ORCID ID Detector

About

ORCID ID Detector — Instant ORCID recognition with profile previews

What this add-on does
ORCID ID Detector instantly recognizes ORCID iDs (for example, 0000-0002-1825-0097) on any webpage and enhances them with a small, unobtrusive magnifying‑glass icon. Click either the iD or the icon to open a clean, accessible profile preview right where you are—no need to leave the page. See the researcher’s name, current affiliation, recent works, keywords, external links, and a quick jump to the full ORCID record on ORCID.org. Everything is on‑demand: nothing runs until you click.

Why install it
•  Save time: Stop copying and pasting ORCID iDs into new tabs. Preview the essentials in place and decide whether to dive deeper.
•  Reduce errors: Detects ORCID iDs in common formats, making it easier to identify the correct researcher quickly.
•  Stay focused: Get a concise overview without breaking your reading flow on journals, university pages, preprints, repositories, grant calls, and lab websites.
•  Privacy-first by design: No data collection, no tracking, no analytics—ever. Requests to ORCID’s public API happen only after you click an iD.

Who it’s for
•  Researchers verifying co‑authors and collaborators
•  Librarians and repository managers curating metadata
•  Journal editors and peer reviewers checking identities
•  Grant managers and research administrators validating applicants
•  Students and readers exploring author profiles across the web
•  Developers and data curators who want an at-a-glance ORCID summary while browsing

Key features
•  Automatic detection: Finds ORCID iDs in plain text and links (including sandbox.orcid.org).
•  Subtle inline enhancement: Adds a small, clickable icon next to each detected iD.
•  One‑click preview: Shows name, current affiliation, count of works, keywords, selected external links, and a direct link to the full ORCID record.
•  Works on dynamic pages: Uses a MutationObserver to gracefully handle content that loads after the initial page render (e.g., infinite scroll, SPAs).
•  Accessible UI: Supports reduced motion, high contrast, dark mode, keyboard focus, and screen‑friendly layout.
•  Lightweight and fast: Small footprint with careful DOM interaction to avoid layout thrashing.
•  Open and auditable: Source code is public; behavior is transparent and local-first.

How it works (high level)
1) The content script looks for visible text nodes that match ORCID iD patterns (including https://orcid.org/… and plain 0000-0000-0000-0000 forms).
2) For each match, it enhances the text with a clear, consistent UI: a clickable iD and a magnifying‑glass icon.
3) When you click, the add-on fetches public information from ORCID’s official public API and composes a compact profile preview.
4) You can then jump to the full ORCID page for complete details.

What’s in the profile preview
•  Researcher name (when available)
•  Current position and organization (if present in public record)
•  A quick snapshot of research activity: works, positions, education, and funding counts
•  Up to a few recent works (title and year, when available)
•  Keywords and external links (for example, personal websites)
•  Direct link to the ORCID profile

Privacy and security
•  No data collection: The add-on does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data.
•  No analytics or tracking: There are no trackers, telemetry, or usage analytics.
•  Local-only detection: The iD detection runs entirely in your browser on the page you’re viewing.
•  On‑demand fetching: ORCID API requests happen only when you click an iD.
•  Minimal permissions: Uses the minimum required to run a content script and call the ORCID public API on demand.
•  Sanitized rendering: Profile preview content from ORCID is sanitized to guard against injection.

Performance
•  Efficient scanning: Uses a text‑node walker only where needed, with caching to avoid double work.
•  Mutation-aware: Debounces updates on dynamic pages to minimize CPU usage.
•  Lightweight UI: Minimal DOM footprint and styles to avoid conflicting with host pages.

Accessibility and usability
•  Keyboard and focus: Click targets are standard elements; focus and click work in tandem.
•  Visual comfort: Respects user preferences for dark mode, high contrast, and reduced motion.
•  Clear affordances: Underline and icon signal interactivity without overwhelming the page.
•  Responsive layout: Profile preview adapts to small and large viewports.

Customization (simple, practical)
•  Works out of the box: No configuration required for most users.
•  Per‑site control (browser level): Use your browser’s extension controls to pause or disable on specific sites if needed.

Compatibility and requirements
•  Works across many websites where ORCID iDs appear (journals, repositories, profiles, lab pages).
•  Cross‑browser: Available for Firefox and Chromium‑based browsers (such as Chrome and Edge).
•  No sign‑in required: Uses public data; you don’t need an ORCID login to preview basic information.

Permissions explained
•  activeTab (Chromium) / equivalent behavior (Firefox): Enables the content script to read and enhance the current page when appropriate.
•  Host permission for pub.orcid.org: Needed to fetch public profile data only after you click an iD.
•  No broad network access to unrelated domains.

Typical use cases
•  Reading an article with several authors: Quickly inspect the correct author’s ORCID without opening multiple tabs.
•  Reviewing a grant or CV page: Confirm identities and affiliations with one click.
•  Curating repository metadata: Verify ORCID links before approving records.
•  Exploring a lab roster: Skim ORCID previews for multiple researchers in one place.

Troubleshooting
•  “I don’t see the icon”: Some sites render content late; wait a moment or scroll slightly. If the site uses unusual markup, try refreshing. Ensure the extension is enabled for that site.
•  “The preview shows limited info”: ORCID profiles vary—some researchers publish only minimal data. Click “View on ORCID.org” for the full record.
•  “Another extension changes the page”: Temporarily disable other content‑modifying extensions to test compatibility.
•  “The icon alignment looks off on a specific site”: Sites have very different CSS. The extension aims to be conservative and inline. If you find a page where spacing is off, please report it so we can fine‑tune.

Limitations and scope
•  Reads only publicly available ORCID data.
•  Does not edit or write to ORCID.
•  Not a replacement for the full ORCID interface—this is a fast, in‑context preview.

Security notes
•  Content from the ORCID API is sanitized before insertion into the preview.
•  The popup is isolated and styled to minimize conflicts with host CSS.
•  No inline script execution is required; the content script handles logic.

Roadmap and feedback
•  We welcome suggestions for additional fields, better heuristics on dynamic sites, and small UI refinements for specific platforms.
•  If you encounter a page where ORCID iDs are present but not detected, please share a sample URL so we can improve pattern handling.

Open source and contributions
•  Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome. The codebase is straightforward and structured for review and collaboration.
•  Please follow the contribution guide in the repository for coding style and pull‑request tips.

Legal and trademarks
•  Third‑party tool: This add-on is not created, endorsed, or maintained by ORCID. It simply uses ORCID’s public API to display publicly available information for convenience.
•  ORCID® is a registered trademark of ORCID, Inc. Any use of the term “ORCID” in this add-on is solely to describe interoperability with ORCID identifiers and services.

Why this add-on stands out
•  It respects your time by surfacing the essentials without context‑switching.
•  It respects your autonomy by running only when you click.
•  It respects your privacy by collecting nothing about you or your browsing.
•  It respects the web by blending in quietly and working across diverse sites.