Ethereal Style is a Zotero addon that enhances the library interface with visual reading analytics and customizable column displays.
The addon addresses the challenge of tracking reading progress and annotation activity across PDF documents within Zotero's library. It works by modifying and extending Zotero's existing column system to display reading metrics visually. The title column shows a heatmap-style background indicating reading time distribution across pages, with darker colors representing longer engagement on specific pages. A separate progress column visualizes annotation word counts per page. The tool also introduces read/unread status tracking, displaying unread papers in bold text, and separates tags into dedicated columns with support for filtered tag display using prefixes and regular expressions.
The addon suits researchers and academics who want better visibility into their reading patterns and annotation activity. It works well for anyone managing large PDF collections in Zotero who benefits from visual cues about engagement levels. The tool is particularly useful for those who want to organize tags separately from titles and create publication rank tags that generate automatically based on configurable fields. Documentation and tutorials are available in Chinese, and the addon can be installed via the standard Zotero update mechanism.
The project maintains active development with ongoing feature additions tracked in a TODO list, including planned synchronization support for view groups and color settings, plus theme switching functionality. Updates are distributed through Zotero's official update system rather than GitHub releases, ensuring users receive both major and minor versions automatically.
