Template Structure: Sections, Subsections and Comment Types

In the dashboard: Templates → open a template

How a template is organized

A template has four levels. Each level sits inside the one above it:

Template, for example Hive Inspect Residential
Sections: the main parts of the report, for example Roof
Subsections: the parts of each section, for example Predominant Roof
Comments, sorted into three groups in every subsection:
- Information: what is there, for example Roof Covering Material: Architectural shingles
- Limitations: what couldn’t be inspected, and why, for example Inspected From Ground
- Defects/ Deficiencies: problems found, for example Shingles - Damage

Hive Inspect Residential                        ← template
├── Plumbing                                    ← section
├── Roof                                        ← section
│   ├── Inspection Method                       ← subsection
│   ├── Predominant Roof                        ← subsection
│   │   ├── Information
│   │   │   ├── Roof Covering Inspected          (checkbox)
│   │   │   ├── Roof Covering Material           (multiple choice)
│   │   │   └── Date of last roof permit         (text)
│   │   ├── Limitations
│   │   │   └── Inspected From Ground            (checkbox)
│   │   └── Defects/ Deficiencies
│   │       └── Shingles - Damage                (defect)
│   └── Gutters / Downspouts                    ← subsection
└── Attic, Roof Structure, & Ventilation        ← section

In the template editor, the sections are listed on the left. Click the arrow next to a section to show its subsections. Click a subsection to see its comments on the right.

The same structure is what the inspector fills in on site, in the mobile app and the Web Editor, and what the client reads in the report.

Sections

A section is a main part of the report, such as Roof, Exterior, Plumbing or Electrical. Click a section’s name on the left to see its Section Details.

The Section Details card for Roof: Section Title Roof, an empty Section Description box with a formatting toolbar, Private Notes containing Check for a roof permit before the inspection, and the Section Visible switch turned on, with the note This section will be visible in reports

Setting	What it does	Who sees it
Section Title	The name of the section.	Everyone, in the report
Section Description	Text printed in the report with the section, for example what the section covers. Can include images.	Your client, in the report
Private Notes	Notes for the inspector, for example a reminder of what to check.	Only inspectors, in the report editor. Never in the report.
Section Visible	Whether the section is shown in new reports. See Hidden sections and subsections.

A section has no comments of its own. Its comments are in its subsections.

Subsections

A subsection is one item or area inside a section, such as Gutters / Downspouts inside Roof. Click a subsection’s name on the left to open it.

A subsection has the same settings as a section: Subsection Title, Description (printed in the report), Private Notes (only inspectors, in the report editor) and Subsection Visible. Below its details, every subsection has the three comment groups: Information, Limitations and Defects/ Deficiencies. A new subsection always starts with all three, empty. If the template has ratings on, the inspector gives each subsection a rating, such as IN or NP.

Placeholder Lookup

Placeholder Lookup lists placeholders you can type into a description or comment, such as {{{property_address}}}, {{{inspection_date}}}, {{{inspector_name}}}, {{{company_name}}} or {{{client_full_name}}}. In the report, each one is replaced with the inspection’s details. Click Copy next to one and paste it where you need it.

The three comment groups

Every subsection sorts its comments into three groups, each with its own color.

Information
Limitations
Defects/ Deficiencies

The green Information group of Predominant Roof with 6 fields and a Select all link: Roof Covering Inspected (a ticked checkbox icon), Roof Material Age, Roof Covering Material, Roof life expectancy (list icons for multiple choice), Date of last roof permit (a T icon for text) and Overall Condition. Each comment has flag, up, down, edit, duplicate, move and delete icons and a selection box. An Add New Comment button is at the bottom

Information comments describe what the inspector found: materials, types, sizes, ages, locations and general condition. For example: Roof Covering Material: Architectural shingles or Water heater age: 2016.

Comment types in Information and Limitations

An Information or Limitations comment can be one of three types. You choose the type when you create the comment, under Comment Type.

The Comment Type list in the Configure Comment Details dialog with three choices: Checkbox Item, Multiple Choice and Text

Type	Icon	What the inspector does on site	Example
Checkbox Item	☑	Ticks the comment to include it. Its text then goes into the report.	Roof Covering Inspected: “The roof covering was inspected at visible areas for damage, wear and missing materials.”
Multiple Choice	☰	Picks one or more options from your list.	Roof Covering Material: Architectural shingles, 3-tab asphalt shingles, Metal, Tile
Text	T	Types an answer.	Date of last roof permit: “March 2019”

Checkboxes and multiple choice are by far the most common. For example, the Hive Inspect Residential template in the Template Hub has about 1,300 checkbox comments and 280 multiple choice comments, but only 16 text comments. Use text only when the answer can’t be a list, such as a date, a serial number or a measurement.

Checkbox Item

A comment with a name and a Description Text. On site, the inspector ticks it to add it to the report. Tick Auto-select this comment for comments you include on almost every inspection, such as a standard limitation. Auto-selected comments are already ticked in every new report from this template. The inspector can still untick them. In the template, an auto-selected checkbox shows a green ticked box icon.

Multiple Choice

A comment with a list of Options. On site, the inspector picks one or more of them, for example both Metal and Tile on a house with two roof types. In the mobile app and the Web Editor, the inspector can also add an option that isn’t in your list.

Type the options separated by commas, for example Architectural shingles, Metal, Tile.
Default Value (optional): the option already picked in every new report, for example the material you see most often.
Description Text (optional): extra text that goes with the comment, for example how life expectancy is estimated.

Text

A comment the inspector answers by typing. Default Value (optional) is text that’s already filled in, which the inspector can change at the inspection.

Defect comments

A defect comment has more details than the other types:

Detail	What it’s for
Field Name	The short name of the problem, such as Shingles - Damage.
Description Text	What was observed, why it matters and what to do. Many inspectors use an Observation, Evaluation and Recommendation layout.
Defect/ Deficiency Category (required)	How serious it is: blue, orange or red. The default names are Maintenance Items, Recommendations and Safety Concerns. The category sets the comment’s color and where it goes in the summary. You can rename the categories for a template in Template Tools.
Defect/ Deficiency Service	The type of professional who should fix it, such as Roofing Professional or Electrical Contractor.
Estimated Cost and Estimated Timeline (optional)	For example $300 - $800, within 30 days.
Auto-select this comment	Turns the defect on in every new report. Rarely used for defects.

In the template, each defect comment is tinted in the color of its category.

Options on every comment

Every comment, of any type, also has:

Attach Images (Optional): up to 20 reference photos or diagrams, for example a photo showing what the defect looks like. Click an image after uploading it to draw on it or add a caption.
Auto-flag (Required comment): the comment starts flagged in every new report. The report can’t be published until the inspector reviews each flagged comment and unflags it. Use it for comments that must never be skipped. You can also switch it with the flag icon on the comment.

Hive Comment Assist

Hive Comment Assist writes a new comment for you from a few words. In the New Comment dialog, click Generate using Hive Comment Assist, pick a Text Length, describe the issue, for example “roof viewed from the ground because the pitch was too steep to walk”, and click Generate.

Hive fills in the comment’s name and description in your company’s style, using the section and subsection you’re in. For a multiple choice comment it also suggests options, and for a defect it picks a category and service. Check the result and click Create Field. When you edit a comment, Generate description writes a new description from the comment’s name. Comment Assist is part of Hive AI. The button only appears when Hive Comment Copilot is enabled for your company. See Comment Assist.

Hidden sections and subsections

Switch off Section Visible or Subsection Visible for items that don’t apply to most of your inspections, such as a dock, a well or a second kitchen.

A hidden section or subsection is greyed out with a crossed-out eye icon in the template.
In every new report, it starts hidden.
When it’s needed on site, the inspector unhides it from the end of the list in the mobile app or the Web Editor.

This keeps reports short without deleting anything from your template. Visibility works for sections and subsections, not for single comments.

Where to go next

Editing templates: add, move and duplicate sections, subsections and comments.
Template Overview settings: name, ratings, report text and documents.
Save a comment to a template: add a comment you wrote in a report to your template.

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Template Structure: Sections, Subsections and Comment Types

How a template is organized

Sections