The comments field

Comments gives visitors a free-text box on the registration form. It is enabled by default.

Where

Events settings → Registration form → Form fields → Comments.

What it is for

The things a structured form cannot anticipate:

• dietary requirements;
• accessibility needs;
• "I am bringing two colleagues";
• a question about the programme;
• how they heard about the event.

How comments appear

In the Event assistants panel, a registration with a comment shows a comment icon in its row. Selecting it opens the comment in a modal. Rows without a comment show a dash.

Comments are included in the CSV and XLS exports, which is usually where you will actually read them for a large event.

The commitment you are making

A comments box is a promise that someone reads it. A visitor who writes I use a wheelchair, is the room accessible? and hears nothing has had a bad experience with your event before it starts.

So enable it only when someone owns reading them:

• one named person;
• a defined moment — daily, or at least the day before the event;
• a way to reply, which means the email address is your only route back unless the telephone field is also on.

Guide what people write

The field has a generic Comments placeholder. If you want something specific, say so in the introduction or in the clause text under the form:

Use the comments box to tell us about dietary or accessibility requirements.

Without that, you get a mixture of questions, notes and empty boxes.

When to disable it

• Large public events where nobody will read hundreds of free-text notes.
• Events where requirements are collected elsewhere.
• Simple, free events with no logistics.

Turning it off is better than collecting comments nobody reads.

Reading comments at scale

For an event with many registrations, the practical workflow is:

1. Export the attendee list to CSV or XLS.
2. Sort or filter by the comments column.
3. Act on the ones that need action.
4. Keep the file only as long as you need it.

See Review attendee comments.

Data protection

Comments frequently contain sensitive personal information — health, accessibility, dietary and religious requirements. That makes this the most sensitive field on the form.

• Restrict who can see the attendee panel and the exports.
• Do not paste comments into support requests, chats or shared documents.
• Delete exported files when the event is over.

Verify

1. Toggle the field and save.
2. Register from a private window with a comment.
3. Confirm the comment icon appears on the row and opens the text.
4. Export the list and confirm the comment is in the file.
5. Confirm a registration without a comment shows a dash rather than an empty modal.