Collaborating with Annotations & Comments

Collaborating with Annotations & Comments

Collaborating with Annotations & Comments

Annotations support threaded discussions, @mentions, file attachments, and resolution tracking, making them ideal for design reviews, manufacturing feedback, and cross-team collaboration.
Annotations in CAD ROOMS allow teams to communicate directly on 3D geometry with full visual context. Instead of switching between CAD tools, screenshots, and chat messages, you can leave precise, location-based feedback that stays attached to the model and the exact view in which it was created.
This makes design reviews faster, clearer, and far less error-prone—especially for complex parts and assemblies.
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What Are Annotations?

Annotations are context-aware comments placed directly on a 3D model. They support:
  • Threaded discussions
  • User mentions (@mentions)
  • Real-time notifications
  • Resolution tracking

Annotations can be used on both parts and assemblies and are available directly in the CAD Viewer. Reviewers do not need a CAD license to participate.

Start an Annotation in 3 Steps

Creating an annotation is intentionally simple:
  1. Open the Annotations panel from the left toolbar
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  1. Click the “+” button to enter annotation mode
  1. Click on the model to place the annotation, then write and send your comment.
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Your annotation is immediately saved and visible to collaborators with access to the project.

Preserved View Context

When you create an annotation, CAD ROOMS automatically captures and saves the entire view state at that moment.
This includes:
  • Section views (cut plane position and orientation)
  • Exploded views
  • The current visual style (e.g. shaded, wireframe, X-ray)
Reviewers don’t need to recreate section cuts, find the correct angle, or guess what you were looking at—the full context is restored automatically.
In practice, annotations become visual design snapshots, not just comments.

Viewing, Discussing, and Managing Annotations

All annotations for the current part or assembly appear in the Annotations panel.
From here you can:
  • Click any annotation to jump to its exact location and saved view
  • Scroll through annotations chronologically
  • Switch between annotations without losing visual context
A visual marker on the model shows precisely where each annotation applies.

Mentions, Notifications, and Replies

Annotations support @mentions and threaded replies.
Once mentioned:
  • The user receives an immediate notification
  • Notifications appear in:
    • The CAD ROOMS inbox
    • Native system notifications (desktop, if enabled)
Replies within an annotation thread trigger notifications in return, allowing focused discussions without leaving the viewer.
This creates a tight feedback loop:
Annotate → Notify → View → Reply → Notify → Resolv

Threaded Discussions, Attachments, and Resolution

Each annotation supports:
  • Multiple replies in a single thread
  • @mentions within replies
  • File attachments
Once an issue has been addressed, annotations can be marked as resolved.

Using Annotations with Other Viewer Tools

Annotations work seamlessly with inspection and measurement tools:
  • Leave comments next to measurements for tolerance discussions
  • Annotate sectioned geometry to highlight internal features
  • Combine exploded views and annotations for assembly feedback
Because the view state is saved automatically, collaborators always see exactly what you intended.

Benefits of Using Annotations

Compared to screenshot or email-based feedback, annotations help teams:
  • Keep feedback attached to the correct geometry and view
  • Preserve full visual context across revisions
  • Centralize discussion directly on the model
All feedback remains centralized and visually grounded in the CAD Viewer.

Best Practices

  • Use @mentions to involve the right stakeholders immediately
  • Resolve annotations once decisions are made to keep reviews clean
  • Rely on notifications instead of manual follow-ups

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