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Reference Collection View

The Reference Collection View components let you render the citations used in a document as a list — at either the page level or the layout level. Both variants pull their data from the same centralised reference.json configuration used by the Reference Popup.

Two variants

Activator ships two Reference Collection View components:

  • Page-level Reference Collection View — automatically lists every reference used anywhere in the document.

  • Layout-level Reference Collection View — lists only the references used inside that specific layout.

Both can be added to a document. Activator automatically deduplicates and orders references so the rendered list always matches what's actually used.

When to use which

  • Use the page-level variant when the document needs a single, consolidated bibliography at the end — typical for long-form Briefs, eDetailer leave-behinds, or any deliverable where reviewers expect one references section.

  • Use the layout-level variant when each layout in a long document needs its own self-contained citation list — typical for modular content where a layout may be reused across documents and needs to carry its citations with it.

You can use both in the same document, but make sure the structure makes sense — see Avoiding overlap below.

Display options

Both components support flexible rendering:

  • Ranges — collapse consecutive references into a range (e.g. 1–3, 5)

  • Individual items — render each reference as a separate item in an ordered list

  • Custom styling — the components fully support custom CSS, so brand teams can render citations exactly as the document's design system requires

Avoiding overlap

When both page-level and layout-level Reference Collection Views are present in the same document, there's a risk of references being rendered twice — once in the layout-level list and again in the page-level list.

Activator surfaces a warning when this situation is detected, and provides controls so authors can decide how each reference should appear:

  • Keep the reference in both views (intentional duplication)

  • Show only in the layout-level view (suppress from the page-level summary)

  • Show only in the page-level view (suppress from the layout-level)

The warning appears in the editor as soon as both component types are detected on the same document.

Prerequisites

  • The reference.json file must be populated in the Shared Resources of the Design System used by the document.

  • References used in the document must be cited via the standard reference trigger mechanism (the same one that drives the Reference Popup).

There is currently no graphical UI for editing the reference.json file — it is maintained manually in the source code of the Design System.

How it relates to Reference Popup

The Reference Collection View is not a replacement for the Reference Popup. The two components serve different purposes:

  • Reference Popup — an inline interactive element that surfaces a single reference (or a small group) on demand, triggered from a CTA or text marker.

  • Reference Collection View — a static, layout-level or page-level list of all references used, rendered as part of the document structure.

A typical document might use both: Reference Popups for inline citation interactivity, and a Reference Collection View at the bottom for a printable list.