Upgrade Storage[Feature request] - Word plugin: "Sticky" resizable sidebar on Word/Libre with references and notes
Hello,
Great work on the latest version of Zotero, especially adding the "Add annotation" on the Zotero Word tab.
With this in mind and in order to improve user experience, I was wondering if it would be possible to turn the Zotero pop-up when adding a reference or note as pinned or sticky on the side of the word/libre document as such:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u20157536/6gv0y9isw9nn7vp3nqqu.png
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u20157536/33fdc1ljzbt1soybryg4.png
This would make adding references and annotations much smoother instead of having to constantly click on add reference or add annotation on the Zotero word tab.
Thoughts? How feasible would this be?
Thanks!
Great work on the latest version of Zotero, especially adding the "Add annotation" on the Zotero Word tab.
With this in mind and in order to improve user experience, I was wondering if it would be possible to turn the Zotero pop-up when adding a reference or note as pinned or sticky on the side of the word/libre document as such:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u20157536/6gv0y9isw9nn7vp3nqqu.png
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u20157536/33fdc1ljzbt1soybryg4.png
This would make adding references and annotations much smoother instead of having to constantly click on add reference or add annotation on the Zotero word tab.
Thoughts? How feasible would this be?
Thanks!
Short version: Zotero opens the citation window fresh for every "Add citation / Add annotation" click and closes it again after inserting. It isn't designed to stay open, and the window can't simply be reused for the next citation. That's why it doesn't stay put or snap next to Word.
I've built a workaround into my plugin FlexAnnotate (annotation citing for Word) as an opt-in setting: the window re-opens in the same position and size after each insert, shows the full annotation list again, and you can insert from it without going back to the Word ribbon. There's also a layout for narrow, half-screen windows.
Limits so far: the window is not formally "docked" by Windows, it just re-opens where it was; it can't get shorter than roughly 590 px; and I've only tested it on Windows with Word and Zotero 10. LibreOffice and macOS are untested.
This feature is not released yet but close. Code and a technical write-up of why it can't be a real sticky sidebar are here: https://github.com/justanotherjurastudent/zotero_flexAnnotations (see docs/persistent-window-limits.md, right now the doc is still in the dev branch: https://github.com/justanotherjurastudent/zotero_FlexAnnotate/blob/feat/persistent-dialog-v2/docs/persistent-window-limits.md).
A real sticky sidebar would need support on Zotero's side. If the Zotero team is interested in that, it would help others a lot.