Zotero: A Beginner's Guide

There are four ways to add references to your Zotero Library. Below this box are details explanations for each method.

• Zotero Browser Connector (works best with library database)
• Drag a PDF article into your Zotero library.
• Enter a standard number (ISBN, DOI) via the Zotero application.
• Manually enter a citation in the Zotero application.

Once the Zotero Connector is added to your browser, you should see a “Z” icon near the browser address bar (especially if on a blank page/tab). This “Z” icon  will change based on the web page you are visiting.

The Connector is one of the best features of Zotero because it serves as the communicator between the Zotero program (which must be open) and your browser. When you visit any web page, the connector detects the type of item (article, book, or web page) you are viewing. The connector will change from the Z to a different icon to match the type of item you are viewing.

So, to add content via the Zotero Connector

• Open the Zotero program
• Find an item
• Select the icon (paper, book, webpage, or folder**)
• A brief window will appear in the lower right corner of your screen as the information is collected.
• In the Zotero program, a new reference is created with the bibliographic information.
• If a PDF was on the page, it was also collected in the Zotero program
• NOTE: The connector works best for adding articles and books from library databases

**If the icon is a folder, you can select one or multiple items from the page, and a new reference is created in the Zotero program for each.

How to add a PDF (e.g. article) from your computer to a reference in Zotero

• Open Zotero
• Find the PDF (or any file) on your computer
• Drag the PDF to the item in Zotero
• Zotero will look for the metadata (e.g., citation) automatically
• It should now appear under the title of reference

OR

• Open Zotero
• Right-click on the reference
• Select Add Attachment
• Find PDF (or any file)
• It should now appear under the title of reference

Manually add an item to your Zotero library:

• Open the Zotero program
• Select the button “New Item” () at the top of the center column.
• Select the desired item type from the drop-down menu (e.g., book, book chapter, article, etc)
• An empty space (placeholder) for the item type will now appear
• Enter the bibliographic information in the right panel
• The empty space will change with the new information.

NOTE: Use for adding items (e.g., websites, reports) from the open web

You can quickly add items to your library if you already know the standard number of each item, which is unique to each item.

• ISBN - book identifier (10 or 13 digits)
• Digital Object Identifier (DOI) - many scholarly articles have this number, and they all start with "10."
• PubMed ID - health/medical-related articles in the PubMed database 

In the Zotero program

• Select the “Add Item by Identifier” button (wand icon)
• Enter the standard number (or paste in)
• Press the Enter key on the keyboard
• If the item is found, a new reference is created in Zotero with the bibliographic information