter a timeline Long timelines can be narrowed down to what you are looking for. 1. Click the magnifying glass on the right of the **Timeline** heading. 2. Type in **Search this timeline** to keep only the rows containing your text. Matches are highlighted where they appear. 3. Click **Filter** to narrow by: * **Activity** — comments, emails, texts, field changes, record activity (created, deleted, and links to other records), engagement, and quick actions. The count next to each option is how many rows of that kind the timeline holds, and options with no rows are left out. * **Person** — who did it, including staff, System, and Task Automation. A customer contact can also appear when a row names that person, including email or text engagement activity. * **Date** — last 7, 30, or 90 days, or **Custom**. Custom shows a calendar: choose **is between** and click a start and end day, or choose **is on or after** / **is on or before** and click one day. See [Pick a date range](/administration/basics/pick-a-date-range.md). 4. The count beside **Filter** (for example, **Filter (2)**) is how many filters are on, and **12 of 84** shows how many rows are left. Use **Clear filters** in the menu to unset them all. 5. Click the **x** to close search. This clears everything and returns the timeline to its full history. Search looks at what an entry shows on the timeline. An entry collapsed to two lines still matches on its hidden lines — expand it to see the highlight. The contents of an email or text message are not searched, only the line that names who it went to. To find everything a person did — including their comments — use the **Person** filter rather than typing their name into search. Search and filters affect only your own view — they are not saved, and closing the page resets them. ## Move between pages Long timelines are split into pages. The controls under the list show which page you are on (**Page 2 of 8**), numbered page links with arrows on either side, and the total number of entries. Click a page number to jump straight to it — on very long timelines the numbers collapse around your current page with "…" standing in for the pages between. The same controls appear under every paginated list in Essential. ## Read a long entry Timeline entries are collapsed to two lines so a long note or a long comment can't push the rest of the history off the screen. Entries with more to show have a chevron to the right of the entry — select it to expand the entry, and select it again to collapse it. Entries that already fit in two lines have no chevron. ## Review what changed Select **View changes** on a field change, including your business's custom fields, to compare the complete **Before** and **After** values. **Empty** means the field was blank or cleared. Line breaks and long notes remain readable in this view. The Job Timeline includes tasks linked through visits or inspection reports, including completed tasks, and inspection-report history. Visit changes record the before and after values for timing, duration, scheduling type, due date, assigned technicians, instructions, notes, work orders, contacts and reminders, expected assets, and self-scheduling settings. If a scheduling change moves other visits on a technician's day, each affected Job Timeline records that visit's previous and new times and the person who made the change. Deleted visits retain these details, their reports, and work acknowledgments. After a job is deleted, review its saved details and related history on the Property Timeline. Reports created directly on a property also retain their save and edit history on that Property Timeline. Your existing permissions also apply to the task, report, and attachment history shown here. Inspection-report saves keep a compact timeline preview and a complete change list behind **View changes**. The detail view includes changes beyond the 30-entry preview, full notes, and the answers on removed assets or records. Viewing report details requires inspection-report access. Deleted job and report attachments have private, view-only retained copies in their history entries. Deleted reports retain their saved answers and attachments for internal review. Replacing a report photo or signature, regenerating a report PDF, or editing and reverting attachment markup also retains the previous file contents in history. Work acknowledgment photos, signatures, and generated PDFs also retain their previous files when replaced or deleted. These retained copies are not customer share links. Deleted-job details include inventory locations, quantities and movements, plus links to quotes and invoices. Costing history requires Job Costing to be enabled and permission to view it. Inventory history follows the same inventory or costing access rules as the Job page. Reordering assets in a report records each moved asset's previous and new position, starting at 1, so the history shows how the order changed. Deleted visits also retain line-item names, codes, quantities, and manually filed deficiencies with their saved contents and attachments. Visit line items appear in a separate history entry and require inventory access or permission to view enabled Job Costing data. Ordinary scheduling history remains available independently, including visit notes saved at the same time as restricted item changes. Existing task and file access permissions still apply. New history entries retain complete snapshots. Older entries show the information originally recorded; Essential cannot recover content that was already discarded. Timeline search matches the entry's summary, not the contents of its **View changes** view. ## Open an email or text message Emails and text messages Essential sent always have a chevron, even when their one-line summary fits. Expanding one shows who the message came from and the message itself, right in the timeline. An email also shows its subject, and a text message shows the number it went to. For an email, select **View full email** inside the expanded entry to open the complete message at full size. ## Post a comment 1. Open the record and scroll to its Timeline. 2. Type in the **Leave a comment...** box. Press Enter to add more lines. 3. To attach files, click the paperclip and pick one or more files (up to 10 per comment). Remove a file before posting with the **x** on its chip. 4. Click **Post** (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter). ## Tag a teammate Type **@** in a comment and start entering a teammate's full name. Choose the person from the list, then finish and post the comment. The selected name is highlighted in the timeline so tags are easy to spot. You can tag active teammates who have access to Essential on the web. The teammate receives a notification in the bell at the top of Essential. Selecting the notification opens the record and brings the exact comment into view, including comments on an older page of the timeline. ## Use notifications The bell at the top of Essential shows how many unread notifications you have. Open it to see comment tags and timeline reminders. * Select a notification to open its comment. This marks the notification as read. * Select **Unread** on a read notification to return it to the unread list, or **Read** to mark an unread notification without opening it. * Select **Mark all read** to clear the unread count. ## Remind yourself from a comment Add one `!remind` command to the end of a line in a timeline comment. Essential shows the scheduled date before you post or save the comment. For example: * `!remind me in 2 days` * `!remind tomorrow at 9am` * `!remind next Monday at 3pm` * `!remind on Jul 30, 2026 at 3pm` Dates and times use your business timezone. A date without a time is scheduled for 9:00 AM. When the time arrives, the person who saved the command receives a notification in the bell. Selecting it returns to the exact timeline comment. Edit the command to reschedule the reminder, or remove the command to cancel it. Leaving an existing command unchanged keeps its original scheduled time, including relative reminders such as “in 2 days.” Each comment can have one reminder. ## Edit a comment Any staff member can edit any comment — yours or a teammate's. 1. Click the pencil icon on the comment. 2. Change the text, and add or remove attachments with the paperclip and the **x** on each chip. 3. Click **Save** (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter). **Cancel** or Escape discards the changes. Edited comments keep their original posted date and also show an **Edited** date next to it. ## See a comment's edit history Comments that have been edited show a clock icon. Click it (or the row of avatars — everyone who has touched the comment) to open **Comment history**: every version with its text, attachments, who wrote it, and when, from the current version back to the original. ## View or mark up an attachment Click an attachment chip to open it in the file viewer, with arrows to move between the comment's files. Photos can be marked up from the viewer with **Edit** — see [Mark up a photo](/administration/basics/mark-up-a-photo.md). Attachment versions shown in Comment history open view-only and show the retained file as it was when that comment version was saved. If an earlier file version was not retained, Essential says it is unavailable. ## Delete a comment Click the trash icon on the comment and confirm. This removes the active comment and cancels its reminders and mention notifications. A **Comment deleted** entry keeps the original text, edit history, authors, dates, and retained attachments. Select **View changes** on that entry to review them. Retained attachments open view-only; deleting a comment does not restore it or make its contents available to customers. ## Related guides * [What the customer page shows](/customers-and-work/customers/what-the-customer-page-shows.md) * [What the property page shows](/customers-and-work/properties/what-the-property-page-shows.md) * [The job detail page: what it shows](/customers-and-work/jobs/the-job-detail-page-what-it-shows.md) * [Mark up a photo](/administration/basics/mark-up-a-photo.md) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. 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