"Preview reference" Function in UI

twaring
Endnote has a hide-able way to preview the currently selected item as a reference with the current output style. This would be a nice addition to the left-most UI column.
  • jovanmaud
    I second this request. I love Zotero but one thing I miss about Endnote is the preview pane.
  • bdarcus
    Why should a preview not be in a tooltip rather than a panel?

    I'm a former Endnote user, but Zotero is not Endnote (I think it's much better in fact, even now), and we can rethink things a bit.
  • Matthias
    A tooltip works fine for preview of single records but depends on using your mouse. IMHO, it's always good if a GUI solution supports access via mouse AND keyboard. In addition, I like previewing of *multiple* selected records and using the preview area to quickly copy formatted records. The latter will only work with a dedicated preview area.
  • jovanmaud
    I've got nothing against a tooltip preview instead of a panel, though I must admit I like to see the references in formatted form when I key through my menu. Tooltip would be fine. Main thing is some way to see how the reference is going to look when properly formatted. It's an easy way to see if all necessary information has been included without needing to check every field in the form on the right.

    I'm also with Matthias on being able to preview multiple refs in a preview pane, although this is not my main priority.
  • mmoole
    i would like to add one thought for the preview topic:
    * it would be nice to have a preview of the style in the document preferences dialog where i set the citation style. Like this, one would see instantly how the style looks like. This would also facilitate choosing the right style if one is new to the topic of citation software.

    (for me this would also be useful because sometimes i trash my documents with setting a note style, and then reverting to a numbered style.)

    greetings
    m
  • petzi
    Why not using the browser window itself for the (formated) preview? Like the report. Several records could be easily previewed.
  • sybille
    It's already possible to preview styles in Firefox. Just open the following location in a tab: chrome://zotero/content/tools/csledit.xul
  • dstillman
    Or, even better: chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul
  • sybille
    Or, even better: chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul
    Oh, that's nice, thanks! :) I made a bookmark for csledit.xul once, and I've never looked for anything else since.
  • andy1983
    Maybe i'm a bit slow(it's already 12:48 am here in Germany), but i don't get how you use this preview. Let me tell you what i do: I open the Zotero main pane, select some entries i want to preview, then load the chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul adress. Problem: Nothing happens, no formatted entries appearing.
  • sybille
    Try the "Refresh" button? That works for me, anyway.
  • andy1983
    Doesn't work for me, though. It's showing "No references selected in Zotero" (despite me selecting some) and that's it. I installed the newest version of the 1.5 sync preview, just to be sure.
  • dstillman
    The tools just hadn't been updated to work with the 1.5 Sync Preview (which disables support for old-style CSLs) and were throwing an error. I've fixed them now in the latest trunk build.
  • andy1983
    Strangely enough it's still not working for me, though. Well, i guess i'll stop playing with that one feature and get some serious work done. Tomorrow i'll be siting at a windows pc with 1.0.7 installed and have a look at how it should work. Hopefully i'll then check back here with some enlightenment.
  • petzi
    edited August 21, 2008
    Thanks for URLs! They work both for me, with one minor issue:

    If I select all options in chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul I get a warning of an unresponsive script:

    A script on this page may be busy, or it may have stopped responding. You can stop the script now, or you can continue to see if the script will complete.

    Script: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:765

    If I press "continue" the list appears. (Intel Mac, 10.4.11 Zotero 1.0.7)

    ***
    Is there a way to have a display which fits on the browser window (without scrolling to the right)?

    Sorry if this question may be silly. I'm not quite sure what the status of these both URLs are? Are they a preview for a next release which will ship with a suitable interface? Or a hidden advanced option for the advanced user?
  • dstillman
    If I select all options in chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul I get a warning of an unresponsive script:
    Options: 1) Select fewer items. 2) Get a faster computer. 3) Increase dom.max_chrome_script_run_time in about:config (or set it to 0).
    Is there a way to have a display which fits on the browser window (without scrolling to the right)?
    Fixed in the latest branch build. Thanks.
    I'm not quite sure what the status of these both URLs are? Are they a preview for a next release which will ship with a suitable interface? Or a hidden advanced option for the advanced user?
    The latter, for now.
  • andy1983
    Hi there,

    I tried out the preview on that Windows PC i wrote about. There it's working, so that must be an error in the Linux version. I think i'll write a bug report about that one.

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