diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index 7276e67ef..90ff854e4 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
         "ngx-dropzone": "^3.0.0",
         "ngx-guided-tour": "^2.0.1",
         "ngx-matomo-client": "^6.2.0",
+        "ngx-mentions": "^16.2.0",
         "rxjs": "^7.4.0",
         "tinymce": "^7.2.0",
         "ts-simple-nameof": "^1.3.1",
@@ -9838,6 +9839,18 @@
         "@angular/core": "^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/ngx-mentions": {
+      "version": "16.2.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ngx-mentions/-/ngx-mentions-16.2.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-D/lsJmlnb0Ifjd2GnSSHy5/GGfYhw6Xmzip22Z1pYipfCDSfgU00UfhsxHLZyiwo0cljj2vRwg5OlAH4PHP1Fg==",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "tslib": "^2.0.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "@angular/common": ">=16.0.0",
+        "@angular/core": ">=16.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/nice-napi": {
       "version": "1.0.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nice-napi/-/nice-napi-1.0.2.tgz",
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 2fb2dbc92..92523386f 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
     "ngx-dropzone": "^3.0.0",
     "ngx-guided-tour": "^2.0.1",
     "ngx-matomo-client": "^6.2.0",
+    "ngx-mentions": "^16.2.0",
     "rxjs": "^7.4.0",
     "tinymce": "^7.2.0",
     "ts-simple-nameof": "^1.3.1",
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.html b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.html
index 91a6496fe..d0439f1e1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.html
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.html
@@ -27,12 +27,7 @@
 			<form [formGroup]="threadFormGroup">
 				<div class="row mt-2 mb-3">
 					<div class="col-12">
-						<mat-form-field appearance="outline" class="w-100">
-							<mat-label>{{'ANNOTATION-DIALOG.THREADS.NEW-THREAD' | translate}}</mat-label>
-							<textarea matInput autocomplete="off" formControlName="text" required appTextareaAutoresize></textarea>
-							<mat-error *ngIf="threadFormGroup.get('text').hasError('backendError')">{{threadFormGroup.get('text').getError('backendError')?.message}}</mat-error>
-							<mat-error *ngIf="threadFormGroup.get('text').hasError('required')">{{'COMMONS.VALIDATION.REQUIRED' | translate}}</mat-error>
-						</mat-form-field>
+						<text-area-with-mentions [form]="threadFormGroup.get('text')" [planUsers]="planUsers"></text-area-with-mentions>
 					</div>
 					<div class="col-6">
 						<mat-button-toggle-group appearance="standard" name="fontStyle" hideSingleSelectionIndicator="true" [formControl]="threadFormGroup.get('protectionType')" aria-label="Font Style" required>
@@ -96,7 +91,10 @@
 																</div>
 															</div>
 															<div class="row mt-3">
-																<div class="col-12 annotation-full-text">{{getParentAnnotation(thread).payload}}</div>
+																 <ng-container *ngFor="let annotationItem of getParentAnnotation(thread).payload">
+																	<div *ngIf="!annotationItem.isMention; else mention">{{annotationItem.payload}}&nbsp;</div>
+																	<ng-template #mention><div><span class="highlight-user-mention">{{annotationItem.payload}}</span>&nbsp;</div></ng-template>
+																 </ng-container>
 																<div class="col-12 align-self-end">
 																	<div class="row mt-1">
 																		<button mat-button (click)="enableReply(thread)" class="action-button" [ngClass]="this.replyEnabledPerThread[thread] ? 'active-action' : ''" [disabled]="this.replyEnabledPerThread[thread]">{{ 'ANNOTATION-DIALOG.THREADS.REPLY' | translate}}</button>
@@ -139,7 +137,7 @@
 																					</div>
 
 																					<div class="row mt-3 pt-1 pb-1">
-																						<div class="col-12 annotation-full-text">{{annotation.payload}}</div>
+																						<div class="col-12 annotation-full-text" [innerHtml]="parsePayload(annotation.payload)"></div>
 																					</div>
 																				</div>
 																			</div>
@@ -154,10 +152,7 @@
 														<div class="col-12 mt-2">
 															<div class="row new-reply mr-0">
 																<div class="col">
-																	<mat-form-field appearance="outline" class="w-100">
-																		<mat-label>{{'ANNOTATION-DIALOG.THREADS.REPLY' | translate}}</mat-label>
-																		<textarea matInput autocomplete="off" [formControl]="this.threadReplyTextsFG[thread.toString()].get('replyText')" required appTextareaAutoresize></textarea>
-																	</mat-form-field>
+																	<text-area-with-mentions [form]="this.threadReplyTextsFG[thread.toString()].get('replyText')" [planUsers]="planUsers"></text-area-with-mentions>
 																</div>			
 																<div class="col-auto p-0 send-msg">
 																	<button mat-icon-button (click)="replyThread(thread)" matTooltip="{{'ANNOTATION-DIALOG.THREADS.REPLY' | translate}}">
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.scss b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.scss
index 5722046d3..00a854d71 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.scss
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.scss
@@ -146,4 +146,14 @@ $mat-card-header-size: 40px !default;
 
 ::ng-deep .statuses-menu.mat-mdc-menu-panel {
   min-width: initial !important;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+::ng-deep .highlight-user-mention {
+  padding: 1px 2px;
+  margin: -1px -2px;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  overflow-wrap: break-word;
+  background-color: #e1f2fe;
+  color: #3f5163;
+  opacity: .6;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.ts b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.ts
index 52ae223c2..a46189ed1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.component.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,14 @@ import { AnnotationStatusArrayEditorModel } from './annotation-status-editor.mod
 import { StatusService } from '@annotation-service/services/http/status.service';
 import { ConfigurationService } from '@app/core/services/configuration/configuration.service';
 import { MatSelectionList } from '@angular/material/list';
+import { PlanUser } from '@app/core/model/plan/plan';
+import { DomSanitizer } from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { Subject } from 'rxjs';
+
+interface AnnotationPayloadItem {
+	isMention: boolean;
+	payload: string;
+}
 
 @Component({
 	selector: 'app-annotation-dialog',
@@ -53,10 +61,9 @@ export class AnnotationDialogComponent extends BaseComponent {
 	private formBuilder: FormBuilder = new FormBuilder();
 	public annotationStatusFormGroup: UntypedFormGroup;
 	public listingStatuses: Status[] = [];
-	public planUsersMentionNames: string[] = [];
-	
-	@ViewChild('annotationStatus') annotationStatus: MatSelectionList;
+	public planUsers: PlanUser[] = [];
 
+	@ViewChild('annotationStatus') annotationStatus: MatSelectionList;
 
 	constructor(
 		public dialogRef: MatDialogRef<AnnotationDialogComponent>,
@@ -71,12 +78,13 @@ export class AnnotationDialogComponent extends BaseComponent {
 		private statusService: StatusService,
 		protected routerUtils: RouterUtilsService,
 		private configurationService: ConfigurationService,
+		private sanitizer: DomSanitizer,
 	) {
 		super();
 		this.entityId = data.entityId;
 		this.anchor = data.anchor;
 		this.entityType = data.entityType;
-		this.planUsersMentionNames = data.planUsers.map(x => x.user.name);
+		this.planUsers = data.planUsers;
 		dialogRef.backdropClick().pipe(takeUntil(this._destroyed)).subscribe(() => dialogRef.close(this.changesMade));
 	}
 
@@ -179,7 +187,11 @@ export class AnnotationDialogComponent extends BaseComponent {
 					this.comments.forEach(element => {
 						this.threadReplyTextsFG[element.threadId.toString()] = this.formBuilder.group({ replyText: new FormControl(null, [Validators.required]) });
 						this.annotationsPerThread[element.threadId.toString()] = data.items.filter(x => x.threadId === element.threadId && x.id !== element.id).sort((a1, a2) => new Date(a1.timeStamp).getTime() - new Date(a2.timeStamp).getTime());
-						this.parentAnnotationsPerThread[element.threadId.toString()] = data.items.filter(x => x.threadId === element.threadId && x.id === element.id)[0];
+						
+						let parentAnnotation: any = data.items.filter(x => x.threadId === element.threadId && x.id === element.id)[0];
+						parentAnnotation.payload = this.parsePayload(parentAnnotation.payload);
+						this.parentAnnotationsPerThread[element.threadId.toString()] = parentAnnotation;
+						
 						this.threads.add(element.threadId);
 					});
 					// create annotation status array to handle each annotation
@@ -340,11 +352,52 @@ export class AnnotationDialogComponent extends BaseComponent {
 		return control.valid;
 	}
 
+	parsePayload(payload: string): AnnotationPayloadItem[] {
+
+		if (!this.planUsers) return [{ isMention: false, payload: payload}];
+    if (this.planUsers.length == 0) [{ isMention: false, payload: payload}];
+
+		let payloadItems: AnnotationPayloadItem[] = [];
+
+		const mentionRegExp = new RegExp(/\@\{\{userid:[a-zA-Z0-9\-]*\}\}/g);
+		payloadItems = payload.split(/(?=\@\{\{userid:[a-zA-Z0-9\-]*\}\})|(?<=\@\{\{userid:[a-zA-Z0-9\-]*\}\})/g)
+			.filter( p => p!=null && p!='')
+			.map((p)=> {
+				let annotationItem: AnnotationPayloadItem = { isMention: false, payload: p};
+				
+				if (mentionRegExp.exec(p)) {
+					annotationItem.isMention = true;
+					annotationItem.payload = this.planUsers.find(u => p.includes(u.id.toString()))?.user?.name;
+				}
+
+				return annotationItem; 
+			});
+
+		return payloadItems;
+
+    // for (let planUser of this.planUsers) {
+    //   payloadItems = payload.split(`@{{userid:${planUser.id}}}`).map({isMention }).join('<span class="highlight-user-mention">'+planUser?.user?.name+'</span>');
+		// }
+
+		// return this.sanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustHtml(payload);
+	}
+	// parsePayload(payload: string): AnnotationPayloadItem[] {
+
+	// 	if (!this.planUsers) return [{ isMention: false, payload: payload}];
+  //   if (this.planUsers.length == 0) [{ isMention: false, payload: payload}];
+
+	// 	let payloadItems = [];
+	// 	// let payloadItems = [];
+
+  //   for (let planUser of this.planUsers) {
+  //     payloadItems = payload.split(`@{{userid:${planUser.id}}}`).map({isMention }).join('<span class="highlight-user-mention">'+planUser?.user?.name+'</span>');
+	// 	}
+
+	// 	return this.sanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustHtml(payload);
+	// }
+
 	private onCallbackAnnotationStatusSuccess() {
 		this.uiNotificationService.snackBarNotification(this.language.instant('ANNOTATION-DIALOG.ANNOTATION-STATUS.SUCCESS'), SnackBarNotificationLevel.Success);
 		this.refreshAnnotations();
 	}
-
-	
-	
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.module.ts b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.module.ts
index b2e256cde..1346fdd28 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.module.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/annotation-dialog-component/annotation-dialog.module.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import { CommonFormsModule } from '@common/forms/common-forms.module';
 import { CommonUiModule } from '@common/ui/common-ui.module';
 import { AnnotationDialogComponent } from './annotation-dialog.component';
 import { AutoCompleteModule } from '@app/library/auto-complete/auto-complete.module';
+import { TextAreaWithMentionsComponent } from '../components/text-area-with-mentions.component';
+import { NgxMentionsModule } from 'ngx-mentions';
 
 @NgModule({
 	imports: [
@@ -11,12 +13,14 @@ import { AutoCompleteModule } from '@app/library/auto-complete/auto-complete.mod
 		CommonFormsModule,
 		FormattingModule,
 		AutoCompleteModule,
+		NgxMentionsModule,
 	],
 	declarations: [
 		AnnotationDialogComponent,
+		TextAreaWithMentionsComponent,
 	],
 	exports: [
 		AnnotationDialogComponent,
-	]
+	],
 })
 export class AnnotationDialogModule { }
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.html b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8119f1a20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+<div class="relative-block-container w-100">
+    <mat-form-field appearance="outline" class="w-100">
+      <mat-label>{{'ANNOTATION-DIALOG.THREADS.NEW-THREAD' | translate}}</mat-label>
+      <textarea
+        [formControl]="internalForm"
+        placeholder="Enter '@' or '#' and start typing..."
+        class="w-100"
+        rows="2"
+        matInput  
+        appTextareaAutoresize
+        #textareaRef
+      ></textarea>
+      <ngx-mentions [textInputElement]="textareaRef" style="position: absolute; left: 0;" class="w-100"
+        [menuTemplate]="menuTemplate"
+        [mentionsConfig]="mentionsConfig"
+        [searchRegexp]="searchRegexp"
+        [mentions]="mentions"
+        [removeWholeTagOnBackspace]="true"
+        (search)="loadChoices($event)"
+        (selectedChoicesChange)="onSelectedChoicesChange($event)"
+        (menuShow)="onMenuShow()"
+        (menuHide)="onMenuHide()"
+      ></ngx-mentions>
+      <mat-error *ngIf="form.hasError('backendError')">{{form.getError('backendError')?.message}}</mat-error>
+      <mat-error *ngIf="form.hasError('required')">{{'COMMONS.VALIDATION.REQUIRED' | translate}}</mat-error>
+    </mat-form-field>
+
+    <ng-template #menuTemplate
+      let-selectChoice="selectChoice">
+        <ngx-text-input-autocomplete-menu *ngIf="choices" [choices]="choices"
+          [getDisplayLabel]="getDisplayLabel"
+          (selectChoice)="selectChoice($event)">
+        </ngx-text-input-autocomplete-menu>
+    </ng-template>
+</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.scss b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.scss
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aec57eaa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+.relative-block-container {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: center;
+}
+
+.relative-block-container div{
+  width: 300px;
+}
+
+.relative-block-container textarea {
+  line-height: 1.4;
+  word-spacing:2px;
+}
+
+.formatted-text {
+  margin: 3rem 0;
+  width: 300px;
+  line-height: 1.4;
+  font-size: 16px;
+}
+
+::ng-deep.ngx-selectable-list {
+  max-height: 150px !important;
+}
+
+::ng-deep.ngx-text-highlight-tag {
+  letter-spacing: -0.01rem !important;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.ts b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..458b185f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/annotations/components/text-area-with-mentions.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import { Component, Input, OnDestroy, OnInit } from "@angular/core";
+import { FormBuilder, FormControl, Validators } from "@angular/forms";
+import { PlanUser } from "@app/core/model/plan/plan";
+import { ChoiceWithIndices } from "ngx-mentions";
+import { Observable, Subscription } from "rxjs";
+
+
+@Component({
+  selector: 'text-area-with-mentions',
+  templateUrl: './text-area-with-mentions.component.html',
+  styleUrls: ['./text-area-with-mentions.component.scss'],
+})
+export class TextAreaWithMentionsComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
+  USER_TRIGGER_CHARACTER: string = '@'
+
+  @Input() form!: FormControl;
+  @Input() planUsers: PlanUser[];
+
+  internalFormSubscription: Subscription;
+  clearInputSubscription: Subscription;
+  internalForm!: FormControl;
+  choices: PlanUser[];
+  loading: boolean = false;
+
+  mentionsConfig = [
+    {
+      triggerCharacter: this.USER_TRIGGER_CHARACTER,
+      getChoiceLabel: (item: PlanUser): string => {
+        return `${this.USER_TRIGGER_CHARACTER}${item?.user?.name}`;
+      },
+    }
+  ];
+  mentions: ChoiceWithIndices[] = [];
+  searchRegexp = new RegExp('^([-&.\\w]+ *){0,3}$');
+
+  constructor(
+    private formBuilder: FormBuilder,
+  ) {}
+  
+  ngOnInit(): void {
+    this.internalForm = this.formBuilder.control('', Validators.required);
+    this.internalFormSubscription = this.internalForm.valueChanges.subscribe(value => {
+      this.form.setValue(this._formatTextWithSelections(value, this.mentions));
+    });
+  }
+  
+  ngOnDestroy(): void {
+    this.internalFormSubscription?.unsubscribe();
+  }
+  
+  getDisplayLabel = (item: PlanUser): string => {
+    return item?.user?.name;
+  }
+
+  loadChoices({searchText, triggerCharacter}
+    : { searchText: string, triggerCharacter: string}
+  ): void {
+
+    if (triggerCharacter != this.USER_TRIGGER_CHARACTER) return;
+
+    if (triggerCharacter == this.USER_TRIGGER_CHARACTER) {
+    
+      this.choices = this.planUsers?.filter(u => u?.user?.name.toLowerCase().indexOf(searchText.toLowerCase()) > -1);
+    }
+  }
+
+  onSelectedChoicesChange(selections: ChoiceWithIndices[]): void {
+    this.mentions = selections.map((choice: ChoiceWithIndices) => ({
+      ...choice,
+    }))
+
+    this.internalForm.updateValueAndValidity();
+  }
+
+  onMenuShow(): void {}
+
+  onMenuHide(): void {
+    this.choices = undefined;
+  }
+
+  private _formatTextWithSelections(content: string, selections: ChoiceWithIndices[]): string {
+
+
+    let formattedContent = content;
+    let replaceContentIndex = 0;
+    selections.forEach((selection: ChoiceWithIndices) => {
+      
+      const start = selection.indices.start;
+      const end = selection.indices.end;
+      
+      const selectionText = content.substring(start, end);
+      const formattedText = `@{{userid:${selection?.choice?.id}}}`;
+
+      const newReplace = formattedContent
+        .substring(replaceContentIndex)
+        .replace(selectionText, formattedText);
+        formattedContent =
+        replaceContentIndex === 0
+          ? newReplace
+          : formattedContent.substring(0, replaceContentIndex) + newReplace;
+
+      replaceContentIndex = formattedContent.lastIndexOf('}}') + 2;
+    });
+
+    formattedContent = formattedContent.replace(/\n/g, '<br>');
+
+    return formattedContent;
+  }  
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.html b/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.html
index 362cb75e7..b4860cfeb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.html
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.html
@@ -89,9 +89,9 @@
 							</div>
 						</div>
 						<div class="row">
-							<div class="heading2 col-12">{{'PLAN-EDITOR.FIELDS.DESCRIPTION' | translate}}</div>
+							<div class="heading2 col-12">{{'PLAN-EDITOR.FIELDS.DESCRIPTION' | translate}} *</div>
 							<div class="col-12">
-								<rich-text-editor-component [form]="formGroup.get('description')" placeholder="{{'PLAN-EDITOR.PLACEHOLDER.DESCRIPTION' | translate}}" [required]="false">
+								<rich-text-editor-component [form]="formGroup.get('description')" placeholder="{{'PLAN-EDITOR.PLACEHOLDER.DESCRIPTION' | translate}}" [required]="true">
 								</rich-text-editor-component>
 							</div>
 						</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.ts b/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.ts
index cfe6e8da9..b0e5dc48a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/ui/plan/plan-editor-blueprint/plan-editor.component.ts
@@ -546,7 +546,7 @@ export class PlanEditorComponent extends BaseEditor<PlanEditorModel, Plan> imple
 				this.selectedBlueprint = data;
 				this.formGroup.get('blueprint').setValue(this.selectedBlueprint.id);
 
-				const goToNextStep: boolean = this.formGroup.get('label').valid;
+				const goToNextStep: boolean = this.formGroup.get('label').valid && this.formGroup.get('description').valid;
 				if (goToNextStep) {
 					this.buildFormAfterBlueprintSelection();
 					this.nextStep();