React Data GridComments

Add a comment (a note) to a cell, using the context menu, just like in Excel. Edit and delete comments. Make comments read-only.

Enable the plugin
Add comments via the context menu
Set up pre-set comments
Basic example
Make a comment read-only
Set a comment box's size
Set a delay for displaying comments
Related keyboard shortcuts
Related API reference

Enable the plugin

Set the comments configuration option to true to enable the feature and add all the needed context menu items. For example:

<HotTable
  data={[
    ['A1', 'B1', 'C1'],
    ['A2', 'B2', 'C2'],
  ]}
  comments={true}
/>

After you've enabled the plugin, the Context Menu gains a few new items:

Add/Edit comment
Delete comment
Read-only comment

Set up pre-set comments

You can also pre-define comments for your table. Comments are stored in the table's/column's/cell's metadata object and you can declare as any value of the respective type. For example:

cell={[
  { row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Hello world!' } }
]}

In this example, the comment "Hello world!" is added to the cell at (1,1).

Basic example

{
  "name": "handsontable",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "hyperformula": "^2.4.0",
    "handsontable": "15.0",
    "@handsontable/react-wrapper": "15.0"
  },
  
  "browserslist": {
    "production": [
      ">0.2%",
      "not dead",
      "not op_mini all"
    ],
    "development": [
      "last 1 chrome version",
      "last 1 firefox version",
      "last 1 safari version"
    ]
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Handsontable</title>
  </head>

  <body>
    <noscript> You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. </noscript>
    <div id="root"></div>
  </body>
</html>

import React, { StrictMode } from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import "./styles.css";
import ExampleComponent from "./ExampleComponent";

const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(rootElement);

root.render(
  <StrictMode>
    <ExampleComponent />
  </StrictMode>
);

import React from "react";
import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Nissan', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Mazda', 'Ford'],
        ['2017', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2021', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        { row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } },
        { row: 2, col: 2, comment: { value: 'More comments' } },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};

export default ExampleComponent;

import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Nissan', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Mazda', 'Ford'],
        ['2017', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2021', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        { row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } },
        { row: 2, col: 2, comment: { value: 'More comments' } },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};



ReactDOM.render(<ExampleComponent />, document.getElementById("example1"));

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/dist/handsontable.full.min.js"></script>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/handsontable.min.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-main.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-horizon.css" /> 
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react@18/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react-dom@18/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@handsontable/react-wrapper@15.0/dist/react-handsontable.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://handsontable.com/docs/scripts/fixer.js"></script>

<div id="example1" class="hot ht-theme-main-dark-auto "></div>

By default, all comments are editable. To change this, set the readOnly configuration option to true when adding a comment. This example makes the "Tesla" comment attached to a cell read-only, whereas the "Honda" comment attached to another cell is editable.

{
  "name": "handsontable",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "hyperformula": "^2.4.0",
    "handsontable": "15.0",
    "@handsontable/react-wrapper": "15.0"
  },
  
  "browserslist": {
    "production": [
      ">0.2%",
      "not dead",
      "not op_mini all"
    ],
    "development": [
      "last 1 chrome version",
      "last 1 firefox version",
      "last 1 safari version"
    ]
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Handsontable</title>
  </head>

  <body>
    <noscript> You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. </noscript>
    <div id="root"></div>
  </body>
</html>

import React, { StrictMode } from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import "./styles.css";
import ExampleComponent from "./ExampleComponent";

const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(rootElement);

root.render(
  <StrictMode>
    <ExampleComponent />
  </StrictMode>
);

import React from "react";
import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Ford'],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        {
          row: 0,
          col: 1,
          comment: { value: 'A read-only comment.', readOnly: true },
        },
        { row: 0, col: 3, comment: { value: 'You can edit this comment' } },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};

export default ExampleComponent;

import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Ford'],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        {
          row: 0,
          col: 1,
          comment: { value: 'A read-only comment.', readOnly: true },
        },
        { row: 0, col: 3, comment: { value: 'You can edit this comment' } },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};



ReactDOM.render(<ExampleComponent />, document.getElementById("example2"));

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/dist/handsontable.full.min.js"></script>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/handsontable.min.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-main.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-horizon.css" /> 
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react@18/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react-dom@18/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@handsontable/react-wrapper@15.0/dist/react-handsontable.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://handsontable.com/docs/scripts/fixer.js"></script>

<div id="example2" class="hot ht-theme-main-dark-auto "></div>

Set a comment box's size

To set the width and height of a comment box, use the style parameter.

{
  "name": "handsontable",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "hyperformula": "^2.4.0",
    "handsontable": "15.0",
    "@handsontable/react-wrapper": "15.0"
  },
  
  "browserslist": {
    "production": [
      ">0.2%",
      "not dead",
      "not op_mini all"
    ],
    "development": [
      "last 1 chrome version",
      "last 1 firefox version",
      "last 1 safari version"
    ]
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Handsontable</title>
  </head>

  <body>
    <noscript> You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. </noscript>
    <div id="root"></div>
  </body>
</html>

import React, { StrictMode } from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import "./styles.css";
import ExampleComponent from "./ExampleComponent";

const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(rootElement);

root.render(
  <StrictMode>
    <ExampleComponent />
  </StrictMode>
);

import React from "react";
import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Nissan', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Mazda', 'Ford'],
        ['2017', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        { row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } },
        // add the `style` parameter
        {
          row: 2,
          col: 2,
          comment: {
            value: 'Comment 200x50 px',
            style: { width: 200, height: 50 },
          },
        },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};

export default ExampleComponent;

import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Nissan', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Mazda', 'Ford'],
        ['2017', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={true}
      cell={[
        { row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } },
        // add the `style` parameter
        {
          row: 2,
          col: 2,
          comment: {
            value: 'Comment 200x50 px',
            style: { width: 200, height: 50 },
          },
        },
      ]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};



ReactDOM.render(<ExampleComponent />, document.getElementById("example3"));

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/dist/handsontable.full.min.js"></script>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/handsontable.min.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-main.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-horizon.css" /> 
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react@18/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react-dom@18/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@handsontable/react-wrapper@15.0/dist/react-handsontable.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://handsontable.com/docs/scripts/fixer.js"></script>

<div id="example3" class="hot ht-theme-main-dark-auto "></div>

Set a delay for displaying comments

To display comments after a pre-configured time delay, use the displayDelay parameter.

{
  "name": "handsontable",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "hyperformula": "^2.4.0",
    "handsontable": "15.0",
    "@handsontable/react-wrapper": "15.0"
  },
  
  "browserslist": {
    "production": [
      ">0.2%",
      "not dead",
      "not op_mini all"
    ],
    "development": [
      "last 1 chrome version",
      "last 1 firefox version",
      "last 1 safari version"
    ]
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Handsontable</title>
  </head>

  <body>
    <noscript> You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. </noscript>
    <div id="root"></div>
  </body>
</html>

import React, { StrictMode } from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import "./styles.css";
import ExampleComponent from "./ExampleComponent";

const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(rootElement);

root.render(
  <StrictMode>
    <ExampleComponent />
  </StrictMode>
);

import React from "react";
import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Ford'],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={{
        // on mouseover, wait 2 seconds before the comment box displays
        displayDelay: 2000,
      }}
      cell={[{ row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } }]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};

export default ExampleComponent;

import { HotTable } from '@handsontable/react-wrapper';
import { registerAllModules } from 'handsontable/registry';
import 'handsontable/styles/handsontable.css';
import 'handsontable/styles/ht-theme-main.css';

// register Handsontable's modules
registerAllModules();

const ExampleComponent = () => {
  return (
    <HotTable
      data={[
        ['', 'Tesla', 'Toyota', 'Honda', 'Ford'],
        ['2018', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
        ['2020', 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16],
      ]}
      rowHeaders={true}
      colHeaders={true}
      contextMenu={true}
      comments={{
        // on mouseover, wait 2 seconds before the comment box displays
        displayDelay: 2000,
      }}
      cell={[{ row: 1, col: 1, comment: { value: 'Some comment' } }]}
      height="auto"
      autoWrapRow={true}
      autoWrapCol={true}
      licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation"
    />
  );
};



ReactDOM.render(<ExampleComponent />, document.getElementById("example4"));

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/dist/handsontable.full.min.js"></script>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/handsontable.min.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-main.css" /> 
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/handsontable@15.0/styles/ht-theme-horizon.css" /> 
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react@18/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/react-dom@18/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@handsontable/react-wrapper@15.0/dist/react-handsontable.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://handsontable.com/docs/scripts/fixer.js"></script>

<div id="example4" class="hot ht-theme-main-dark-auto "></div>

Windows	macOS	Action	Excel	Sheets
`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`M`	`Ctrl`+`Option`+`M`	Add or edit a comment	✗	✓
`Ctrl`+`Enter`	`Cmd`+`Enter`	Save and exit the current comment	✗	✓
`Escape`	`Escape`	Exit the current comment without saving	✗	✗

Configuration options:
- commentedCellClassName
- comments