Add quick reference to applies_to syntax page

[leemthompo]

Summary

• Simplifies the intro paragraph to explain cumulative docs in plain terms
• Adds a quick-reference table at the top so docs contributors can match their situation to the right annotation type
• Links to the applies-to-tagging skill

Background

I still need to point humans to a TLDR for applies_to and recommend the skill, so it makes sense to simplify the intro to the syntax reference and add a scannable entry point. The existing page is comprehensive but front-loads complexity. This adds a quick reference without changing any of the detailed reference material.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

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Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Enterprise

Run ID: 5dadb455-22aa-440f-adc4-6e7a51a8d025

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d115285 and 242c9ca.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• docs/syntax/applies.md

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR updates the applies.md syntax documentation to replace version-specific guidance with a cumulative-model description of Elastic's documentation approach. The changes remove the "starting with Elastic Stack 9.0" framing, add a Claude Code tip for generating and validating applies_to tags, and introduce a new quick-reference section with guiding questions and a table that maps common documentation scenarios to the appropriate applies_to metadata placement methods.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely summarizes the main change: adding a quick reference section to the applies_to syntax documentation page.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is directly related to the changeset, explaining the motivation, what was added (quick-reference table, simplified intro), and what was not changed.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches

✨ Simplify code

• Create PR with simplified code
• Commit simplified code in branch docs/applies-to-tldr

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