Add Context

Bring Zotero items, attachments, notes, saved annotations, and precise reading locations into a BibGenie conversation.

BibGenie does more than show the AI a filename. Add Context brings Zotero research objects, document content, and your current reading location into the conversation, so the AI knows which source you are studying, which section you are reading, and which passage matters.

You can start with an entire Zotero item, then narrow the context to a PDF page, an EPUB section, or a passage selected in a PDF, EPUB, or snapshot. The closer the context is to your question, the more focused the answer and the easier it is to verify against the source.

From research objects to exact source locations

Add Context captures both “what source is this?” and “where am I reading?” You can add items, attachments, notes, collections, and tags, as well as the current PDF page, current EPUB section, or selected Reader text.

Ways to Add Context

@ mention

Type a space followed by @ in the input box to search for and insert Zotero items, attachments, notes, tags, collections, and more.

Add Context button

Click the Add Context button near the input box to open a selection dialog.

Right-click Add to Chat

Add context from Zotero items, collections, tags, reader tabs, or selected text.

Paste images or screenshots

Paste images into the input box or use Zotero-side screenshots for figures, formulas, and page regions.

Supported Context Types

Type	Best for
Regular item	Bibliographic metadata, title, authors, year, and related attachments
PDF attachment	Full-paper reading, section summaries, methods, and results
EPUB attachment	Full-book reading, with access by logical page or section
Snapshot	Reading web pages saved in Zotero
Note	Using Zotero notes, excerpts, and research notes as context
Saved annotation	Working with a highlight, comment, color, tag, and its source location
Collection	Working with a set of papers
Tag	Working with papers under a specific tag
Selected text from PDF / EPUB / Snapshot	Precise explanation of a passage
Current PDF page context	Asking about the page you are reading
Current EPUB section	Reading the current EPUB content unit and returning to it from the message
Image / screenshot	Analyzing figures, formulas, diagrams, and page regions

Add Context With `@`

Type a space followed by @ in the input box to open the context search menu. You can then type a title, author, keyword, note name, tag name, or collection name to filter results.

Common examples:

@attention is all you need
@Smith 2023
@my research note
@systematic-review
@my project collection

After selecting a result, it appears as a context block in the input box. You can add multiple context blocks before asking a question.

Add Context From Zotero

You can add the current Zotero object directly to BibGenie:

Right-click one or more library items and choose Add to Chat.
Right-click a collection in the collection tree.
Right-click a tag in the tag selector.
Right-click a PDF, snapshot, or note tab.
Select text in a PDF, EPUB, or snapshot and add it to chat.
In the PDF Reader, add the current page; in the EPUB Reader, choose Add Section to Chat to add the current section.

These entry points can be enabled or disabled in Add to Chat Settings.

Add Precise Context From the Reader

BibGenie uses a reading unit suited to each document format:

Reader	Precise context you can add	Best for
PDF	Current page or selected text	Checking page-specific claims, figures, or passages
EPUB	Current section or selected text	Reading a chapter unit or explaining a specific passage
Snapshot	Selected text	Analyzing a specific passage from a webpage saved in Zotero

The context appears in your message after you add it. When valid location data is available, click the context component in the message to reopen the appropriate Reader and return to the relevant location.

An EPUB section is not always a table-of-contents subsection

An EPUB's table of contents and file structure do not always map one to one. The current section usually corresponds to an XHTML content unit in the EPUB spine. If several nested TOC entries share one XHTML file, Add Section to Chat adds that complete content unit rather than extracting a single anchored subsection.

Examples

Add a PDF and ask:

Summarize this paper by research question, method, data, main findings, and limitations.

Add the current section from the EPUB Reader and ask:

Summarize the main argument in this section and explain how it relates to the book's overall theme.

Add several related papers and ask:

Compare these papers by assumptions, methods, and conclusions. Return a comparison table.

Add a selected passage and ask:

Explain the logic of this passage and identify the key concepts.

Add a figure screenshot and ask:

Explain the axes, curves, and main conclusion of this figure.

Tips

Add only the context that is relevant to the current question.
For complex tasks, ask for a summary first, then follow up with details.
For multi-paper comparisons, ask BibGenie to list each paper first before synthesizing.
Screenshots are useful for figures and formulas, but add the source PDF or item if you need citation-level grounding.