In an earlier article and video on integrating Zotero with Obsidian, I mentioned that there seemed to be a bug with the Zotero citation selector popup. Alt + Tab (Win) or Cmd + Tab (Mac) can be used to view all open windows and select the Zotero selector window.
Figure 1: Zotero Citation Selection Popup
It was great to read in Eleanor Konik’s newsletter today a link to a post on the Zotero plugin Github page of a solution to the problem. So many thanks to mehrangta for posting the solution and Eleanor for publishing the link. If you are an Obsidian user and not subscribed to Eleanor’s weekly newsletter, then I suggest you check it out. It is always a wealth of valuable information.
The solution to the problem is in the settings area of Zotero. It is not an Obsidian issue. To resolve the problem,:
1. Open Zotero and then Edit/Preferences;
2. Select Advanced
3. Select Config Editor
4. You may see a warning screen like this:
5. I have turned this off so it doesn’t keep popping up.
6. In the search bar at the top, enter the following text: extensions.zotero.integration.keepAddCitationDialogRaised
7. Highlight that setting. The value needs to be set to True.
8. Hover over the setting and right click with your mouse. If value is set to False, click Toggle and it will change the value to True.
9. Exit out Problem solved.
Fixing this small bug has the potential to save a lot of time. Instead of having to search for the Zotero selector behind the focused window, it will automatically appear on top. This makes the Obsidian plugin even easier to work with at a much improved speed.
1 thought on “Zotero Citation Selector Window Appearing Behind Focused Window: Solved”
Oh wow thanks, this really made my day. I kept loosing the Zotero Selector all the time and though it’s a bug or feature 😅 Subscribed to your letter now.