Zotero User Guide: 3. Using Zotero in Databases

Saving multiple database search results

When searching in a database, on the list of search results, you'll have an option to save multiple entries to your Zotero library. This will be indicated by the Zotero icon looking like a folder.

A screenshot of one of the Library databases with the Zotero icon showing a folder indicating it can save multiple items on that page

When you click the folder, it will bring up a window in which you can select all entries, deselect all, or you can pick and choose by clicking the checkboxes next to each item.

Screenshot of the option to save multiple articles in a database

Saving a single article

If you instead want to view the information for each item individually and then save it to Zotero, you can do that by clicking its title. Then, if you decide to save it, the Zotero icon will look like an article. If you click that, a popup will show telling you the progress of the save (what it will be called in your Zotero library, whether it saved an attached PDF, etc.) Saving should only take a few seconds.

A screenshot of an article page in a Library database with the Zotero icon showing an article, indicating it can save the one item you're looking at

Screenshot of the save popup with the title of the article and a PDF icon indicating that it saved the full text of the article

Editing citation info manually

Remember that if for some reason Zotero didn't copy the citation info correctly, you can always edit it manually. In the Zotero application, select the item in your library. On the right side of the window, there will be a pane with all the information it collected about the item. To edit it, just click the text and type.

Icons

Zotero icon: article
Zotero icon: book
Zotero icon: folder
Zotero icon: newspaper
Zotero icon: webpage

Which icon?

The Zotero connector button will change icons based on what type of source you're looking at. It isn't always 100% accurate, but it can be helpful! The most helpful is when the icon is a folder—this means that there are multiple sources to save on that page, and you can pick and choose which ones you want to save to Zotero.