Dangling Javadoc comment

Reports Javadoc comments that don't belong to any class, method or field. The Javadoc tool ignores dangling Javadoc comments and doesn't include them in the HTML documentation it generates.

Example:

  class A {
    /**
     * Dangling comment
     */
    /**
     * Method javadoc
     */
     public void m(){}
  }

A quick-fix is available to delete such comments completely or convert them into a block comment. After the quick-fix is applied:

  class A {
    /*
      Dangling comment
    */
    /**
     * Method javadoc
     */
    public void m(){}
  }

Locating this inspection

By ID

Can be used to locate inspection in e.g. Qodana configuration files, where you can quickly enable or disable it, or adjust its settings.

DanglingJavadoc

Via Settings dialog

Path to the inspection settings via IntelliJ Platform IDE Settings dialog, when you need to adjust inspection settings directly from your IDE.

Settings or Preferences | Editor | Inspections | Java | Javadoc

Use the Ignore file header comment in JavaDoc format option to ignore comments at the beginning of Java files. These are usually copyright messages.

Inspection options

Here you can find the description of settings available for the Dangling Javadoc comment inspection, and the reference of their default values.

Ignore file header comment in JavaDoc format: Default: Selected

Inspection Details
By default bundled with:	IntelliJ IDEA 2024.2, Qodana for JVM 2024.2,
Can be installed with plugin:	Java, 242.22892

Last modified: 11 September 2024