Use the collaboration side panel
Review comments, activity, and canvas information from the right-side collaboration panel.
The collaboration side panel is the right-side panel for reviewing the canvas conversation and canvas metadata without hunting across the board. Use it when comments are scattered, when you need recent activity, or when you need to check the canvas title, owner, collaborators, due date, subtasks, or related resources.
The panel is collaboration-focused. It is not a replacement for the toolbar, element menu, page menu, or project list. Use it to understand the work around the canvas; use Manage canvases in projects when the problem is project organization or list-level ownership.
Open and navigate the panel
Use the panel control in the canvas interface to open or collapse it. Keyboard shortcuts are available when focus and platform allow them:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+L or Ctrl+Shift+L | Toggle the side panel. |
Cmd+Shift+C or Ctrl+Shift+C | Open Comments. |
Cmd+Shift+H or Ctrl+Shift+H | Open Activity. |
Cmd+Shift+I or Ctrl+Shift+I | Open Info. |
| Escape | Collapse the panel when the panel has focus. |
On mobile, the panel behaves more like an overlay because there is not enough horizontal room for a persistent desktop side panel.
Tabs
| Tab | Use it for | Availability notes |
|---|---|---|
| Comments | Review, open, reply to, and resolve comment threads. | Default tab. Requires comment visibility. |
| Activity | Review recent canvas activity and history signals. | Available when activity is enabled for the context. |
| Info | Review and edit canvas information such as About this canvas, Properties, Subtasks, and Related resources. | Available to workspace members who can view the canvas metadata. Guests use Comments instead. |
Guests do not see the Info tab because project and canvas metadata management is member-oriented.
Comments tab
Use Comments when feedback is spread across the canvas. The list view is faster than panning around a large board looking for bubbles. Open a thread from the list to jump back to its canvas location, reply, mention someone, react, copy a comment link, resolve, or review status when your permission allows it. Comments and mentions explains those thread actions in detail.
The Comments tab is especially useful after a live workshop or external review. Start with unresolved or unread threads, identify the decisions, resolve what is done, and mention owners for anything still open.
If a thread points to a deleted object or page, the anchor may no longer be visible. That is why object and page deletion warnings matter. Preserve important discussion before deleting reviewed content.
Activity tab
Use Activity to understand what changed recently or to orient yourself after being away from a canvas. Activity is useful when a canvas has many editors, when a review happened while you were offline, or when you need to understand whether work moved forward before you add more comments. If you are looking for unread red dots and object-level hover signals, use object activity indicators.
Activity is not a full replacement for version history or backup workflows. If you need to restore or compare larger canvas states, use Version History or Backup & Restore from the canvas header menu when those actions are available.
Info tab
Use Info when you need the canvas metadata, not the visual board. Info can show About this canvas, Properties, Subtasks, and Related resources.
About this canvas includes the title, icon, and description when those fields are available. Properties show owner, collaborators, due date, and other structured fields from the project context. Subtasks keep smaller follow-up work near the canvas. Related resources connect the canvas to other relevant work.
If you are using a canvas inside a project, Info helps bridge the canvas and project management layer. For larger organization workflows, see Manage canvases in projects and Projects.
Permissions
| Situation | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Guest | Comments are visible if the guest can comment or view discussion, but project and canvas metadata stays member-oriented. |
| Viewer | Can inspect visible comments and metadata, but cannot edit protected fields. |
| Commenter | Can participate in comment threads but not edit canvas metadata. |
| Editor or owner | Can manage more comments and metadata when workspace settings allow it. |
| Mobile | Panel opens as an overlay to preserve canvas space. |
Examples
After an external review, open Comments, filter mentally by unresolved work, copy links for anything that belongs in a task, and resolve threads that are no longer active.
Before a team handoff, open Info, confirm the title and description are clear, check owner and due date, add subtasks for follow-up, and link related resources.
When you return from time away, open Activity first to see what changed, then use Comments to process feedback.
What can go wrong
If the panel will not open with a shortcut, focus may be inside text editing, spreadsheet editing, browser UI, or another modal. Use the visible panel control.
If Info is missing, check whether you are a guest or lack access to the canvas metadata.
If comments in the side panel do not jump to visible content, the anchor may be on another page, inside a folded page, off-screen, or attached to an object that was deleted.
If the panel takes too much room, collapse it while editing and reopen it when reviewing discussion.
Related articles
- Share a canvas
- Collaborate live on a canvas
- Manage canvases in projects
- Give feedback with comments and mentions