Severity: Priority level (Monitor/Maintenance, Recommendations/Improvement, Material Defects/Safety)
Location: Specific location where defect was found

Example Defect Comment:

Title: GFCI Outlet Not Working
Description: GFCI outlet in kitchen does not reset when tested. Pressing test button does not trip the outlet, and reset button has no effect.
Recommendation: Replace GFCI outlet and verify proper wiring connections. Test all downstream outlets to ensure proper GFCI protection.
Severity: Material Defects/Safety
Location: Kitchen counter near sink

Note Comments

Note comments provide informational content for reports without requiring action. They include:

Required Fields:

Title: Brief, descriptive name for the note
Description: Complete informational content
Template: Which inspection template this applies to
Category: Main inspection area
Subcategory: Specific component

Creating Comments

From the Comments Library

Navigate to Comments: Go to the Comments section in your app
Add New Comment: Tap the "+" or "Add Comment" button
Select Comment Type: Choose "Defect" or "Note"
Fill in Required Information:
- Enter a clear, descriptive title
- Write comprehensive description
- For defects: Include specific recommendation
- Select template, category, and subcategory
Add Optional Details: Include severity and location if applicable
Save Comment: The comment is automatically added to your library

From Observations

When you create a detailed observation during an inspection, you can save it to your comment library:

Complete Observation: Fill in all observation details
Save to Library: Use the "Save to Comment Library" option
Review Content: The system pre-fills the comment with observation data
Edit if Needed: Modify any fields to make the comment more reusable
Save to Library: The comment is added to your personal library

Tip: Creating comments from real observations ensures they're based on actual field experience and are immediately useful.

Organizing Your Comment Library

Template Association

Comments should be organized by template for maximum relevance:

Best Practices:

Create template-specific comments for unique requirements
Use general comments for issues common across templates
Keep template associations up-to-date
Consider creating master templates for common issues

Category and Subcategory Structure

Follow your template's category structure:

Example Structure:

Template: Residential Inspection
├── Electrical System
│   ├── Main Panel
│   ├── GFCI Outlets
│   └── Lighting Fixtures
├── Plumbing System
│   ├── Water Heater
│   ├── Fixtures
│   └── Supply Lines
└── HVAC System
    ├── Heating Equipment
    ├── Ductwork
    └── Ventilation

Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming patterns for easy searching:

Good Naming Examples:

"GFCI Outlet Not Working"
"Water Heater Temperature Relief Valve Missing"
"Electrical Panel Overcrowded"
"Inspection Limitations - Weather"

Avoid:

Generic names like "Electrical Issue"
Abbreviations that aren't universally understood
Location-specific names for reusable content
Overly technical jargon

Managing Existing Comments

Editing Comments

Find the Comment: Use search or browse by category
Select Edit: Choose the edit option for the comment
Update Content: Modify any fields as needed
Save Changes: Updates apply to future usage

Warning: Editing a comment doesn't change past observations or reports where it was used. Changes only apply to future applications.

Usage Tracking

The system automatically tracks:

Usage Count: How many times you've used each comment
Last Used: When the comment was last applied
Most Popular: Your most frequently used comments
Unused Items: Comments that haven't been used recently

Use this data to:

Identify your most valuable comments
Find unused comments to review or remove
Optimize your library organization
Understand your inspection patterns

Best Practices for Comment Creation

Content Quality

Be Specific: Include detailed descriptions that clearly explain the issue
Use Professional Language: Maintain a professional tone throughout
Include Context: Provide enough detail for someone else to understand
Action-Oriented: For defects, include clear, actionable recommendations

Tip: The most successful comment libraries are those that grow organically from real inspection experience while maintaining high standards for quality and organization.

Advanced Management Features

Bulk Import (CSV or Excel)

Open the bulk import wizard from the comments library or directly from a template page. The wizard runs in this order:

Pick destination template — Choose which template the imported comments should belong to.
Upload file — Drop in a CSV or Excel file. A downloadable sample file is offered on this step. The column-mapping table on this screen scrolls fully so all rows and actions stay reachable.
Map columns — Match your spreadsheet columns to the comment fields. Required per row: type (defect or note), title, description, category, and subcategory. Optional: recommendation, severity (low, medium, or high), and location. Defect rows must include a recommendation.
AI summary of issues — If validation finds problems, a high-level summary appears next, listing each problem group (for example, “8 rows are missing recommendations” or “4 unique category names don’t exist in the template”) with severity and a recommended action. Two primary actions:
- Edit File & Re-upload — Clears the upload and returns you to the file picker so you can fix the source spreadsheet.
- Continue — Loads the next step. The button shows a loading state while the next step is being prepared.
Fix issues — A per-row queue walks you through each fixable problem one at a time (missing required values, invalid type, missing defect recommendation). Each error message identifies the column, the data type expected, and the row location, with a remaining-issue counter so you can see progress.
Match categories and subcategories — Unmatched (category, subcategory) pairs are de-duplicated, so you only resolve each unique pair once. The header reads in the form “Mismatch 2 of 5 (applies to 7 rows)” so you can see how many rows your decision will cover. If the AI cannot suggest a match, the import does not fail — you get searchable Category and Subcategory pickers limited to valid template values and pick a mapping yourself.
Commit and review — The wizard creates the rows, skips duplicates against the destination template and against earlier rows in the same import, and shows a final review with counts of created, skipped duplicates, and any failed rows.

Where bulk import works:

Solo users (no organization) can import just like organization users.
Locked templates (such as TREC or other regulated templates) accept bulk imports too — start the wizard from the template page.
All categories and subcategories are valid targets, including categories where the template author has temporarily turned observations off. Notes and defects can still be imported into those categories — they will be available again as soon as the author turns observations back on for that category. You do not need to re-enable observations before importing.

Note: Single-comment editing in the comment library and inline observation creation during an inspection follow the original rules — those are unchanged. The “all categories accepted” behavior applies specifically to the bulk import wizard.

Importing into a template that uses Report Sections

When your destination template has Report Sections turned on, the same category name can appear under more than one section (for example “General Condition” under two different sections). The wizard handles that explicitly:

Category pickers show “Section — Category”. In search results and matching screens, each category reads as “Section — Category” so you can tell at a glance which section a match is about to land in. The wizard tracks each section’s category as a distinct target, so two categories with the same name under different sections are never merged.
Section and category are saved on every row. After commit, every imported note carries the section, category, and subcategory you picked. A row that saves with a blank category or subcategory would become invisible in section-aware pickers during an inspection — treat that as a failed import and re-run it rather than accepting it.
Post-import review with bulk-approve. The final “keep / undo each row” step exists so you can confirm the AI’s placements or resolve edge cases before the rows land. Use the bulk-approve action when the suggestions look correct so the review doesn’t feel like a regression from the earlier automatic behavior. Once a note is saved, its section, category, and subcategory should read identically on the library card, in the edit dialog, and in the in-field “Add note” picker — mismatches between those views are a bug, not a display quirk.

What the importer does not carry

“Hide title” is not a CSV column. Notes you want to render with the title hidden on the report arrive with that flag off. Open the note in the comments library after the import and turn on Hide title in the report on each note that needs it.

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Using Comments in Inspections