# Comment Editing

Comment editing is enabled by installing [Comment Edit Lite](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-comment-editing) alongside [Comment Edit Pro](https://dlxplugins.com/plugins/comment-edit-pro/). Please see the links below for the various comment editing features that [Comment Edit Pro](https://dlxplugins.com/plugins/comment-edit-pro/) enables. ## Enable or Disable Comment Editing

Enabling comment editing is a great way for users to fix their own mistakes when leaving a comment.

{% hint style="info" %} **Comment Editing Requires Comment Edit Lite**. [Comment Edit Lite](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-comment-editing/) is a free plugin on the WordPress Plugin Directory. {% endhint %} {% embed url="" %} Comment Edit Lite {% endembed %} As of Comment Edit Pro 3.0, there is no longer a requirement to have Comment Edit Lite installed. However, if you want comment editing, [Comment Edit Lite](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-comment-editing/) must be activated. ## Enabling Frontend Editing Frontend Editing is by far the most favorite feature of Comment Edit Pro.

It's easy to enable. Just toggle the frontend editing option in the admin settings, save, and you're good to go. ### The Edit Comment Link

Most themes display an "Edit" link when you are logged in and viewing a comment on the frontend. The default behavior is to take you to the backend comments section. Comment Edit Pro overrides this behavior and launches a modal where you can edit the comment without having to visit the admin. If you are logged in and the author of the post or an Editor/Admin, you can simple click the "Edit" link for the individual comment. {% hint style="warning" %} Frontend editing depends on having an "Edit" button in the individual comment. If your theme does not provide this button, frontend editing *will not* work. {% endhint %} ![Clicking the Edit Button Will Pop Up a Editing Modal](https://3862281288-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwIGhykuGfv38YJ8fAMWe%2Fuploads%2FU28Ns1td0hIICKhlXR7s%2Fcomment-edit-pro-edit-button.png?alt=media\&token=ca05d9fd-7910-42d9-bc4a-5063d02922a8) ### Frontend Editing Demo Here's a quick demo of frontend editing in action.

When the modal launches, you can edit just about every aspect of the comment. The following features are available in the popup modal: * Edit the commenters name, email address, and URL * Edit the comment * Change the comment status (approved, pending, spam) * Delete the comment * A shortcut to the comment in the admin ## Enabling the Frontend Moderation Menu

The frontend moderation menu is a small meatball icon on the frontend of a comment.

It expands to reveal editing options: * Editing a comment * Approving a comment * Marking a comment as pending (moderated) * Marking a comment as spam * Deleting a comment

Comment Expand Options When Opening the Meatball Menu

The moderation menu is designed for quick actions, but hidden in a way that isn't so obtrusive. There are three themes available:

## Editing the Timer Length By default, users have 5 minutes to edit their comment. You can adjust this value to make the timer shorter or longer.

{% hint style="danger" %} **Be careful of long edit times**. Comment editing is cookie based, so having a reasonable time is recommended. {% endhint %} ### The Timer on the Frontend When you adjust the timer, new comments will be able to edit for the number of minutes you have set.

{% hint style="info" %} **Unlimited Editing and Anonymous Users**: Unlimited editing is not possible for anonymous (non-logged-in users). Since anonymous users do not have an account, comment editing is cookie based, which limits the editing experience to the user's current session. {% endhint %} ## Unlimited Editing on the Frontend Another popular feature is you can enable unlimited editing for logged-in users. With Unlimited Editing enabled, users are shown a "Click to Edit" button with no timer present.

Users will be able to edit their comment as long as unlimited editing is enabled. {% hint style="info" %} Enable email notifications and comment logging to keep track of edits. {% endhint %} ## Cancel the Timer

One requested feature was for allowing the timer to be canceled when a user is done editing. If the timer is available, a "Cancel Timer" button will be shown.

Clicking "Cancel Timer" will stop editing for the comment. ![](https://3862281288-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwIGhykuGfv38YJ8fAMWe%2Fuploads%2Fkriwp6qmkeYwzPXPCRgc%2Fcomment-edit-pro-cancel-timer.gif?alt=media\&token=905cfcbd-a443-4785-974a-0cd386235d44) ## Comment Logging and Stats

### Enabling Comment Logging Comment Logging is taking an extra precaution when users edit their comments. If you have a long timer or unlimited editing enabled, logging will store all edits of a comment. The edited comment is stored on the individual comment in the admin, and you can easily revert back to the original comment.

Comment Logging Example on the Edit Comment Screen

### Restoring a Comment With Comment Logging and Stats enabled, when a user leaves a comment, it is stored for reference so you can keep track of edits for a particular comment. You can check out the edits for the comment, and even restore a previous edit. Here's a quick demo of reverting a comment. ![Demo of Restoring a Comment](https://3862281288-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwIGhykuGfv38YJ8fAMWe%2Fuploads%2FKDcoryKooioWGRP5pgrP%2Fcomment-logging.gif?alt=media\&token=dbd4c15e-1bfd-479d-a75f-1eff47cdcde5) ## Comment Deletion

Sometimes comments are left in haste or in the moment, and the user would simply like to remove the comment rather than edit it. Allowing users to delete their comments is a nice way of self-policing their comments. ### Enabling Comment Deletion

{% hint style="info" %} Comment deletion is enabled by default {% endhint %} When a user edits a comment, they will see a button allowing them to delete their own comment.

When a user chooses to delete their own comment, a confirmation is shown.

### Delete Only Option

The "Delete Only" option is designed to only show the Delete option when editing a comment. The Edit button isn't visible, but a Delete option instead.

### Removing the Confirmation

Hide the Delete Button Confirmation Option

When editing their comment, the Delete button is shown. By default, a confirmation is shown to the user to prevent accidental clicks.

You can disable or enable this confirmation by toggling the setting. ### Delete Comments Demo Here is the behavior of a user deleting a comment. ![Animated GIF of a User Deleting a Comment](https://3862281288-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwIGhykuGfv38YJ8fAMWe%2Fuploads%2Fz6jXI4hVGdxAGkTiJfP5%2Fcomment-deletion.gif?alt=media\&token=c3e68175-5d83-4dc2-8216-03c8d898af86) As you can see, when a user deletes a comment, a status update shows and the comment is removed from view. ## Email Notifications

If you enable email notifications, you will receive an email with a before and after of the comment edit.

Within this section you can: * Enable email notifications * Set an email address to send the comments to * Set an email address for the "From" field in the email. * Set the subject of the email {% hint style="success" %} **Recommended SMTP (Email) Plugin**: [WP Mail SMTP](https://wpmailsmtp.com/). {% endhint %} {% hint style="info" %} **Sending Emails**: Comment Edit Pro is not an email or SMTP plugin. If you have set up email successfully on your site, Comment Edit Pro will use that mechanism. {% endhint %} Here is a sample of the emails you will receive.

As you can see, the email contains the original comment and the edited one. With logs enabled, you can also see a history of all the edits a commenter makes.

## Appearance Settings You can modify how Comment Edit Pro looks on the frontend through the appearance settings.

Within the Appearance tab, you can: * Show or hide the timer * Set the timer to Words or Compact * Change the button theme * Change the loading image ### Showing or Hiding the Timer

By default, the timer is shown. However, if you don't want to display a timer at all, you can uncheck this option.

### Timer Appearance

By default, the timer is shown as words.

You can also choose compact to appear more like a countdown.

### Button Themes

By default, there are no frontend styles applied to the editing buttons. You can change this by selecting a button theme.

If you select any of the button themes, you'll be asked if you'd like to enable icons.

Enabling icons is recommended to give your buttons a nice boost in appearance with contextual icons. By default, the editing interface and buttons has no styles. However, there are three themes you can take advantage of to spruce up the editing interface.

{% hint style="info" %} **Turning on Icons:** If you choose a button theme, it is highly recommended to enable icons. {% endhint %} ## Translations You can modify any text string that is shown to the end user in the translations section.