Veeva Claims provides users with the ability to add comments to certain object records, capturing key discussions and decisions about a specific record. You can configure your Vault to allow single comments for any object record as well as bulk comments for multiple Claims, Local Adaptations, and Projects. You can also configure your Vault to allow users to reply to comments in comment threads for Claims, Projects, Local Adaptations, and Pack Copies. Users can edit and delete any comments they create and search comments for specific text, including text in comment threads. Users can also mention other active users in comments, and the mentioned users will receive email and Vault notifications. User mentions in comments are not included in Vault Summary Emails, if configured. Users can edit and delete only the comments they have created but cannot delete any comments with replies.

Comment Objects

Veeva Claims uses the following core objects to support comments:

  • Claim Comment (claim_comment__v): This object represents a comment on a specific Claim.
  • Project Comment (project_comment__v): This object represents a comment or comment reply on a specific Project.
  • Comment (comment__v): This object represents a comment on a specific object record that is not a Claim or a Project, or a comment reply on a specific Local Adaptation or Pack Copy.
    • Local Adaptation Comment (local_adaptation_comment__v): This Comment object type represents a comment on a specific Local Adaptation.
  • Claim Thread (claim_thread__v): This object represents a thread of Claim Comments on a specific Claim.
  • Project Thread (project_thread__v): This object represents a thread of Project Comments on a specific Project.
  • Comment Thread (project_thread__v): This object represents a thread of Comments on a specific Local Adaptation or Pack Copy.
    • Local Adaptation Comment (local_adaptation_comment__v): This Comment Thread object type represents a thread of Local Adaptation Comments on a specific Local Adaptation.

Configuration Overview

Configuring your Vault to support comments involves the following steps:

  1. Configuring comments on Claims and Projects with the option to support replies in comment threads
  2. Configuring comments on objects (applies to all objects except Claims and Projects) with the option to support replies in comment threads for Local Adaptations and Pack Copies
  3. Configuring bulk comments for Claims, Local Adaptations, and Projects
  4. Configuring notification templates
  5. Configuring user permissions

Configuring Comments on Claims & Projects

You can configure your Vault to allow comments on Claim and Project records and to reply to comment threads on the Claim and Project objects.

Configuring Object Page Layouts

You can configure the Claim and Project object’s page layouts to support comments, either with or without the ability for users to reply to comment threads. Do not configure both options for either object.

Comments With Comment Threads

To allow users to reply to comment threads on Claim and Project records, you must configure the Claim and Project object page layouts so users can add and reply to comments on individual Claims and Projects.

To configure page layouts for comment threads:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Objects > [Object] > Page Layouts > [Page Layout].
  2. Add the Comments control section with the slider (Slider Icon) icon to the object page layout.
  3. In the Add Comments dialog, you can make the following changes:
    • Optional: Change the Section Label.
    • Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one (1) or more lifecycle states. This option only appears if the object uses a lifecycle.
    • Optional: Enter Section Help content to provide the user with any relevant information. Help content appears below the section label.
    • Optional: Select the Expand the section by default checkbox so that the section is always open when users open the object records.
  4. Click Done.

This configuration displays up to 500 comments for a specific record. If your business needs require more than 500 comments, we recommend configuring comments without comment threads. If you have previously configured the object’s page layout to include a related object section with the Claim Comment or Project Comment object, remove that section from the page layout.

When a user adds the first reply to a Claim Comment or Project Comment, Vault automatically creates a new Claim Thread or Project Thread record that groups all Claim Comment or Project Comment replies to the root Claim Comment or Project Comment to which the user replied. Claim Thread and Project Thread records are system-managed and cannot be modified.

Comments Without Comment Threads

You must configure the Claim and Project object page layouts so users can add comments to Claims and Projects. This configuration does not allow users to reply to comments. To do this:

  • Add the Claim Comment related object section to the Claim object page layout.
  • Add the Project Comment related object section to the Project object page layout.

If you have previously configured either object’s page layout to include the Comments control section with the slider (Slider Icon) icon, remove that section from the page layout.

Configuring Comments on Objects

You can configure objects in your Vault to allow comments on any standard (__v) or custom (__c) object. You can also configure your Vault to allow users to reply to comment threads on the Local Adaptation and Pack Copy objects. To support comments on objects, you must configure objects, define comment settings, and configure object page layouts.

Configuring Objects

You must configure the Comment object to support comments on objects. To allow users to reply to comment threads on the Pack Copy object, you must also configure the Comment Thread object.

Configuring the Comment Object

You must configure the Comment object so that users can add comments to specified objects:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Objects > Comment.
  2. On the Object Types tab, create and save an object type with an appropriate label, such as “Pack Copy Comment”.
  3. On the Fields tab, create a custom field of type Object that references the object for which you are configuring Comments, such as “Pack Copy Comment”.
  4. On the Object Types tab, click the Actions menu and select Edit Object Type Fields.
  5. Make the new custom field available on the applicable object by selecting the custom field in the column for the appropriate object type and clicking Save.
  6. Click Save.

Configuring the Comment Thread Object for Pack Copy

To allow users to reply to comments in comment threads on Pack Copy records, you must also configure the Comment Thread object for the Pack Copy object. To do this:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Objects > Comment Thread.
  2. On the Object Types tab, create and save an object type with an appropriate label, such as “Pack Copy Comment Thread”.
  3. On the Fields tab, create a custom field of type Object that references the Pack Copy object, such as “Pack Copy Comment Thread”.
  4. On the Object Types tab, click the Actions menu and select Edit Object Type Fields.
  5. Make the new custom field available to the object for which you are configuring Comment Threads by selecting the custom field in the column for the appropriate object type.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Repeat these steps for each object for which you configure Comment Threads.

Defining Comment Settings

You must define comment settings to specify which objects support Comments.

Comment Setting Components

Define comment settings by creating Comment Setting components for each Comment object type. To do this:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Comment Setting.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Enter a unique Name of the setting you are creating.
  4. Specify if the setting is Active. If you select No, Vault ignores the setting.
  5. In the Comment Object Type Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment object type, such as pack_copy_comment__c.
  6. In the Comment Reference Field Name field, enter the applicable name (not the label) of the Comment object field, such as pack_copy_comment__c.
  7. If you are defining settings for the Local Adaptation or Pack Copy object and want to support comment threads:
    • In the Thread Object Type Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment Thread object type, such as pack_copy_comment_thread__c.
    • In the Thread Reference Field Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment Thread object field, such as pack_copy_comment_thread__c.
  8. Click Save.

You can create one (1) Comment Setting for each Comment object type. After creation, you cannot modify the Comment Object Type Name field on any Comment Setting.

Claim Admin Settings

You can define comment settings by creating Comment Setting types of Claim Admin Settings. To do this:

  1. Navigate to Business Admin > Objects > Claim Admin Settings.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Select Comment Setting as the Setting Type.
  4. In the Comment Object Type Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment object type.
  5. In the Object Reference Field Name field, enter the applicable name (not the label) of the Comment object field.
  6. If you are creating a Claim Admin Setting for the Local Adaptation or Pack Copy objects and want to allow comment threads:
    • In the Thread Object Type Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment Thread object type.
    • In the Thread Reference Field Name field, enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment Thread object field.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Repeat these steps for each object for which you configure Comments.

If you define settings in a Claim Admin Setting and a Comment Setting component, Vault ignores the Claim Admin Setting.

Configuring Object Page Layouts

You must configure an object’s page layout differently depending on if the object supports comment threads. Vault supports comment threads on the Local Adaptation and Pack Copy objects, which you can configure either with or without the ability for users to reply to top-level root comments in comment threads.

Page Layouts for Comment Threads on Local Adaptations & Pack Copies

To configure the Local Adaptation and Pack Copy object page layouts with the ability for users to reply to comments:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Objects > [Object] > Page Layouts > [Page Layout].
  2. Add the Comments control section with the slider (Slider Icon) icon to the object page layout.
  3. In the Add Comments dialog, you can make the following changes:
    • Optional: Change the Section Label.
    • Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one (1) or more lifecycle states. This option only appears if the object uses a lifecycle.
    • Optional: Enter Section Help content to provide the user with any relevant information. Help content appears below the section label.
    • Optional: Select the Expand the section by default checkbox so that the section is always open when users open the object records.
  4. Enter the name (not the label) of the applicable Comment object type in the Comment Object Type field.
  5. Click Done.

This configuration displays up to 500 comments for a Local Adaptation or Pack Copy record. If your business needs require more than 500 comments, we recommend configuring comments without comment threads for these objects.

When a user adds the first reply to a Comment on a Local Adaptation or Pack Copy record, Vault automatically creates a new Comment Thread record that groups all Comment replies to the root Comment to which the user replied. Comment Thread records are system-managed and cannot be modified.

Page Layouts for Comments without Comment Threads

To configure Comments on objects that do not support comment threads or to configure page layouts for the Local Adaptation or Pack Copy without the ability for users to reply to comment threads, add a related object section for the Comment object to the applicable object’s page layout. In the Criteria VQL field of the Comments section, enter a filter to constrain the records to only the applicable Comment object type. For example: object_type__vr.api_name__v = 'pack_copy_comment__c'.

Configuring Bulk Comments

Veeva Claims includes several actions that allow users to add a single comment to multiple Claim, Project, and Local Adaptation records with a bulk object record action:

  • The Bulk Claim Comments action on the Claim object adds comments to multiple Claims and creates Claim Comment records.
  • The Bulk Project Comments action on the Project object adds comments to multiple Projects and creates Project Comment records.
  • The Bulk Add Comments action on the Local Adaptation object adds comments to multiple Local Adaptation records and creates Local Adaptation Comment types of Comment records.

When users run these actions, Vault collects the user’s comment with the Bulk Comment User Input object and creates temporary Bulk Comment User Input records for each record to which the user adds the comment. Vault then creates new Claim Comment, Project Comment, or Local Adaptation Comment types of Comment records for each record the user selects after running the bulk action on the applicable records.

Make the following changes to support bulk comments:

  • Depending on your business needs, configure the following actions as record actions with the Available in All Lifecycle States option selected for the supported objects:
    • Bulk Claims Comments on the Claim object.
    • Bulk Project Comments on the Project object.
    • Bulk Add Comments on the Local Adaptation object.
  • Configure the Bulk Comment User Input object page layout. This object is displayed to users on the Details (Step 4) page when they bulk add comments.
    • Remove the Comment (comment_body__v) long text field from the object page layout.
    • Add the Comment (bulk_comment_control__c) control field with the slider (Slider Icon) icon.
    • Optional: Remove or hide any unnecessary fields. We suggest hiding all fields except the Comment (bulk_comment_control__c) control field.

Configuring the Bulk User Input Object Cleanup Job

The Bulk User Input Object cleanup Job deletes temporary user input records created from the bulk comment actions more than 24 hours before the jobs run.

You can configure the job’s schedule to run at a specific time. We recommend that you schedule this job to run daily. The job also deletes temporary user input records related to claim substantiation and pack copy.

Configuring Notifications

Veeva Claims uses the following notification templates to notify users about comments:

  • C1: Bulk Comment Notification: Sent to users tagged in comments added in bulk.
  • C1: Comment Notification: Sent to users tagged in an individual comment.
  • C1: Comment Notification Fallback: Sent to users tagged in an individual comment for which Vault cannot determine the record’s ID due to a configuration issue.
  • C1: Comment Thread Notification: Sent to comment creators when another user adds a reply to that comment.

Configuring User Permissions

You must ensure users have the appropriate read and create permissions to access the appropriate objects and object fields in addition to the permissions outlined below:

  • To use mentions in a comment, users must have Read permission on the User object and Read permissions on the following User object fields:

    • ID
    • First Name
    • Last Name
    • User Name
    • Status

Comments on Claims

Users must have the following permissions to create and reply to Claim Comments:

  • For the Claim object: Create permission.
  • For the Claim Comment object:
    • Create permission and Edit permission on the Claim and Comment fields.
    • To reply to Claim Comments, users must have Edit permission on the Is Root Comment and Thread Comment fields.
    • To search for comments, users must have Read permission on the Comment, Created By, and Created Date fields.

Comments on Projects

Users must have the following permissions to create and reply to Project Comments:

  • For the Project object: Create permission.
  • For the Project Comment object:
    • Create permission and Edit permission on the Comment and Project fields.
    • To reply to Project Comments, users must have Edit permission on the Is Root Comment and Thread Comment fields.
    • To search for comments, users must have Read permission on the Comment, Created By, and Created Date fields.

Comments on Objects

Users must have the following permissions to create Comments on the specified object:

  • For the objects on which you configured comments: Create permission, including Create permission on the applicable object types.
  • For the Comment object: Create permission and Edit permission on the Claim and Comment fields.
    • To reply to Comments on Local Adaptation and Pack Copy records, users must have Edit permission on the Comment Thread, Comment Type, and Is Root Comment fields.
    • To search for comments, users must have Read permission on the Comment, Created By, and Created Date fields.

Bulk Comments

Users must have the following permissions to bulk add comments to multiple Claims, Local Adaptations, and Projects:

  • For the Bulk Comment User Input object: Create permission and Edit permission on the Comment (comment_body__v) field.
  • Application: Object: Bulk Action permission to perform bulk actions.
  • Execute permission on the applicable actions:
    • Bulk Claims Comments on the Claim object.
    • Bulk Add Comments on the Local Adaptation object.
    • Bulk Project Comments on the Project object.

You can complete all steps in this article with the standard System Administrator or Vault Owner security profile. If your Vault uses custom security profiles, your profile must grant the following permissions:

Type Permission Controls
Security Profile Admin: Configuration: Objects: Create, Edit Ability to create and modify Vault objects and Comment Setting components.
Security Profile Admin: Security: Permission Sets: Edit Ability to modify permission sets for users.
Security Profile Application: API: Metadata API Ability to access the Comment Settings page.