Difference Between Discussions In and About a Document (217080)

MORE INFORMATION

When you create threaded discussions in Office Applications, you have the ability to create two different types of discussions:

• Discussions In the Document
• Discussions About the Document

It is important to note that threaded discussions (both of the above) only work in the following Office 2000 Applications:

• Word 2000
• Excel 2000
• PowerPoint 2000
• Internet Explorer 4.0 or later

Discussions In the Document

Also called "Inline Discussions," these discussions are created using the mouse pointer. You can click an insertion point in the document where your discussion topic is focused. Upon entering your discussion, an icon will appear at the specified point.

To create a discussion In the Document (In-line Discussion)

1. In Word or Internet Explorer 5, on the Tools menu, click Online Collaboration, and then Web Discussions. In Internet Explorer 4.0, on the View menu, click Explorer Bar, and then click Discuss. This will bring up the Web Discussions toolbar.
2. On the Web Discussions toolbar, click Discussions.
3. Click Insert in the Document.
   
   NOTE: If the document has not been saved, you will be prompted to do so at this time.
4. In the Enter Discussion Text dialog box, enter the Discussion Subject and Discussion Text.
   
   NOTE: The Discussion Subject text box is limited to 255 characters. The Discussion Text text box is limited to 65,535 characters.
   
5. Click OK.

There will be an icon at the discussion's insertion point. To view the discussion, double-click the icon.

Discussions About the Document

Also called "General Discussions," these discussions are created within the Discussion Pane in the application window. For Word 2000 and Internet Explorer 4.0 and later, General Discussions are intended for comments about the document in general. For Excel and PowerPoint 2000, General Discussions are used for all discussions.

To create a discussion About the Document (General Discussion)

1. In your Office Application, click Tools, point to Online Collaboration, and click Web Discussions. This will bring up the Web Discussions toolbar.
2. On the Web Discussions toolbar, click Discussions.
3. Click Insert About the Document.
   
   NOTE: If the document has not been saved, you will be prompted to do so at this time.
4. In the Enter Discussion Text dialog box, enter the Discussion Subject and Discussion Text.
   
   NOTE: The Discussion Subject text box is limited to 255 characters. The Discussion Text text box is limited to 65,535 characters.
   
5. Click OK.

Your discussion will now be displayed in the Discussion Pane of your application window.

In-line Discussions can ONLY be used in Word 2000 or Internet Explorer 4.0 and later. Excel and PowerPoint are unable to use this type of discussion, because of the complex structure of the two applications. For additional information, see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: