org cite "processor" example

org-cite-tone-down.el

(when-let ((basic (org-cite-get-processor 'basic))
           (activate (org-cite-processor-activate basic)))
    (org-cite-register-processor
        'activate-hide-@cite :activate
        (lambda (citation)
          "Activate CITATION, then make leadup to first ref invisible."
          (funcall activate citation)
          (when-let ((first-ref (car (org-cite-get-references citation)))
                     (beg (car (org-cite-boundaries citation))))
            (put-text-property (1+ beg) (car (org-cite-key-boundaries first-ref))
                               'invisible t)))))

This shows an example of working directly with org-cite processors, which control fontification, activation, export, etc. for org citations. The idea is to register a new citation "processor" that alters behavior.

This example works by wrapping the basic processor's activate function to make the text from the start of the citation to its first keyword invisible. The new processor is called activate-hide-@cite.

After running the above, you can use it in a hook like:

(when (org-cite-get-processor 'activate-hide-@cite)
  (setq-local org-cite-activate-processor 'activate-hide-@cite)
  (face-remap-add-relative 'org-cite-key '(:inherit shadow)))

for a more toned-down org citation style in the buffer.

Idea from this blog post. The advantage over a regexp-search/overlay approach is it works with font-lock, is much faster for long documents, updates during live editing, etc.

Update: simplified to set only the activate slot of the new processor, since that is all that is used from the org-cite-activate-processor.