Q - I've just added comments to a client case when I went to save my changes. Where can these comments be viewed and are they any different than plan notes (i.e. entries on the Notes tab under Reports & Notes)?
A - The comments that you add when saving a client file are associated with that particular version of the case. Version comments are not client-facing. They for your use and are especially helpful if you are collaborating on a plan with colleagues. Moreover, should you ever need view or to roll back to an earlier version of the case you will know at least some general information about where you were with the case at that point in time, when the client case was saved.
For example, I added two new scenarios, "Retire Early" and "Downsize Home" to the client case. I note this in the comments field, an strictly optional entry, when prompted as I save my changes to the client case.
Later, if I want to review what was done in past versions of the file, I can open the client case, click Manage Plans (the hammer button top-left).
The Plan Management dialogue will display. Details about the latest version of the client case, which would include notes and other details such as the email address of the user who saved the version, can be viewed by clicking the down arrow.
Click View Versions (bottom-left). A list of the past versions of the client case will be shown. Think of this as the audit trial for the client case. Selecting these past versions, without opening them, any comments attached to that version when saving it will be displayed in the Comments field (bottom-right).
Plan Notes are found as a tab on the Reports & Notes screen, on the screen's Notes tab.
Think of these as attaching notes to the client file for your colleague or possibly for the client. Plan notes are not version specific, rather, these notes are general to the client case. They may or may not be client facing, depending on how you want to use them, and unlike version notes, they can be output into reports. Plan notes also allow you to cut and paste text from sources outside of Voyant (e.g. emails, external reports, Word documents) into client cases within Voyant and in turn possibly output this information into Voyant generated reports.
Unlike version comments, notes can be added to reports on the Reports & Notes screen (Reports tab), by dragging and dropping the "Plan Notes" option to the Selected Reports field to the right side of the screen. Alternatively, you may select the "Plan Notes" option and click the right arrow in the middle of the screen to move it into the list of Selected Reports to the right.
Related topics
Notes - Adding comments and other information to client cases