Upload and submit experts comments from ISO/IEC commenting template

In this article

Context

Demo video - upload comments from file

Upload comments from ISO/IEC commenting template

Referencing elements in uploaded comments file

Accepted format of referenced elements

How will my imported comments and proposed changes show in the Online document?


This article is relevant for:

Voters of NSBs who do not manage their NMCs in the Global Directory

Context

This article is relevant for voters of NSBs who do not manage their NMCs in the Global Directory.

IMPORTANT:

The upload comments from file is only available during the NP ballot, CD consultation, DIS and FDIS ballot.

During the WD Study, the WG experts must enter their comments directly in the online document. More information is available here: https://helpdesk-docs.iso.org/article/630-add-comments-and-proposals

For more information about the process please view the article: Member commenting - getting started!

Demo video - upload comments from file

Please note:

Improved comment placement during import

The Load comments from file feature now supports more precise positioning of imported comments. When uploading an ISO/IEC commenting template, users can use the Paragraph/Figure/Table column to specify a numbered element of the OSD document (for example, a paragraph number, figure number, or table number).

When this information is provided and matches the online document structure, the system will automatically attach the imported comment to the specified element instead of placing it only at clause level.

Upload comments from ISO/IEC commenting template

When a voter receives national comments via the ISO/IEC commenting template, the comments must be uploaded in the online document in the OSD platform.
You can either upload each commenting file individually (expert 1, expert 2, expert 3, etc.) and then use the OSD platform to consolidate the comments. Or you can use the comment collation tool (CCT) to aggregate all the comments in one file and upload the consolidated commenting file. In both cases, national comments must be submitted in the online document.
To upload comments, go to the Other actions menu, click on Comments and then select Load comments from file:


Referencing elements in uploaded comments file

The following rules define how referenced elements must be written in the Paragraph/Figure/Table column of the ISO/IEC commenting template when importing comments using Load from file.

Input requirements

Category Rules Example
Exact Numbering
  • The referenced number must match exactly as it appears in the document.
  • Numbering always refers to document-wide numbering, not clause-local order.
 Clause 3 Table 1     refers to Table 1 of the document, not the first table within Clause 3.
Elements with restarted numbering
  • Some elements restart numbering within each clause
  • Always use the numbering exactly as shown in the document.

Clause 5 Note 1   

Clause 5 Note 2   

Clause 6 Example 3   
Formatting must match the PDF
  • References must follow the exact syntax used in the PDF export.

Correct

  • List item b) 1   

Incorrect

  • list item b 1    
  • (b)(1)    
Case sensitivity
  • The Paragraph/Figure/Table column is not case-sensitive.
 Both Figure 1     and figure 1     are accepted.
Special case: Single note or example
  • If only one Note or Example exists in a clause, it is not numbered.

Use:

    • Note    
    • Example    

Do not use:

    • Note 1    
    • Example 1    
Special case: Figure footnotes in figure groups
  • Footnote numbering applies at the figure group level, not the subfigure level.

Correct:

  • Figure 6 footnote a    

Incorrect:

Figure 6 b) footnote a    

How Comments Are Attached

  • When important, the comments are attached to:
    • the title of the referenced element, or
    • the entire element if no title exists.

Validation and Requirements

  • Supported content:
    • Both regular clauses and term clauses are supported.
    • All clauses containing referenced elements must be unlocked before importing comments.
  • Blocking validation errors displayed when the comment import fails. This can happen when:
    • the referenced element does not exist in the specified clause, or
    • the reference is incorrectly written.

Validation logic summary:

Category Requirement Result
Numbering Must match document exactly Accepted
Formatting Must match PDF syntax Accepted
Case Not case-sensitive Accepted
Missing/Incorrect element Invalid reference Blocking error
Locked clause Element inaccessible Import fails
Single note/example Use unnumbered form Accepted

Accepted format of referenced elements

The following examples show accepted values for the Paragraph/Figure/Table column. Using these formats allows comments to attach to the correct numbered element.

Element Format examples in upload from file
Tables

Table 1

Table 12

Table B.6

Table C.1
Figures

Figure 2

Figure C.1
Subfigures

Figure 3 a)

Figure 5 c)

Figure D.2 d)
Formulae

Formula (1)

Formula (2)

Formula (C.1)
Numbered list elements

List item a)

List item b.1)

List item c.2.ii.a)
Notes

Note 1

Note 4

Table 4 Note 1

Note 1 to entry (for terms)

Note 2 to entry (for terms
Examples

Example 2

Example 5

Example (if there is only one in the clause)
Footnotes

Footnote c

Footnote h
Table footnotes

Table 2 footnote a

Table 2 footnote d
Table notes Table 4 note 1
Figure footnotes

Figure 3 footnote 1

Figure 3 footnote 3
Figure notes Figure 3 note 2
Formula notes Formula 2 note 1

1 Choose a file

Select the commenting template to be uploaded from your device using "Browse my computer" or by dragging and dropping the file directly.


2 View the upload result report

The Upload result report will tell you if any rows in the file contain information that cannot be uploaded to the platform. The validation rules are the same as when the commenting template is submitted via the balloting application.

Related articles

For more information about the commenting template and supported format please view this article: Commenting template guidelines

In the upload result section, you will see if the commenting template includes invalid data and in which row.

Warning

You cannot upload the comments unless you resolve the errors.

In the section validation on rows, in the Errors column, you can see which rows are invalid and why. To proceed, correct the error in the document and upload the file again.

Voters can also export the error report to send it back to the National Mirror Committee (NMC) Secretary if necessary.


Errors on clause number/label and guidelines

If the clause number does not match the clause or subclause number in the online document, the system returns an error as it doesn't know where the comment(s) belong in the document.

For General comments (comments on the overall document), the Type should be General and the Clause column should be "empty"

For comments on the Introduction section, the Clause column should contain the word Introduction (as in the above screenshot). Note that the Introduction contains some sub-title called 0.1 General; 0.2 Quality Management Principles etc... Those sub-section are title and not sub-clause and therefore they cannot be referred to in the Clause column.


When the Paragraph/Figure/Table column is used in the commenting template for uploading comments, the value must correspond to an existing numbered element in the online document.

The system validates this information during upload:

  • If the referenced paragraph, figure, or table exists, the comment will be attached to that element.
  • If the value does not match any numbered element in the document, the system returns a validation error.

To resolve the error:

  • Verify the numbering used in the online document.
  • Correct the value in the commenting template.

3 Import Comments

Voters can either choose to import the comments and review the comments in the online document before submission to ISO. Or to import and submit the comments directly.

To review comments before submission, the Voter must click on Import and review before submission. Otherwise, to make comments national directly, the Voter must click on Import and submit comments.


Once the comments have been uploaded you will see the message: Comments have been successfully uploaded.


Please note:

Best practice

To reduce manual work after import, ISO recommends completing the Paragraph/Figure/Table column in the commenting template whenever experts reference a specific numbered element of the document.

Warning

Placement of imported comments

Imported comments are placed according to the information provided in the commenting template:

  • If the Paragraph/Figure/Table column is completed with a valid numbered element, the comment is automatically attached to that specific element in the online document.
  • If this column is empty or cannot be validated, the comment is attached to the title of the clause.

After import, voters can still move comments manually if needed.

For more information about how to Move comments, view relevant article from the related articles section below.

For more information about how to Submit comments to ISO, view relevant article from the related articles section below.


How will my imported comments and proposals show in the online document?

The import of comments in OSD from the ISO/IEC Commenting template is an option for members who do not manage their NMC in the Global Directory. As the NMCs' experts do not have an ISO account, they cannot comments directly in the online document and therefore comments have to be imported. However, this option has some limitation due to the difference in technology.


1. Comment placement during import

Comments imported from the ISO/IEC commenting template are positioned based on the information available in the template:

  • When a valid value is provided in the Paragraph/Figure/Table column, the comment is attached directly to the corresponding numbered paragraph, figure, or table in the online document.
  • When no value is provided, or when the value cannot be matched, the comment is attached to the title of the clause.

As online documents do not use line numbers, paragraph or element numbering provides the most precise automatic positioning available.

Note that the comments without any text in "Proposed change" column are imported as regular comments.

Voters may still move comments manually after import if adjustments are required.


2. Import proposed changes

When importing comments that contain content in the "Proposed change" column, the values in "comments" column with values in "Proposed change" column are concatenate.

Why are proposed changes imported as comments?

Because the propose changes feature of the editor enables commenters to select part of the text and propose changes in track change mode. When the comments are imported as “proposed changes”; the text highlighted for change is the title of the clause.

For example:

Imports as:

Even moving the comment to the correct location does not produce the expected result:


  1. Importing rich text

It is not possible to import formatting (bold, strikethrough...) made in the commenting template in an online document. When uploading a commenting file, the system now checks for formatting issues.

Strikethrough or double strikethrough text is not allowed, as it loses meaning when removed. If detected, the upload will be blocked, and you must remove the strikethrough before proceeding.

Other rich text formatting (bold, italics, underlining, colors, superscript, or subscript) is allowed but will be removed upon upload. A warning will notify you, but the upload will not be blocked.

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