Zotero Citation Manager

What is Zotero?

Zotero is a citation management application that can help you organize citations and create bibliographies. With the newest version of Zotero you can also sync your library across multiple computers, organize your references using collections and tags, and collaborate with colleagues by utilizing group libraries.

It is available in two versions: as an add-on that works inside your Firefox browser and as a standalone version for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. Zotero connectors (plug ins) can be used for Safari and Google Chrome.

Getting Started

To download and start using Zotero:

1. Go to http://www.zotero.org/.
2. Select the version you'd like to use and click the appropriate download button.
3. If you receive a message saying "Firefox prevented this site from asking you to install software on your computer" click Allow.
4. Click Install Now.
5. Restart Firefox.
6. Click Zotero in the lower right corner of the browser to launch it.

Adding References from Databases

It's fast and easy to add references to your library from PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and many other databases.

1. Run your search.
2. Click on the folder icon in your URL address window--a new window will open displaying the article titles in your result list.
   
   
   
3. Check off the references you'd like to save and click OK.
4. Open Zotero to see the references you've added.

You can also save citations from the individual abstract or full-text page.

1. Run your search and access the abstract or full-text
2. Click on the Page icon in your URL address window
3. A message will appear at the bottom of the page confirming that the citation is being saved to Zotero

Adding References and Annotations to Web Pages

Zotero allows you to add references to Web pages and also to create snapshots of those pages.

1. Go to the Web page you would like to archive in your library.
2. Open Zotero and click the icon to Create New Item from Current Page.
   
   
3. The current page will be saved to your Zotero library with a page title, URL, and access date. All information can be edited.
4. At the same time, Zotero creates a snapshot of the Web page and saves it as an attachment to the original citation in your library.
5. Some database citations will automatically attach Web page snapshots to the original citations.

Snapshot files can be annotated and sections can be highlighted.

1. Open a snapshot by double-clicking on it in the citation list or by selecting it and clicking the View Snapshot button in the right-hand column.
2. The snapshot will open up - remember this is not the original web page but a snapshot of it as it existed when you captured it. That snapshot is saved to a storage directory on your computer.
3. A menu will appear in the upper left-hand part of the window.
   
   
4. Use the menu to add notes or highlights to the snapshot. You can move the notes around and delete the notes or highlights at any time.
   
   
5. Annotations and highlights can not be added to PDFs in your Zotero library.

Organizing References

It's easy to organize your references using collections and tags.

To create a new collection:

1. In the Collections pane, right-click My Library.
2. Select New Collection.
3. Name the collection and click OK.
4. Drag references into the new folder you just created.
   Note: You can also create subcollections.

To add tags to references:

1. Select the reference you'd like to tag.
2. In the right pane, click the Tags tab.
3. Click Add and enter your tag (click Add again to create multiple tags).
   
   
   
4. Available tags will appear beneath your collections window in the left pane.
5. Use the tags to filter your list of references. Tags that are highlighted in pale blue have been selected. Click on the tag again to remove the filter.
   
   

Word Processor Plugins

Zotero offers word processor plugins for Microsoft Word, Open Office, and NeoOffice. Not all versions of Zotero are compatible with all versions of these word processors.  Go to the Zotero word processor plugin installation guide for compatibility information and installation instructions.

Creating Bibliographies

You can create stand-alone bibliographies or use the word processing add-in toolbars to insert citations into your paper and create a bibliography. Zotero comes with a handful of bibliography styles. To add more styles go to the Zotero Style Repository.

To insert citations using the Word add-in tool:

1. In Word, place your cursor where you want to insert the citation.
2. Click on the insert citation button in the Word add-in toolbar.
   
   
3. Choose your preferred citation/bibliography style and click OK.
4. Select the citation you want to insert and click OK.
5. If you want to insert more than one citation, click Multiple Sources, select references one at a time, and use the arrow keys to group them, then click OK.
   
   
6. To create a bibliography from the inserted references place your cursor at the end of your document and click the Insert Bibliography button.
   
   

To create a stand-alone bibliography:

1. In Zotero, hold the CRTL key and select the references you'd like to be included in the bibliography.
2. Drag and drop the references into a word processing document.

To change your bibliography style:

1. Click the Set Doc Prefs button.
   
   
2. Select your desired style and click OK.

Zotero and EndNote

If you so desire, you can use both EndNote and Zotero and move references between the two. If you do use both, you'll want to change a setting in Zotero so it doesn't interfere with the direct export feature in EndNote.

To change the Zotero settings:

1. Open Zotero.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Uncheck the box that says Use Zotero for downloaded RIS/Refer files.

Exporting references from EndNote to Zotero:

1. Open the EndNote library you want to export.
2. From the File menu choose Export.
3. Choose RefMan (RIS) Export as your output style.
4. Save the file to your desktop.
5. In Zotero, click on the gear icon and choose Import.
6. Select the text file that you just saved to your desktop and click Open.

Exporting references from Zotero to EndNote:

1. In Zotero, click on the gear icon and choose Export Library.
2. From the pull-down menu, choose RIS and click OK.
3. Name the file and save it to your desktop.
4. Open the EndNote library where you'd like these references to reside.
5. From the file menu, choose Import.
6. Select the RIS file you just saved to your desktop and click Open.
7. From the Import Option pull-down menu, choose Reference Manager (RIS).
8. Click Import.

Zotero Resources