Allow changing comment type after starting a review

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Release notes

In a merge request, after starting a review by commenting on diff lines, the user should be able to add either a non-thread comment or a comment-with-thread on the "Overview" page.

Problem to solve

https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/discussions/#create-a-thread-without-replying-to-a-comment speaks of a chevron to the right of the comment button that can be user to select "Start thread", however, https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/reviews/ under "Add a new comment" describes the situation AFTER having started a review. As you can see, the only option is "Add to review", and there is no way to select what comment type will be added. What comment type will be added? Perhaps it seems obvious that a threadless comment will be added, but that's not quite true. If you have already clicked the chevron and selected "Start thread", then comments added to reviews will be comments with a thread. Reproduction instructions:

1. Type into the comment box on the "Overview" page. Note the chevron where you can select "Comment" or "Start thread"
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2. Click "Changes" at the top to view the diff being requested to merge
3. Click the comment balloon next to one of the lines of the diff
4. Type a comment and click "Start a review"
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5. Click "Overview" at the top to see the merge request discussion.
6. Scroll down to add a new comment and see the "Add to review" and "Add comment now" without being able to select what type of comment to add
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7. Click "Changes" and delete the one comment in the pending review (select "OK" when prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete this pending comment?") This will cancel the review
8. Click "Overview" and scroll down to the new comment box; note that you can now select which type of comment to add
9. Click the chevron and select "Start thread"
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10. Click "Changes" and start a review by typing a comment for one of the diff lines and selecting "Start a review"
11. Click "Overview" and scroll down to the new comment box
12. Note that the comment type that will be added is a "comment with thread"!
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Proposal

Add a way to change a comment's type when adding an "Overview" comment to a merge request review. In steps 6 and 12 in the reproduction instructions, it should be possible to select a different type of comment like step 1.

Intended users

• Delaney (Development Team Lead)
• Presley (Product Designer)
• Sasha (Software Developer)
• Devon (DevOps Engineer)
• Sidney (Systems Administrator)
• Sam (Security Analyst)
• Simone (Software Engineer in Test)
• Allison (Application Ops)
• Dana (Data Analyst)
• Eddie (Content Editor)

Metrics