I am using a `refs.bib` file for writing papers, as I'm sure everyone does.  However, the problem is that I don't have a quick way to refer to a particular paper when working on a different, non-latex document.  For example, let's say I'm handwriting a note or reminder to myself, and I want to refer to a specific paper without using the entire title (since the titles are usually unwieldy).  I want to refer to the paper using some shorthand notation like (TOPIC-ID#).  

The problem is that `refs.bib` assigns a single reference to each bibtex entry, but those references change depending on where they are in the document, etc.  So, reference `[1]` today might be reference `[7]` tomorrow.  

Is there a electronic citation tool (perhaps not latex/refs.bib) that allows me to fix a unique identifier for each paper that won't change?  E.g. (TOPIC-ID#) would be perfect.   Or, is there a way to force latex to organize my papers in the `refs.bib` file this way?