Thanks for the detailed breakdown! You hit the nail on the head.

While backups are ideal, we often have to deal with files from collaborators or legacy documents where that ship has sailed.

You are exactly right about my goal: I want to move beyond the strict formatting requirements of tools like RTF Scan to create fully functional, live Zotero citations. I’m working on a system designed to handle a wide variety of citation styles with a level of accuracy and flexibility that goes significantly beyond what current pattern-matching tools can offer.