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Zotero

How to use this powerful research management and citation tool.

Word Processor Plugin

To help you add citations and bibliographies to your writing, Zotero automatically installs a word processor plugin. It adds a toolbar or buttons to Microsoft Word and LibreOffice.

In Word it looks like this:

Mac users can find Zotero options under a toolbar or the Script  menu.

In LibreOffice Writer, the Zotero options are in the main toolbar. They are the buttons with the Zs on them. If they don't appear, go to View > Toolbars and make sure the Zotero option is checked on.

Problems?

If you just installed Zotero and it's not working, make sure you close and restart the word processor. That has to happen for the plugin to be recognized and start working.

If you need to reinstall the plugin, follow Zotero's instructions on the page about word processor plugins.

Cite As You Write

Use the following steps to cite as you write using the Zotero plugin:

  1. Select Add/Edit Citation undefined.
  2. Choose your preferred Citation Style in Document Preferences window and select OK. This only happens the first time you add a citation.
  3. The Zotero insert bar will appear:
  4. Use author or title keywords in the text field to locate the item you wish to cite.
  5. Select the appropriate item or items.To cite more than one source, search for others and select them here.
  6. To fine tune a citation, click on it in the Zotero insert bar to fine-tune it. You can add page numbers or suppress the author from here. If the citation is incorrect, select Open in My Library to edit the item's information .
  7. Hit Return or Enter to insert the citation into your paper.

Use the Add/Edit Citation undefined button to edit or remove a citation you've already added.

If you are uncertain of the title or author of the item you wish to cite, use the small arrow beside the Z in the insert bar to access Classic View, which will allow you to browse Zotero using its standard interface and see more options.

Creating Bibliographies

With your citations you may want to create a bibliography:

  1. Go to where you want your bibliography to be.
  2. Click the Add/Edit Bibliography undefinedbutton.
  3. Your bibliography will be automatically generated based on the citations in your document.
  4. The bibliography will automatically update when you add or change citations.

If you need to change the citation style, use the Document Preferences (Word) or Set Document Preferences (LibreOffice) button.