Would it be possible to add this as a feature request? A single button to do this would be so helpful

"this is literally the usual writing process - copy and paste a highlighted text from a piece into your work and at the end generate a bibliography" is probably too strong a statement, I for one have never worked like that. In my line of work, copying text into one's own work is quite rare. Please pay attention to https://www.zotero.org/support/forum_guidelines#etiquette

Secondly, I am not sure that the original message was about the same use case?

"I for one have never worked like that. In my line of work, copying text into one's own work is quite rare."

Perhaps you are in natural sciences. In humanistics, where we work with many qualitative methods and citations, this is how everyone works to my knowledge. Even if paraphrasing, it is usually done based upon a passage in source literature. I am sure there are authors with different workflows, but I doubt they are in the majority.

I also don't understand why you are making me alert to the forum etiquette. Is it required to wrap one’s opinion in a pink dotted verbal cellophane here? Where do you spot any insulting diction?

OK, it's just semantic details…

The problem is the process of annotation and note-taking is a bit clumsy and somehow duplicated in its functionality.

1. Annotating has the possibility to comment on the annotation. This is already a note. I understand we need the possibility of "general item notes," but annotation notes should also be automatically classified as notes too in the note panel. After all, a comment actually is a note.

2. Now we can make a note from comments via "add item notes from annotation". The result is a bit clumsy as they are all in one note and there is no good distinction between the highlighted text (quotation) and the comment (note). We can display the colour of the highlight – that helps a bit but remains a bit clumsy.

3. Those two are the minor interface problems. The larger problem is how we bring the highlighted text (quotations) and our comments (notes) and references into our text files.

a. If we drag or copy a highlighted text "bubble" from the left panel to Word, we get the text (quotation) and the in-text reference. But the reference has no data needed to be compiled into the bibliography.
b. If we create notes from annotations, we get one note with some kind of delimiter. We can grab a single "passage" of this note or copy it into Word. But again – same as in the case before. We get the quoted (highlighted text), the inline reference, but no data Zotero could use to compile the bibliography from.
c. If we use Insert Note from the Word Zotero tab – here the data for compiling the bibliography is retained; however, we cannot pick what note we want to insert as simply ALL notes will be inserted. This is completely useless as I want to have control over what quotation (highlighted text) I wish to insert where.

The goal would be simple: Grab or copy the "item" (highlighted text in left panel) and paste it in Word. This should bring into Word the highlighted text, comment if it exists, and close in text reference e.g. (Author, 2025 p23) with embedded link to the highlight in the PDF. This reference should also contain data needed by bibliography compiler so at the end we can just compile bibliography from what ended up in our text. When this process is done, the references can be stripped from data while the reference can remain in text and format of user’s choice.

Basicaly nothing more is needed than to give the left pannel annotations (their reference part) the data they get when useing insert note so bibliography compiler has it needs in the Word text.

Item notes – notes that are related to the PDF in general of course can have the same functionality.

I hope I managed to bring this across. It would be easier explained on an example.

Regards,
Rene

"I'm getting a selector when I can pick one or more note items, and only the one(s) I selected get inserted into my document."

You can pick one note; however, when you were importing annotations to notes, they all end up in one note. So you end up with possibly hundreds of annotations in one single note. Again, you have no control over what annotation ends up in your text.

Unless you would turn each annotation / comment into a new note. This would, however, take ages, not to mention this system of disconnected notes and annotations /comments is completely redundant.

There is a simple solution – make the app when copy or drag an annotation, simply include the data (filed codes) in the reference (Author, year, page) just like it happens when inserting notes. This way, there is no need to tweak the Word plugin.

I was thinking about a screenshot, but I am not sure single shots will explain any better. I would need to be able to post a screen recording, which is not possible as far as I understand.

As you are the only one included in this exchange I won't bother – it seems you understand what I am going on about.

But if you feel you need more clarification I can record it.

You can add them all to one single note by drag and drop, but you cannot drag and drop them to the notes panel to make each annotation a single note.

Writing in a note is a workaround, albeit a really unfavourable one. I am not sure anyone writes a PhD dissertation in a Zotero note :D

Annotations, notes, whatever you like to call them, should be draggable to the text editor, retaining all the data for two functionalists: 1. click the reference to get back to the place of annotation in the original document, 2. generate a bibliography when you are done with your piece of writing.

Simple and clean. After all, we want to focus on our research, not wrestling with software ...

Zotero devs have talked about annotations being accessible via the Word add-on (similar to notes), which would essentially solve this issue. The annotation feature is comparatively new in Zotero, so what is currently possible is by no means intended as the final version. (Recognizing anything inserted via drag&drop as a citation is technically challenging for a whole host of reasons; Bookends has an entirely separate set up and, as a Mac only app, can also do things that aren't available to a cross-platform app)

Note also that the add note/add citation dialog preselects items currently selected in Zotero, so you can find them quickly that way.

Thank you, Adam,

I just think that all those functions could be consolidated into one simple and beautiful workflow in this app, which is already unique among peers (handling EPUB, for instance).

Rene

I meant, you can do that after you add a note with an annotation and place the cursor onto the citation of the item. Seemingly, what you have in the second screenshot here.

Then, you will be able to get to the item by clicking on the "Open in My Library".
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u11573780/36xuzstso0j50rmtflm9.png