# Automated Citation Count Updater for CVs

This Google Apps Script automatically retrieves citation counts for a list of Scopus-indexed papers and updates individual `.txt` files in a GitHub repository. The citation count files can then be included in a LaTeX document using `\input{}` to dynamically display citation numbers.

## What the Script Does

- Retrieves citation counts from the Scopus API (Elsevier)
- Updates one `.txt` file per paper (e.g., `cit/PAPER_1.txt`)
- Updates one `.txt` file with the total citation count (`cit/TotalCitations.txt`)
- Stores plain citation counts (e.g., `42`)
- For papers with 0 citations, it stores a LaTeX-safe comment (`%`) to prevent compilation issues

## Requirements

You will need:

- A [Scopus API key](https://dev.elsevier.com) from Elsevier
- A [GitHub personal access token](https://github.com/settings/tokens) with `repo` permissions
- A GitHub repository (e.g., `cv`) with a subfolder `cit/`
- File or page where you can include the citation count. Here, we use LaTeX CV that can include citation counts via `\input{}`

## How to Set It Up

### 1. Get a Scopus API Key

- Go to https://dev.elsevier.com/ and register for an API key
- After registration, go to "My API Key" and copy it

### 2. Create a GitHub Token

- Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
- Click "Generate new token (classic)"
- Select the `repo` scope (for access to private/public repos)
- Copy the token and store it safely

### 3. Prepare Your GitHub Repository

- Create a new repository or use an existing one
- Inside the repo, create a folder called `cit/` - this folder will store the citation files
- Inside `cit/`, create one `.txt` file per paper you want to track (e.g., `PAPER_1.txt`)
- Also create an empty file called `TotalCitations.txt`

### 4. Set Up the Google Apps Script

- Go to https://script.google.com/
- Create a new project
- Paste the full script into the `citation-tracker.gs` [file](https://github.com/jansauermann/statatexblog/blob/b0744752ba27becdbb0c122466c3e39c64d709bb/citation-tracker/citation-tracker.gs)
- Replace the following placeholders:
  - `YOUR_SCOPUS_API_KEY`
  - `YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN`
  - `YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME`
  - `YOUR_REPO_NAME`
  - Scopus IDs and file names

### 5. Schedule It (Optional)

- In the Apps Script editor, go to Triggers
- Add a new trigger for the function `updateAllCitationCounts`
- Choose a time-based trigger (e.g., every week)

### 6. Pull the files (Optional)

- If you want to use the citation counts on your local machine, pull the files from Github whenever you need to

## Folder Structure

Your repository should look like this:

<pre>
cv/
├── fullcv.tex
├── cit/
│   ├── PAPER_1.txt
│   ├── PAPER_2.txt
│   └── TotalCitations.txt
</pre>

## How to Use in LaTeX

### Step 1: Add a toggle and macro in the preamble

```latex
\newif\ifshowcitations
\showcitationstrue % or \showcitationsfalse

\newcommand{\addcit}[1]{\ifshowcitations\input{#1}\fi}

```

### Step 2: Use the macro in the document

```latex
Some Paper Title \addcit{cit/PAPER_1.txt}
```

```latex
Total citations: \addcit{cit/TotalCitations.txt}
```

#### Note
- If the .txt file is empty or contains only %, LaTeX will not break.
- Citation counts are included only if \showcitationstrue is set.

#### Security Recommendations
	- Never commit your Scopus API key or GitHub token to a public repository
	- You can store these securely using Google Apps Script PropertiesService
	- Consider using a private GitHub repository if needed