AO3: Comment Formatting and Preview

Adds buttons to insert HTML formatting, and shows a live preview box of what the comment will look like

You will need to install an extension such as Tampermonkey, Greasemonkey or Violentmonkey to install this script.

You will need to install an extension such as Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey to install this script.

You will need to install an extension such as Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey to install this script.

You will need to install an extension such as Tampermonkey or Userscripts to install this script.

You will need to install an extension such as Tampermonkey to install this script.

You will need to install a user script manager extension to install this script.

(I already have a user script manager, let me install it!)

You will need to install an extension such as Stylus to install this style.

You will need to install an extension such as Stylus to install this style.

You will need to install an extension such as Stylus to install this style.

You will need to install a user style manager extension to install this style.

You will need to install a user style manager extension to install this style.

You will need to install a user style manager extension to install this style.

(I already have a user style manager, let me install it!)

Author
escctrl
Daily installs
0
Total installs
186
Ratings
4 0 0
Version
5.2
Created
2024-01-05
Updated
2025-10-04
Size
23.9 KB
License
MIT
Applies to

💖 What it does

Adds buttons on top of comment boxes, to easily insert the HTML for formatting the comment text.

Below the comment box, adds a preview of what the final comment will look like.

preview of a work comment. Above the textbox is a row of buttons with text formatting icons such as 'bold', 'italics', etc. The textbox contains some text with HTML applied, and underneath the textbox is a field showing a preview of the comment visually formatted.

🪴 How to use it

After installing the script, open the configuration dialog to change the settings. Touching the code is not needed.

The button bar is added on:

  • Comments on works (posting and editing)
  • Comment Replies on works (posting and editing) as well as when replying from the AO3 Inbox
  • Summary, Notes and End Notes when posting or editing a work
  • Bookmarker Notes when adding or editing a bookmark (new!)
  • My Sticky Comment Box script (no preview to save space)
  • My View and Post Comments from the Bin script for tag wranglers (no preview to save space)

🎨 How to configure it

On a page with comments, for example a work or your AO3 Inbox: in the main navigation of AO3, next to “About”, there’s a new menu item “Userscripts”.

From the “Userscripts” menu, select the “Comment Formatting Buttons” option.

A configuration dialog opens. Here, you can set your preferences.

  • Deselect any of the standard buttons that you don't use
  • Add custom buttons, for all your repetitive commenting needs (follow the instructions within the GUI to add buttons)

🏛️ History

  • v5 - Post Tag Comment from Bins support
  • v4 - Bookmark notes support
  • v3 - Summary and Notes support when posting or editing a work
  • v2
    • Sticky Comment Box support
    • AO3 News Posts support
  • v1 - work comment support

🏅 Credit

It's inspired by the popular Comment Formatting Options script, but I created my own version from scratch, trying to fix issues I'd noticed and to add some new features.