Zotero: Not just a citation management tool

Ways to add references to your Zotero Library:

• Use the Zotero Connector (download required)

• Add items by an identifier: ISBN, DOI, or PMID 

• Type in the full citation

• Drag and drop a PDF into Zotero

The Zotero Connector is the easiest way to add items

With one click of the Zotero Connector for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, you can save...

• the full citation

• metadata fields (may include: file size, the date the document was created, keywords to describe the document...)

• the full-text PDF (if available)

• useful links (e.g., to the PubMed entry)

• Supplemental Data files (if available)

Using the Zotero Connector

1. Open the Zotero App.

2. Find an item/source you want to save.

3. Select the icon (paper, book, webpage, or folder**).

   • Folder icon = There are multiple items on the page you can save. Select any items you want to add to your Library, each item will have its own record. 

4. A small pop-up window will appear as the information is saved in your Library.

Issues?

No Icon in the Address Bar

If an address bar icon does not appear, try adding the citation using either of the methods below: using the Document ID or manually entering the citation. 

Missing Citation Information: 

Check each citation for accuracy and missing information. Double-click on a field to make it editable and make any corrections. 

Using the Document ID: PMID, DOI, or ISBN

Add items to your Library using the ISBN, Digital Object Identifier (DOI), or PubMed ID.

1. Click the "Add Item by Identifier" button () in the Zotero toolbar

2. Type in the ID number and press Enter

Adding Multiple Identifiers

1. Type the first identifier, then press Shift+Enter

2. Type the remaining identifiers, one on each line, pressing Shift+Enter after each entry

3. Once you've typed all the identifiers, click the "Search" box to import all the items at once

Zotero is designed to help you avoid typing in a citation

To save you time and avoid errors, it is best to use the Zotero Connector. If you need to make corrections to a citation, use the version that Zotero saves rather than creating a new item.

If you really need to add something manually — for example, a source that isn't available anywhere online — follow the steps below

1. Click the green “New Item” () button at the top of the middle pane and select the item type from the drop-down menu.

2. An empty item of the selected item type will appear in the center column.

3. You can then enter the item's citation information via the right-hand pane.

Need to edit a citation?

See the editing section on the Tips and Tricks page.

Already have a PDF? Just drag and drop it

Are you using Zotero to create a bibliography or already have articles downloaded? You can add PDFs (and their citations) to your Zotero library.

1. Locate the PDF file you want to add to Zotero

2. Drag the PDF file into an open collection or My Library

3. Right-click the PDF and choose "Retrieve Metadata for PDFs."

Zotero will retrieve the data from Google Scholar. If Zotero can't find the citation, you may need to find the citation from an article database or other source. Save the citation with the Zotero Connector then drag the PDF onto the citation to save it as an attachment.

Automatically retrieve citations for PDFs

1. In Zotero click on Edit > Preferences

2. Under the General Tab, check the boxes for "Automatically retrieve metadata for PDFs" and "Automatically rename attachment files using parent metadata." 

Now when a PDF is dragged into the Zotero pane, the program will attempt to retrieve citation information for the item through a variety of searches and rename the PDF attachment.