I am using a workflow where I store AI summaries (in Markdown) within the Annotation file of a document. I view these summaries in the Annotations & Reminders Inspector pane while reading the original document.
The Issue The Annotations Inspector appears to be hard-coded to “Edit Mode” (Source Code) for Markdown files.
The Shortcut fails: Pressing Ctrl+Cmd+P while focusing on the Inspector pane does nothing.
Global Preference fails: Even if Settings > Files > Markdown > Default view is set to “Preview”, the Inspector still shows raw source code.
The Workflow Impact This makes it impossible to use the Annotations pane for reading rendered summaries (tables, headers, bold text) alongside the original document. I am forced to look at raw Markdown syntax unless I open the annotation in a separate window.
The Request Please allow the Annotations Inspector to respect the global “Default View” setting, or provide a toggle to switch it to Preview Mode.
Currently, the UI is inconsistent: the main window respects the view settings, but the Inspector does not.
The inspector and the view/edit pane aren’t the same thing. This is no different than how a text field doesn’t support formatted text unless it’s specifically programmed to do so.
Thanks for the technical context. I understand that the Inspector pane is fundamentally an editor component, distinct from the main document viewer.
However, I’d like to emphasize why this specific “toggle” (or view state) is so critical for workflow efficiency, rather than just an aesthetic preference:
The Workflow Friction: Currently, my AI-generated summaries are automatically stored in the Annotation file. To view them alongside the original document (a very common “Study” or “Review” scenario), I have to:
Open the document.
Realize the Inspector is showing raw Markdown code.
Double-click the annotation file to open it in a separate window just to read it properly.
Arrange the windows manually to see them side-by-side.
Repeat this for every single document I review.
The “Ask”: I’m not asking for the Inspector to become a full-blown browser. Even if the Ctrl+Cmd+P shortcut (which currently does nothing when the Inspector is focused) could be enabled to toggle the view temporarily, it would be a huge improvement.
Right now, having to read raw source code in the sidebar defeats the purpose of having a “Summary” there at all.
Thanks for noting the request. I really hope this quality-of-life improvement can make it onto the roadmap.
Actually, that’s not quite accurate. If you install the Scripts menu > More Scripts > Open In Two Windows script, running it on a document with an associated annotation file, opens both side by side in document windows.
