Add toggle to allow Markdown in User Comments in Entry Editor

[ThiloteE]

JabRef 6.0-alpha.29--2025-01-13--e9da46a
Windows 10 10.0 amd64
Java 23.0.1
JavaFX 23.0.1+4

Is your suggestion for improvement related to a problem? Please describe.
I want to store my AI generated summaries somewhere, because everytime I restart JabRef, they get deleted. Sometimes I want to generate multiple summaries of the same scientific paper. I opted to store the summaries in the comments section of JabRef, but the comments section does not support Markdown and that's annoying, because I want to have responses formated in Markdown.

Describe the solution you'd like
Add toggle that allows users to switch between "Markdown" and "Plaintext" mode.

Additional context
There is currently work being done on adding Markdown to the AI-Chat tab (see #12234), so to add this feature here, some of the code could potentially be re-used. There already is a toggle in the AI-Summary tab.

[priyanshu16095]

I am interested in this issue. Please assign me this issue.

[koppor]

I don't understand what you mean. Comments are plain text.

Do you mean the entry preview? It can be configured to render Markdown.

[ThiloteE]

Yes, Comments are plain texst only right now, but I want them be optionally rendered in Markdown, just like Entry Preview, AI-Summary or AI-Chat.

[koppor]

I wonder, why this was not touched in #6232

2020 one has the preview in Markdown:

[ThiloteE]

Jabref 6.0alpha:
With following preferences:

Comments tab:

[Siedlerchr]

This is the wrong place for it. The Markdown Formatter affects only the Entry Preview, and it can be configured for arbitrary fields - if you use JabRef's entry preview (not CSL)
The entry editor itself has no say in this

[ThiloteE]

JabRef 6.0alpha:
With following preferences:
Comments tab:

[koppor]

Task is here to add the functionality to the entry preview. Meaning: Enhancing the #6232. Also add user-speciifc comments fielkds to the rendering.

• Check/add support for generating markdown rendering in the preview
• Add preference migration

[koppor]

/assign @priyanshu16095

[Siedlerchr]

@koppor There is nothing to implement here, you would need to adapt the preview:
e-.

"\\begin{comment}<BR><BR><b>Comment: </b> \\format[Markdown,HTMLChars]{\\comment-thilo} \\end{comment}" 

[koppor]

I want it to have WITHOUT configuration!

[koppor]

I think, currently, it works WITH configuration, but WIHTOUT, it does not --> knob-less JabRef ^^

[Siedlerchr]

How should this work? It'a user defined/custom field? You would need to explicitly add this to the preview

[koppor]

It'a user defined/custom field?

No, Added as fix for issue JabRef#543

That field automatically appears. Based on the user name.

[ThiloteE]

Ok, we found out that it works with the following configuration, but only for the "comment" field.

Here the render:

User specific comment fields do not support Markdown rendering right now.
Currently, selecting a CSL style like "Modern Language Association 9th edition" blocks additional Markdown rendering as well.

[koppor]

I put it into our internal refinement board, because a real "specification" takes time.