Suggestion for the Smart Reference Popup Feature - Link existing item

__mrvn__
I wanted to share an idea for the new smart reference popup feature in Zotero 7. The smart reference popup is a significant improvement, making it much easier for me to access references without the need to scroll down, which was previously quite annoying.

It would be amazing if the popup indicated whether the reference already exists as an item in the user's zotero library. For instance, a small red "Z" could be added behind such references. Additionally, this "Z" could be a clickable link that directly opens the item in the library.

I see a very practical use case: If an interesting finding is cited in a paper, users could quickly check whether they already have the original paper that reported this result in their library. This would be particularly helpful when reading a review paper, allowing users to see where they have already read the primary literature.

To my knowledge, no current plugin offers this capability, but please correct me if I’m wrong.
  • alkuzman
    This will be a killer feature. It would be nice if the popup was available in the android app too.
  • philippjonie
    This would be highly appreciated!
    Ideally, Zotero would automatically detect and link items, e.g. by comparing DOIs. But it should also be possible to manually add or correct such cross-references.

    A bonus would be to have all cited (and citing) items linked from the paper's bibliography, and/or listed in a dedicated tab similar to the "Related items" section that is currently manually maintained by the user. Such semi-automatic cross-referencing functionality would be a very powerful addition to Zotero.
  • __mrvn__
    Since I posted my idea, I have found a plugin that covers most of what I suggested. It lists all references in a tab, and a colored dot shows if the reference is already in Zotero. It also kind of works with the smart reference popup, but unfortunately, it does not show if the item is already in the library there. It would be great if something like this could be integrated into Zotero so it runs automatically in the background and also works flawlessly with the smart reference popup.

    You might want to try it:

    https://github.com/MuiseDestiny/zotero-reference
Sign In or Register to comment.