diff --git a/lua/zettelkasten/action.lua b/lua/zettelkasten/action.lua
index 215b68d..8b52683 100644
--- a/lua/zettelkasten/action.lua
+++ b/lua/zettelkasten/action.lua
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ local BIGNUMBER = 10000000
 -- Requires a link object passed in.
 function A.open(zlink)
     if not zlink or not zlink.ref then return end
-    local fname = list.get_zettel(zlink.anchor) or zlink.ref
+    local fname = list.get_zettel_by_anchor(zlink.anchor) or zlink.ref
     vim.api.nvim_command(string.format("edit %s", fname))
 end
 
diff --git a/lua/zettelkasten/action_spec.lua b/lua/zettelkasten/action_spec.lua
index 4a5a0c8..dc0077e 100644
--- a/lua/zettelkasten/action_spec.lua
+++ b/lua/zettelkasten/action_spec.lua
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe("open", function()
     end)
     it("should use the anchor to open the corresponding zettel", function()
         vim.api = {nvim_command = mock(function() end)}
-        local ls = stub(require 'zettelkasten.files', "get_zettel")
+        local ls = stub(require 'zettelkasten.files', "get_zettel_by_anchor")
 
         action.open({
             ref = "1910271456_link-to-my-file.md",
diff --git a/lua/zettelkasten/files.lua b/lua/zettelkasten/files.lua
index ebbb78a..c1f7aef 100644
--- a/lua/zettelkasten/files.lua
+++ b/lua/zettelkasten/files.lua
@@ -61,9 +61,11 @@ function ls.get_all_files(path, recursive)
 end
 
 -- Returns the path to the zettel defined by the anchor argument.
--- Take a list of zettel as an optional variable, without which
--- it will use the (recursive) results of the zettel_root directory.
-function ls.get_zettel(anchor, all)
+-- Takes a set of zettel as an optional variable in the form
+-- { [anchorID] = "full/path/to/file.md" }
+-- If no set provided, it will use the (recursive) results
+-- of the zettel_root directory.
+function ls.get_zettel_by_anchor(anchor, all)
     if not all then
         local files = ls.get_all_files(o.zettel().rootdir, true)
         all = ls.get_anchors_and_paths(files)
@@ -73,4 +75,12 @@ function ls.get_zettel(anchor, all)
     return all[anchor]
 end
 
+function ls.get_zettel_by_ref(ref, files)
+    for full_path, bname in pairs(files) do
+        if bname == ref then return full_path end
+    end
+    return ""
+end
+
+
 return ls
diff --git a/lua/zettelkasten/files_spec.lua b/lua/zettelkasten/files_spec.lua
index 770b3e1..626dd47 100644
--- a/lua/zettelkasten/files_spec.lua
+++ b/lua/zettelkasten/files_spec.lua
@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ describe("get_anchors_and_paths", function()
     it("should return anchor-keyed table pointing to filename of zettel",
        function()
         local file_list = {}
-        file_list["someDir/1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md"] =
-            "1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md"
+        file_list["someDir/1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md"] = "1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md"
         _G.vim = get_api_mock(file_list)
 
         local expected = {
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@ describe("get_anchors_and_paths", function()
             ["someDir/1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md"] = "1910291645 this-is-a-testfile.md",
             ["someDir/this-is-not-a-testfile.md"] = "this-is-not-a-testfile.md",
             ["1910271456 this-is-wrong-extension.txt"] = "1910271456 this-is-wrong-extension.txt",
-            ["1812 this-is-ignored.md"] = "1812 this-is-ignored.md"
+            ["1812 this-is-ignored.md"] = "1812 this-is-ignored.md",
         }
         _G.vim = get_api_mock(file_list)
 
@@ -65,7 +64,8 @@ describe("get_anchors_and_paths", function()
             ["2345678901"] = "mydirectory/2345678901 another.wiki"
         }
 
-        assert.same(expected, ls.get_anchors_and_paths(file_list, false, vim.g))
+        assert.same(expected,
+                    ls.get_anchors_and_paths(file_list, false, vim.g))
 
     end)
 end)
@@ -105,7 +105,8 @@ describe("get_all_files", function()
             "path/to/startingdir/more-notes-here")
     end)
 
-    it("should add all files found in subdirectories when recursing", function()
+    it("should add all files found in subdirectories when recursing",
+       function()
         local outer_files = {
             "subdir", "1234567890 myfile.md", "2345678901 another.md"
         }
@@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ describe("get_all_files", function()
     end)
 end)
 
-describe("get_zettel", function()
+describe("get_zettel_by_anchor", function()
     it("should return the correct zettel by id", function()
         local file_list = {
             ["1910291645"] = "1910291645 myfile.md",
@@ -154,18 +155,28 @@ describe("get_zettel", function()
         _G.vim = simple_api_mock(file_list)
 
         assert.same("1910291645 myfile.md",
-                    ls.get_zettel("1910291645", file_list))
+                    ls.get_zettel_by_anchor("1910291645", file_list))
     end)
     it("should return nil and not break on no all list passed in", function()
         stub(ls, "get_anchors_and_paths")
-        assert.is_not_error(function() ls.get_zettel("myanchor") end)
+        assert.is_not_error(function() ls.get_zettel_by_anchor("myanchor") end)
     end)
     it("should default to the zettel root dir if no list passed in", function()
         local fc = stub(ls, "get_all_files")
         local expected = require'zettelkasten.options'.zettel().rootdir
 
-        ls.get_zettel(expected)
+        ls.get_zettel_by_anchor(expected)
         assert.stub(fc).was_called_with(expected, true)
     end)
-
+end)
+
+describe("get_zettel_by_ref", function()
+    it("should match a full file path for non-zettel files", function()
+        local file_list = {
+            ["link/to/my/file.md"] = "file.md",
+            ["link/to/my/target-file.md"] = "target-file.md",
+        }
+        assert.same("link/to/my/target-file.md", ls.get_zettel_by_ref("target-file.md", file_list))
+
+    end)
 end)