**Comments** is municipal review. It is not a sticky-note pad. Map **Review tools** are a second, narrower control: only the assigned **Traffic expert** places **Pin**, **Arrow**, and **Rectangle** on an open session.

![Comments panel — Place traffic objects to start a review](https://hel1.your-objectstorage.com/traffic-chart-tutorials/helpcenter/en/review/09-comments-panel.png)

This page names both surfaces, every empty state, and every status card. Who starts the first session, and what to do after **Changes requested**, is [Review for organisers](/hc/test/articles/review-for-organisers). Reviewer inbox and decisions: [Review for reviewers](/hc/test/articles/review-for-reviewers).

## When you need this

Use it when the right-hand **Comments** strip is open, or when **Review tools** appear on the left of the map.

Skip it if you only need a **Copy shareable link** or a PDF. That is not an in-app session. [Share a plan and read-only view](/hc/test/articles/share-link-and-read-only).

Skip it for sketch labels. **Add text** on the map is a drawing. It is not a review comment. [Drawing and measuring](/hc/test/articles/drawing-and-measuring).

You do not start the first in-app review. The municipality does.

## Two different things

### A) Organiser **Comments** (right-hand strip)

On a traffic plan the strip includes **Traffic Objects**, **Comments**, and **Posts**. Tooltip when the module is available: **Show Comments**. **Collapse** folds the strip.

On an event plan the strip is **Objects**, **Areas**, **Lines & Routes**, and **Comments**. There is no **Texts** tab. **Add text** is on the left of the map.

Open **Comments**. The header is **Review status**. **Refresh** reloads it (**Refreshing** while it works). A status pill can read **No review yet** or **Locked for review**.

This panel is how you see **In review by municipality**, **Changes requested**, **Plan approved**, and **Messages from municipality**. You do not get **Pin**, **Arrow**, or **Rectangle** here.

### B) Reviewer **Review tools** (left of the map)

Heading: **Review tools**. Tools: **Pin**, **Arrow**, **Rectangle**.

They appear only when all of this is true:

- There is an active request with status **Submitted**
- The current stage is **Traffic expert**
- You are the assigned person on that step

Events department never gets these tools. Organisers never get them. A share-link viewer never gets them.

![Map comment tools](https://hel1.your-objectstorage.com/traffic-chart-tutorials/helpcenter/en/review/04-map-comment-tools.png)

## Coming soon (some plans still show this)

On some plans **Comments** in the strip is grey and labelled **coming soon**. Opening it can show:

- **Comments are almost ready**
- **We are finalizing the new sidebar experience. Comments will unlock after the next release.**
- Badge **coming soon**

That is the old sidebar path. It is honest: the new panel is not on that plan yet.

Map **Review tools** can still work for the assigned traffic expert on an open session. Organisers on that path cannot use the new **Review status** card. Follow the municipality’s usual procedure, or a **Copy shareable link** / PDF, until **Comments** unlocks.

When the panel is on, ignore this section.

## Empty states (owner)

Until there is a session, **Comments** depends on what is on the map and whether the municipality is connected.

### No objects yet — traffic

- Title: **Place traffic objects to start a review**
- Body: **Add at least one traffic object so we can link the right municipality. After placing an object you can return here to send it for review.**
- Buttons: **Refresh** / **Refreshing**, and **Place traffic objects**

### No objects yet — event

- Title: **Place event objects to start a review**
- Body: **Add at least one event object so we can find the right municipality. Event areas, lines, and text do not count for review routing yet.**
- Buttons: **Refresh** / **Refreshing**, and **Place event objects**

Put a real object on the Utrecht site. A camping zone or an **Add text** label is not enough.

### Municipality participates, no session yet

- Title: **Ready to submit?**
- Body: **The municipality has not placed comments yet. Submit your plan through the municipality procedure. For participating municipalities, sharing the plan link is often enough, or you can share a PDF export.**
- **Copy shareable link** — toast **Link copied to clipboard**, or **Could not copy the link**
- **Export plan** when export is available

You still wait for them to click **Start review session**. If you try to send the first request yourself, the app can say **Initial review requests are currently started by the municipality. Submit your plan through the municipality procedure first.**

### Municipality not connected

- Title: **Municipality not connected yet**
- Body: **Your municipality does not participate in Traffic Chart yet. Submit your plan through the standard procedure on the municipality website.**

Use their website. A Traffic Chart link can still help them see the drawing. It does not create a dossier.

## Empty states (reviewer / viewer)

When you can start a session, **Comments** shows:

- **No active review session**
- **Starting a review session will lock the plan for the owner until you update the status.**
- **Start review session** (or **Starting...**)
- Note: **You can only start a session if the plan contains at least one traffic object in a municipality you are assigned to.** (Event plans need event objects.)

Enabled tooltip: **Start a new review session and lock the plan for the owner.**

If **Start review session** is grey, read the tooltip:

| Tooltip | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| **Save the plan before starting a review session.** | Save first |
| **There is already an active review request for this plan.** | Do not start a second session |
| **Wait until the plan has finished saving or refreshing.** | Wait |
| **The plan has no reviewable objects in a municipality yet.** | Place objects in the assigned municipality |
| **The events department must forward this plan to the traffic expert first.** | Events owns the first step |
| **You are not assigned to the municipality for this plan.** | Wrong account for Utrecht (or whichever pin) |

If you cannot start anything: **No review requests yet for this plan.**

Success toast: **Review session started**. Failure: **You can't start a review session for this plan.**

## Status cards

Open **Comments**. Read the title, then the body. The same status looks different if you own the plan, if the step is assigned to you, or if you are only viewing.

### **Submitted**

| Who | Title | Body |
|-----|-------|------|
| Owner | **In review by municipality** | **Your plan is locked while the reviewer looks at it. We will notify you when they respond.** |
| Assigned reviewer | **Plan awaiting your review** | **The plan owner cannot edit while you review. Add comments or update the status when you are ready.** |
| Viewer | **In review** | **This plan is being reviewed by the municipality.** |

Extra lines: **Currently with Events department** or **Currently with Traffic expert**. Time line **Submitted 12 Aug 2026, 09:14**. **Reviewer message** when a note exists.

Header save: **Plan is locked while under review**. Event drawing tools: **This event plan is locked and cannot be edited.**

### **Changes requested**

Title for everyone: **Changes requested**.

| Who | Body |
|-----|------|
| Owner, feedback already with you | **Update the plan based on the reviewer comments, then submit again.** |
| Owner, Events has not forwarded yet | **The traffic expert left feedback. The events department will forward it to you.** |
| Reviewer | **You requested changes. Waiting for the owner to update and resubmit.** |
| Viewer | **Changes were requested; the owner needs to update the plan before resubmitting.** |

Time line: **Updated 12 Aug 2026, 16:02**.

If you resend too soon: **Municipality feedback has not been forwarded to you yet.**

### **Rejected** (title is **Review closed**)

- Title: **Review closed**
- Body: **The review was closed. The owner can make adjustments before sending a new request.**

Same for owner, reviewer, and viewer. A new **Send for review** is a new round.

### **Approved**

- Title: **Plan approved**
- Body: **This plan has been approved. Further edits are disabled.**
- Time line: **Approved 13 Aug 2026, 11:05**
- Header can also say **This plan is locked because it has been approved**

In-app **Approved** is this drawing accepted in Traffic Chart. It is not, by itself, a legal permit. The municipality may still have paper, fees, or conditions outside the app.

You cannot resubmit an approved plan: **This plan is already approved and cannot be resubmitted.**

### **Review progress**

Under the card, **Review progress** lists **Submitted**, **Events department**, **Traffic expert**, then the outcome: **Completed**, or **Approved** / **Rejected** / **Changes requested** when the round has finished.

On many event plans **Traffic expert** is skipped.

## After they ask for changes — **Send for review**

This form is for the owner on a later round. Not for the first session.

1. Read **Messages from municipality** and any **Reviewer message**.
2. Edit the same plan. **Save**.
3. Open **Send for review**. Body: **Connect your plan to the right municipality or export if none are available.**
4. **Select the municipality reviewer for this plan.**
5. Choose **Municipality**.
6. **Message (optional)** — placeholder **Add context for the reviewer**.
7. **Send review request** (or **Sending...**). Toast **Review request sent**. Failure: **Could not submit review request**.

The plan locks again. You are back on **In review by municipality**.

If no reviewer can be linked:

- **We could not find a reviewer**
- **Add a traffic object in the right municipality so we can link a reviewer, or export and share manually.**
- **Export plan**

**Pending review** can appear while a request is waiting.

## Reviewer decisions

### Traffic expert — **Update status**

Heading **Update status**, with a **Reviewer** hint.

Choose **Approve**, **Request changes**, or **Reject**. **Message** placeholder: **Let the plan owner know what you decided**. Confirm with the same action name (**Approve**, **Request changes**, or **Reject**), or **Saving...**. Toast **Status updated**. Failure: **Could not update status**.

### Events department

Heading **Events department actions**.

On a traffic plan: **Forward to the traffic expert or send a decision back to the submitter.** Usual action: **Forward to traffic expert**. You can also **Request changes** or **Reject**. **Message** placeholder: **Let the submitter know what needs to be updated**. Confirm with **Forward to traffic expert**, **Approve**, or **Send update**.

On an event plan Events can finish the review. Description: **Make a decision on this event plan.** Heading **Events department decision**. **Forward to traffic expert** is hidden. Choose **Approve**, **Request changes**, or **Reject**.

When **Direct communication** is off and the traffic expert already wrote feedback: **Forward feedback to submitter**. Toast **Forwarded successfully**. Failures: **Could not forward review request** / **Could not forward feedback**.

## Current request, messages, history

**Current review request** lists **Submitter**, **Plan title**, **Start date**, **End date**, optional **Description**, **Events department note**, **Traffic expert note**. Reviewers with access get **Open dossier**. Organisers do not.

**Messages from municipality** is the live comment list. Empty: **No comments for this request.** A finished note is **Closed**. **Show on map** jumps to it. The organiser can **Close** a comment after they handle it.

**More actions** (your own open comments, if you can manage them): **Edit** or **Delete**. Edit placeholder **Update this comment...**. **Save** / **Cancel**. Delete asks **Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.** Toasts: **Comment updated**, **Comment deleted**. Failures: **Could not update comment**, **Could not delete comment**.

If the app blocks an edit: **Only pending review requests can be commented on.** **Only the author of this comment can edit or delete it.** **Resolved comments cannot be edited or deleted.**

**History & comments** holds earlier rounds. **Show** / **Hide**. Empty: **No previous review requests yet.** A row can show **Unknown area**, **Submitted by Sam Rivera - 12 Aug 2026, 09:14**, **Last updated**, **Message from submitter**, **Events department**, **Traffic expert**.

## Place a map comment (traffic expert)

![Review comment draft](https://hel1.your-objectstorage.com/traffic-chart-tutorials/helpcenter/en/review/07-comment-draft.png)

1. Confirm **Review tools** is on the left.
2. Click **Pin**, **Arrow**, or **Rectangle**.
3. Click or draw on the map.
4. Heading: **Add a note for this point**, **Add a note for this arrow**, or **Add a note for this area**.
5. Placeholder: **What needs to change here?**
6. **Save comment** (or **Saving...**). **Cancel** drops the draft.

Toast **Comment added**. Failure **Could not add comment**. An unsupported shape can say **Unsupported geometry type for review comment**.

Write a place and an action (“move the stack 10 m east on the Utrecht side street”), not only “fix”. Place comments before you set **Changes requested**.

**Add text**, **Add line**, **Add rectangle**, **Add circle**, and event **Texts** are sketches. They do not appear in **Messages from municipality**. Crew labels stay on the drawing. Review comments lock to this request.

## What good looks like

- Organisers waited for **Start review session**. They did not hunt for **Pin**.
- Event plans have at least one event object on the real site.
- Traffic-expert comments sit on the problem, with a sentence the owner can execute.
- After **Changes requested**, the owner edited the same plan and used **Send for review**.
- **Plan approved** was treated as a drawing lock, not as a permit in the letterbox.
- Sketch **Add text** was never used as a substitute for **Review tools**.

## If something blocks you

| Situation | What to try |
|-----------|-------------|
| **coming soon** on **Comments** | Expected on some plans. Map **Review tools** can still work for the assigned traffic expert. Organisers use the municipality procedure |
| No **Send for review** on a new plan | Expected. Wait for the municipality |
| **Place event objects to start a review** | Place at least one event object. Areas, lines, and text do not count |
| No **Review tools** | You are not the assigned **Traffic expert** on an open **Submitted** step |
| Plan will not edit | [My plan is locked for review](/hc/test/articles/plan-locked-for-review) |
| **The traffic expert left feedback. The events department will forward it to you.** | Wait for **Forward feedback to submitter** |
| You only needed a link | [Share a plan and read-only view](/hc/test/articles/share-link-and-read-only) |

Email [customer@traffic-chart.com](mailto:customer@traffic-chart.com) only if access looks wrong for your account. Include the plan URL.

## Related articles

- [Review for organisers](/hc/test/articles/review-for-organisers)
- [Review for reviewers](/hc/test/articles/review-for-reviewers)
- [My plan is locked for review](/hc/test/articles/plan-locked-for-review)
- [Share a plan and read-only view](/hc/test/articles/share-link-and-read-only)
- [Drawing and measuring](/hc/test/articles/drawing-and-measuring)