Display Settings

Display Settings

Control how citations, bibliographies, and references appear on your site. Access at References > Settings > Display.

Settings Overview

Display Settings

Display settings tab

Citation Display

Link DOIs

Convert DOIs to clickable links in bibliographies.

Enabled (default):

Smith, J. (2020). Title. Journal, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1234/example

Disabled:

Smith, J. (2020). Title. Journal, 10(2). 10.1234/example

Link PubMed IDs

Convert PubMed IDs to links to the PubMed database.

Enabled:

Smith, J. (2020). Title. Journal, 10(2). PMID: 12345678 [linked]

Link URLs

Make URLs in references clickable.

Enabled (default): URLs become active links Disabled: URLs display as plain text

Open Links in New Tab

When enabled, clicking DOI/URL links opens a new browser tab rather than navigating away from your page.

Citation Tooltips

Show reference details on hover.

Enable Tooltips

When readers hover over an in-text citation, a tooltip shows:

  • Full citation
  • Abstract (if available)
  • Quick link to the full reference

Tooltip Content

Choose what appears in tooltips:

  • Citation only – Formatted reference
  • Citation + Abstract – Include abstract text
  • Full details – All available metadata

Tooltip Delay

Milliseconds before tooltip appears:

  • 0 – Instant
  • 300 – Brief pause (default)
  • 500 – Slower, less intrusive

Bibliography Display

Auto-Append Bibliography

Automatically add a bibliography at the end of posts containing citations.

Enabled: No need to add Bibliography block manually. Disabled (default): Manually place Bibliography block where desired.

Note: Auto-appended bibliographies use default settings. For customization, use the block.

Default Grouping

How entries are organized in auto-appended bibliographies:

OptionOrganization
NoneSingle alphabetized list
YearGrouped by publication year
TypeGrouped by reference type
AuthorGrouped by first author

Default Sorting

Order of entries within groups:

OptionOrder
AlphabeticalBy author surname (A-Z)
Year DescendingNewest first
Year AscendingOldest first
Citation OrderOrder cited in text

Entry Spacing

Vertical space between bibliography entries:

SettingDescription
CompactMinimal space, dense list
NormalStandard spacing (default)
RelaxedExtra space between entries

Hanging Indent

Traditional bibliography formatting where the first line is flush left and subsequent lines are indented:

Smith, J. A. (2020). This is a long article title that
    wraps to multiple lines in the bibliography. Journal
    of Research, 10(2), 42-50.

Enabled (default): Standard academic formatting Disabled: All lines flush left

Line Height

Spacing within each entry:

  • Single – 1.0 line height
  • 1.5 – Common in academic writing
  • Double – 2.0 line height

Reference Archive Display

Settings for the public reference archive page (/references/).

References Per Page

Number of references shown per archive page.

Default: 20

Adjust based on:

  • Page length preferences
  • Reference display complexity
  • Site performance

Archive Layout

How references are displayed:

LayoutDescription
ListSimple vertical list
CardEach reference in a card
TableTabular format

Show Filters

Display filter options on the archive page:

  • By category
  • By type
  • By year
  • Search box

Show Abstracts

Display abstracts in archive listings:

  • Full – Complete abstract text
  • Excerpt – First 150 characters
  • None – Hide abstracts

Single Reference Display

Settings for individual reference pages (/reference/slug/).

Show Citation

Display the formatted citation at the top of the page.

Show Metadata

Display additional metadata:

  • DOI
  • PubMed ID
  • ISBN
  • URL

Show Abstract

Display the full abstract.

Show Related Posts

List posts that cite this reference.

Show Categories/Tags

Display assigned categories and tags with links.

SEO Settings

Author Meta Tags

Add author information to page metadata:

  • tag
  • Schema.org author markup

Useful for: Search engine attribution, academic discovery.

Citation Meta Tags

Add academic citation metadata:

  • Highwire Press tags (Google Scholar compatible)
  • Dublin Core metadata
  • PRISM metadata

Useful for: Academic search engines, citation tracking.

CSS Classes

The plugin adds these CSS classes for styling:

Citations:

  • .abt-citation – Citation container
  • .abt-citation-link – Clickable citation
  • .abt-citation-tooltip – Tooltip container

Bibliography:

  • .abt-bibliography – Bibliography container
  • .abt-bibliography-heading – Section heading
  • .abt-bibliography-entry – Individual entry
  • .abt-bibliography-group – Group container (when grouped)
  • .abt-bibliography-group-heading – Group heading

Reference pages:

  • .abt-reference – Reference container
  • .abt-reference-citation – Citation display
  • .abt-reference-abstract – Abstract text
  • .abt-reference-metadata – Metadata section

Customizing Display

Via Block Settings

Each Citation and Bibliography block has individual settings that override defaults.

Via Theme CSS

Add custom styles to your theme:

/* Smaller citations */
.abt-citation {
    font-size: 0.9em;
}

/* Different bibliography spacing */
.abt-bibliography-entry {
    margin-bottom: 1.5em;
}

/* Custom tooltip styling */
.abt-citation-tooltip {
    background: #333;
    color: #fff;
    max-width: 400px;
}

Via Customizer

Some themes integrate with the Customizer for visual styling adjustments.

Troubleshooting

Tooltips not appearing

  • Check “Enable Tooltips” is on
  • JavaScript may be blocked or conflicting
  • Check browser console for errors

Links not working

  • Verify “Link DOIs” and “Link URLs” are enabled
  • Check that references have valid DOI/URL data

Bibliography not auto-appending

  • Verify setting is enabled
  • Check that post contains Citation blocks
  • Some themes may conflict; use block instead

Styling not applying

  • Clear page cache
  • Check CSS specificity (theme may override)
  • Verify CSS class names match

Next Steps

Last updated: January 31, 2026