Zotero: Home

Zotero

This software can harvest and store citations and then help create a bibliography using whichever citation style you want:

USING ZOTERO

• Open up the Zotero software, and then switch to a web browser. While searching, if you wish to grab citation information for something on the screen, look for an icon in the address bar. If Zotero recognizes a single citation it displays an article (piece of paper) or book icon; if Zotero sees a list of citations, you will see a folder icon.
    Single Article:         Single Book:        Video:
  List of Citations:        Book Chapter:        Web Page:
  If you see one of these icons, click on it. If you click on a folder icon, you will have to select from a list. A message will briefly display on screen showing you the status of the citation download to Zotero.
  
  Some databases require you to use an Export, Save, or Citation Tools option. You may have to place items in a folder or marked list first. If Zotero is not listed as an export option, look for a "Reference Manager" option.

• Create a Collection for related citations in the My Library window on the left. Click on the new folder icon above the pane. Once you have created the Collection folder, you can drag items from the middle pane over to it.

• Create a bibliography by right-clicking on the desired collection folder, choose "Create Bibliography from Collection" then choose a citation style and output option. The "Copy to clipboard" option allows you to paste it immediately into a Word document.

INSTALLATION OPTIONS: (available at http://www.zotero.org/download/):

• Desktop/Laptop: Download free-standing software for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux. Once you have installed the software, also download a connector for your browser (Firefox, Chrome, or Safari). Note: beginning with Safari 12, there have been some issues with the Zotero plugin, so you may want to use Firefox or Chrome for Mac instead. There is also a bookmarklet that works in any browser, including those on smartphones and tablets.
• Portable browsers: Download the Zotero software to a thumb drive**. Then download the portable version of Firefox or Chrome or Safari [support now discontinued] to the same location. Once installed, open up the portable browser, use it to visit the Zotero site, and then install the connector for it.

You'll know you have successfully installed the Zotero connector/plug-in when you see Zotero icons appear in the top right-hand corner of the browser window. Remember that to use Zotero, you need to have the Zotero software up and running while you are searching in your browser.

If you use multiple installations of Zotero (i.e. on your laptop and on a thumbdrive), turn on the Sync function in each installation so that the computer you are currently using will be updated to have all citations saved using your username anywhere. First create a account on the Zotero webpage. Then open up the Zotero software, choose Preferences from the Edit menu. Click on the Sync tab and enter your username and password and click on Ok.

**Portability issues: As of January 2024, Zotero has no portable version of their software. Using the full version on a thumb drive is possible but has two issues: 1) citations you download will save to the host computer's hard drive instead of to your thumb drive and 2) you must re-enter your account information and re-sync each time you move the thumb drive to a new computer. If using the full version on a thumb drive always login and sync each time so data will not be lost.

An independently-developed portable version of Zotero is available at GitHub and PortableApps. It solves the data storage and account login/sync issues but new versions aren't automatically downloaded. You will need to check for and manually install them.