I’m also partial to the quick search method, but just on this bit:
You should be able to drag an item from the binder to the Quick Reference toolbar button without selecting it and thus loading it in the main editor–in other words, don’t click-and-release and then click-and-drag, but just click and then drag with the mouse button down until you drop on the QR button. That should open the dragged item without affecting the binder or the editor.