Is there a way to show cited documents in Zotero database?

dwmtractor
So I may be the only one with this question, but I'm wondering if anybody else has asked or answered it. What I'd like to do is to be able to scan my Zotero database and flag items in it as having been, or not having been cited in the work I'm currently on (as opposed to manually cross-checking with my bibliography). So for example, if I have Zotero open, and in MS Word I have ThisManuscript.docx open, I'd like to be able to glance down my folder of references and see which ones I've already used, and which ones I added but have so far not cited. Ideally, I'd like to see this as a "cited" flag that could be a displayed column.

Is there any way to do this already? If not, anybody else find it potentially useful enough that we should turn it into a feature request?
  • adamsmith
    https://rintze.zelle.me/ref-extractor/ can do this if you use the "Select in Zotero" option. Something built into Zotero is planned, but no ETA
  • dwmtractor
    Thanks Adam, but reading the page you linked above, it doesn't look like what I'm trying to do. Ref-extractor can build a bibliography from a Zotero-referenced document (which could be handy). But what I want to do is look at my existing library and find out which items in it, I missed citing when I wrote my document ... i.e., which ones do I still need to incorporate into my work?
  • adamsmith
    The tool does what you want. Re-read my post and try it.
  • dwmtractor
    Ahh ... I see what you mean. It gets me about halfway there ... now if only there were a way to add a new tag to all selected references in Zotero? I say this because, lacking the ability to tag, I only see the selection in the overall library, not in a subfolder. This is problematic if one keeps a common database for multiple projects and only separates them by folder. And as soon as I click on one selected reference, the whole marking is gone.

    So you're right, it kinda works. But absent a way to mark, flag, or tag the selected references it's only somewhat useful.

    Thanks though ... some utility is better than none.
  • adamsmith
    > if only there were a way to add a new tag to all selected references in Zotero

    There is: you can assign a colored tag to all selected items using the assigned keyboard number or assign a regular tag to all selected items by dragging them to the tag in the tag selector on the left.
  • dstillman
    edited June 11, 2022
    (Note that this is covered in the documentation we've linked you to before.)
  • dwmtractor
    OK, I see what you mean, though with due respect, the language in the page you previously linked: "You can also drag items to a tag in the tag selector in the bottom left to quickly add the tag to all of those items" did not stick out to me as allowing bulk tagging. Maybe it's clear to you; it was not at all clear to me. It would be helpful if, along with the "Bulk Editing of Tags" section of that document, there would be a heading on "Bulk Tagging." Or maybe it's just me ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    That said (and this is mostly for people like me who might read this and be as confused as I was), it's a little more complicated than you imply, in that the tag has to have been previously created in at least one document, before it appears in the tag selector on the lower left. Selecting a bulk set, on that website or by other means, must be done AFTER the tag is created or there won't be anything to drag the items to.

    It's also really hard to drag the items to a tag that is further down the alphabet, as when I tried to hit my custom-created tag the list scrolled up and down madly. To avoid this, I strongly recommend users turn off the "Show Automatic" option on tags, so there are fewer to chase around.
  • dwmtractor
    edited June 14, 2022
    Likewise, the keyboard number option ... I now see what you meant, but honestly, just reading the document I never would have figured it out. Guess I'm dumber than the average user. But again for those who come after me:

    1) Create the tag you want to use to label your references by tagging a single reference with that tag (nearly as I can tell the only way to create a tag is on the "Tags" tab of an existing reference)
    2) Right-click on the tag in the Tag Manager on the lower-left side to set a color and a keyboard number (if you don't assign a color it won't have a keyboard number)
    3) Now select your references by your choice of method -- whether the database query described above or another way
    4) While they're all selected, type the keyboard number assigned in step (2) and you'll see the selected references toggle tagged or not tagged.
  • dwmtractor
    All the above notwithstanding, thanks for your help, and kudos to the whole Zotero team for a tool which IMHO beats the crap out of the for-profit EndNote. I may have frustrations around the edges from time to time, but this is absolutely the best tool for my needs.
  • juditmm
    So cool! Thank you!
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