AO3: Sticky Comment Box

gives you a comment box that stays in view as you scroll and read the story

Author
escctrl
Daily installs
0
Total installs
37
Ratings
1 0 0
Version
2.3
Created
2024-03-08
Updated
2024-03-18
License
MIT
Applies to

Credit where credit is due, this is inspired by ScriptMouse's script but has zero lines of code in common. This script was also a great reference for submitting comments to AO3.

Appearance

  • sleek-looking comment box that can be dragged around the screen
  • works on mobile, although the buttons are icon-only
  • on desktop or screens wider than 500px, it can also be resized
  • it will remember its size and position, and always reopens from the last place you put it
  • will automatically show in light or dark mode depending on your page background color

Opening & Closing the Dialog

  • a "Comment Box" button at the bottom-right corner toggles the dialog open/close
  • once it's open, you can select the "Settings" button to configure a keyboard shortcut for toggeling. Select the textfield and press the key combination that you'd like to use. It has to include Alt and/or Ctrl keys!
  • closing the dialog also works with the "Close" button, the "x" button in the dialog title, or by pressing the "Esc" key on your keyboard
  • when you "Post" or "Discard" a comment, the dialog closes automatically

Text Caching

  • all text you enter is saved as you type
  • the cached text is stored for 1 month
  • saves one comment for the entire work, not for each chapter. What you put in while viewing chapter 1 will automatically carry over to when you're viewing chapter 2, until you actually hit the Post button.

Q: when does the cached text get deleted?

  • when you "Post" the comment (and it was posted successfully)
  • if you select the "Discard" button on the dialog
  • if it's older than 1 month

Q: can I delete all cached information?

Yes. Open AO3, right-click on the page and open the browser's Inspect or DevTools, go to where it lists the Local Storage, and look for the key "floatcmt". This is where all the previous settings and cached text is saved. You can probably right-click the entry and choose "Delete floatcmt".

Comment Formatting

  • insert highlighted text of the fic into the comment by selecting the "Quote" button
  • you can select the "Settings" button to configure if quotes should use Italics or Blockquote style
  • works with my Comment Formatting script so you can have a formatting button bar to input HTML easily. Make sure to install the latest update!
  • character counter warns you if you're exceeding AO3's limit (although I can't guarantee that AO3's counting logic is correct either)

Pseuds and Guests

  • if you're logged in and have multiple pseuds, you can choose which pseud to post the comment with
  • if you're not logged in, you can post as a guest - but AO3 requires you to enter a display name and an email address
  • the guest name and email you enter will be remembered for the next work
  • you can hide the name and email fields by selecting the "Guest" label to save some space

Chapters

  • on chaptered works, you can choose which chapter you want to post your comment to - no matter if you're viewing a single chapter, or the entire work
  • if you're viewing a single chapter, that chapter is automatically selected from the list and is marked "viewing".
  • if you're viewing the entire work, the "viewing" marker updates on the listed Chapters as you scroll through the work
  • either way you can always choose to post your comment to the "Entire Work" instead

Posting Comments

  • when you select the "Post" button, the dialog submits the comment directly - no need to copy text around
  • if posting the comment failed, it will say that there was an "Error saving comment!" and it keeps the cached text. You'll have to refresh the page to try again.
  • after posting, the page will reload to show you your comment
  • only exception: you're posting to a chapter while viewing the Entire Work - the dialog will close quietly. I assume you'd rather keep your spot in the fic instead

Feel free to submit ideas or issues in the Feedback section!