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Zotero User Guide

Provides help with setting up a Zotero account, and covers the basics of saving and citing sources.

Creating Quick Bibliographies

Screenshot of the right-click menu in Zotero used to create a bibliography from the selected items.To create a bibliography from your Zotero library:

  1. Select the references or collections you want to include by holding the control key (PC) or command key (Mac) and clicking to select multiple items.
  2. Right-click one of the selected items and choose Create Bibliography.
  3. Choose the citation style you want to use.
  4. Select Copy to Clipboard.
  5. Paste the resulting reference list into your word processor.

This method works with any word processor (or anywhere you can paste text).

Using Zotero with Microsoft Word

​Zotero offers word processing plugins for Word and LibreOffice. The plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor that allows you to add citations to your document while you write.

To add a citation, click the first button ("Add/Edit Citation") on the toolbar. Search for the reference you want to cite and press Enter. Zotero will add the citation wherever you were previously typing.

At the end of your paper, click the "Insert Bibliography" button. Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically. Change citation styles with the "Document Preferences" button.

The toolbar looks different on different operating systems and versions of Word. Mousing over the toolbar will pop up each button's function if they're not clearly labeled.

Zotero's Word integration will also create links between Zotero and your document. This means that if you ever edit the entry for your citation in Zotero, it will automatically change the citation in your document. To prompt it to do this, click the "Refresh" button.

Using Zotero with Google Docs

Screenshot of Zotero menu in Google Docs.Zotero also works with Google Docs! Any browser to which you've added the Zotero Connector will have a Zotero menu at the top of your Docs pages.

Just as with Word, your citations will be linked to Zotero, so if you change anything in a citation's entry in Zotero it will automatically update in Google Docs. To prompt it to do so, click "refresh."

 

Adding Additional Citation Styles to Zotero

Zotero comes with a huge array of citation styles, but many more are available to download.

To install a style:

  1. Open Zotero.
  2. Go to the Zotero Style Repository page.
  3. Search for the name of the style you need.
  4. Click the name.
  5. It should ask if you want to add the style to Zotero; click yes.
  6. If it doesn't, just download the style, open the .csl file, and when Zotero asks click "install."

The new style will appear in Zotero's style lists.