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Zotero (new)

Using Zotero with a text editor allows you to make use of Zotero's ability to automatically track and format citations/footnotes/endnotes within your written document according to a chosen citation style. Zotero works with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs.

  Microsoft Word LibreOffice Google Docs
Pros A stable version for individuals A freely available, stable version for those without access to Microsoft Word Allows for collaboration amongst group members; an alternative for those without access to Microsoft Word
Cons Can be expensive to purchase on own; will not work for group collaborations Will not work for group collaborations Google Docs has a few documented limitations

You can follow Zotero documentation to switch from one text editor to another within the same document.

Create a Citation

  1. In your Word/LibreOffice/Google Docs document, place the cursor where you'd like to add a citation.
  2. Select the Zotero tab. The first time you use Zotero with Google Docs, you will be prompted to give permission to link your Google Docs account with your Zotero library to allow them to communicate with each other. 
  3. In the Zotero tab menu, click on "Add/Edit Citation." If you are on an older Mac, Zotero can appear in multiple places; in a Zotero tab, as a hovering toolbar in the top left corner, or as a drop-down menu item from the scroll icon at the top of the screen.Screenshot of Microsoft Word, showing the selected Zotero tab on the right end of Word's row of tabs (usually next to the Help tab), as well as the Add/Edit Citation button on the far left of the Zotero menu.
  4. The first time you do this in a document, you will be asked to choose a citation style. Select a style from the list and click OK.
  5. A red bar will appear. Search for or select the item you'd like to cite, enter page numbers if relevant, and click OK. 
  6. The citation/footnote/endnote should appear in your document, correctly formatted.

Pro Tips:

  • If you want to cite multiple sources together, click on the Multiple Sources button to select multiple items together. 
  • To add text to the beginning or end of your citation, use the Prefix and Suffix boxes. 

 

Select a Citation Style

The first time you insert a citation in a document you will be required to choose a citation style.

You can change the citation style at anytime via the Document Preferences button in the Zotero menu in Word. 

Selection of Chicago full note. with ibid

 

If you do not see the style you want listed, you can add more citation styles to your library.

Edit Citations

  1. To make changes to your citation, place your cursor within the citation (1) and then click the Zotero Edit Citation button (2).

     
  2. In the red bar, click the citation to open another pop-up. You can add a page number or click "Open in My Library" to make other modifications to the citation metadata directly in Zotero. Note: You should always make changes to the metadata in Zotero, not in the text editor.

     
  3. Your citation will automatically refresh and display the edits you made. 

     

Correct Errors

All metadata errors in a citation should be corrected in Zotero, not in Word/LibreOffice/Google Docs. Only use the Zotero Edit Citation function in the Zotero toolbar if you are making changes that can be accomplished through the dialog pictured above..

After you have corrected the error in Zotero,, use the Zotero Refesh button in Word to update your document.

Create Bibliographies

This section will cover several different ways to create bibliographies with Zotero:

  • Bibliography from Citations: You can create a bibliography from all the works you have cited in your paper, using Word/LibreOffice/Google Docs. This may be particularly useful for citation styles that use a shortened note or author/date form. 
  • Annotated Bibliography: You can create annotations of works and automatically append the annotations to your bibliography entries.
  • Standalone Bibliography: You can create a bibliography directly from works in your Zotero library without using Word/LibreOffice/Google Docs.

Create Bibliography from Citations 

After adding citations to your Word/LibreOffice/Google Docs document, place your curser in the text editor at the location you'd like to add the bibliography, then click Add/Edit Bibliography.

Location of Add/Edit Bibliography on Zotero tab

Zotero will insert a fully-formatted and properly-ordered bibliography of all references cited in your document, using the citation style you had previously chosen.

Note: This bibliography will only contain articles, books, etc. that you have cited in your document. 

If you would like to add items to your bibliography that you have not cited in the document, place the cursor into the bibliography and click Add/Edit Bibliography again.

The Edit Bibliography pop-up will be displayed. The area on the right (1) contains all items already included in your bibliography; the area in the middle (2) shows all items in the Zotero collection selected in the area on the left (3). From the middle area, select the item(s) you would like to add to your bibliography, then click on the green right arrow between the middle and right areas. 

Click OK. The additional item(s) will now appear in your bibliography: 

Create Annotated Bibliographies

You can use Zotero to create an Annotated APA, Chicago, or MLA Bibliography.

  1. Open your Zotero Library and select the item that you want to annotate.
  2. In the "Info" tab on the right-hand pane, write the annotation in the "Extra" field that appears toward the bottom of the list of metadata fields.
  3. Repeat this for each item that you want to include in the annotated bibliography.
  4. Select each of the sources that you want to include in your bibliography and right-click (control-click on Mac) the highlighted list, then select "Create Bibliography from Items..."

     
  5. In the Create Citation/Bibliography window, select a style that includes annotations (the word "annotated" appears in the name of the style), or add a new one by clicking "Manage Styles"

     
  6. In the Zotero Style Repository window, search for "annotated" and select the style you want to use.

     
  7. After adding the new style, you may need to select your sources in Zotero again, and right-click (control-click on Mac) and select Create Bibliography from Items. Then, choose the style you just added. The bibliography will be copied to your clipboard.
  8. Open a new document in your text editor of choice and paste in the annotated bibliography.

 

Standalone Bibliographies 

You can quickly create standalone bibliographies with Zotero in three different ways.

  • Creating a bibliography from a Zotero Collection.
  • Creating a bibliography from select items in your Zotero library.
  • Creating a bibliography of select items with drag-and-drop (known as Quick Copy in Zotero parlance).

Note: Bibliographies created with any of these three methods are static. In other words, changes you make to a citation in Zotero will not be reflected in these bibliographies; they will be simple Word/LibreOffice/Google Doc documents. 


Creating a bibliography from a Zotero Collection 

In Zotero, select the collection from which you would like to create a bibliography. Right-click on it and select Create Bibliography from Collection... 

In the pop-up window that opens, select the Citation Style you would like to use  and Set Output method to Bibliography. Then choose your save method.

If saving as HTML or RTF, you can open this file in your chosen HTML editor or text editor to edit it further; if copying to the clipboard, you can simply paste the bibliography into a Word (or similar) document. 

Creating a bibliography from select items in your Zotero library 

  1. In Zotero, select the items you would like to include in your bibliography (holding down the CTRL [Windows] or Command [Mac] keys while clicking on items with your mouse). (If you would like to select items from different collections, select them from the My Library view.) 
  2. Right-click (control-click on a Mac) on any of the selected items; then select Create Bibliography from Items

shows choosing the "Create Item from Bibliography" button after right-clicking on highlighted item or items

 

Creating a bibliography of select items with drag-and-drop

  1. In Zotero, select the items you would like to include in your bibliography (hold down the CTRL [Windows] or Command [Mac] keys while clicking on items with your mouse). If you would like to select items from different collections, select them from the My Library view.
  2. Drag and drop the selected items into a Word document. The items will be formatted into a bibliography according to the citation style you have selected under the Export section of Zotero Settings.