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Citation Management

Writing a paper is hard! It's a little bit easier with citation management.

Collect Citations

How do I use Zotero Connector to add citations to Zotero Standalone?

After downloading Zotero Standalone and installing Zotero Connector you’re ready to collect citations with the click of a button!

To collect a citation with the Zotero Connector button:

  • Locate an article using a browser (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc.).

  • Click on the Zotero Connector icon in your browser’s toolbar (top, right corner).

    • Zotero will save the article in ‘My Library’ in Zotero Standalone and include the PDF if it’s available.

Screenshot of using the Zotero Connector to add citations to Zotero Standalone

 

The Zotero Connector icon looks different based on the type of item you’re viewing. Here are a few different item types and their icons:

  • The journal article icon looks like a page with lots of lines on it Enlarged screenshot of the Zotero Connector icon for a journal article.

  • The video icon looks like a webcam Enlarged screenshot of the Zotero Connector icon for a video.

  • The book icon looks like a book Enlarged screenshot of the Zotero Connector icon for a book.

  • The website icon looks like a page with a blue bar at the bottom Enlarged screenshot of the Zotero Connector icon for a website.

How do I add PDFs that I have saved on my computer to Zotero?

You may have a collection of PDFs stored locally on your computer. If you want to add these PDFs to Zotero there are three ways to do it:
 

  1. Drag and drop PDFs into Zotero Standalone.

  • Zotero scans the PDFs for information and then matches the information to a source online.

    • Zotero searches through Crossref (a database) and Google Scholar.

  • When Zotero matches information, it changes your PDF into a full citation and renames your PDF.

Screenshot of adding citation information to PDFs in Zotero Standalone.
 

  1. Store a copy of a file from within Zotero Standalone 

  • Click on the green plus sign in Zotero's center column

  • Select 'Store Copy of File.' 

    • You will be prompted to choose which file. 

    • You can choose one file at a time or select multiple files by using CTRL-click.

  • Once you have selected your files and clicked 'Open,' Zotero will begin adding your PDFs.

Screenshot of storing a copy of a file in Zotero Standalone.
 

  1. Add attachments

  • Choose a citation that you want to add a PDF to. 

  • Right-click and select 'Add Attachment' then 'Attach Stored Copy of File...'

    • There are two other choices but this one is recommended because it’s the safest

  • Choose your file (PDF) and click ‘Open’

Screenshot of adding attachments to Zotero Standalone.
 

If you’ve added already PDFs to your library and they don't have citation information, see our FAQ on adding citation information to PDFs for instructions.

How do I add citations to Zotero using DOIs, ISBNs, or other unique numbers?

Books, journal articles, conference papers, datasets, and other item types may have unique numbers that you can use to collect citation information.

To use these unique numbers from with Zotero Standalone.

  1. Click on the magic wand icon (top, left corner of the center panel).

  2. Enter the number(s) in the field that pops up.

    • You can enter multiple numbers for a single item type at the same time but you cannot enter numbers for multiple item types at the same time.

      • For example, you can enter and find citations for many different DOIs at the same time but not for DOIs and ISBNs at the same time.

  3. Click ‘Search.’

    • Zotero searches through Crossref (a database) and Google Scholar.

  4. Zotero will save citations in ‘My Library’ in Zotero Standalone and include PDFs if they’re available.

Screenshot of Zotero highlighting magic wand icon in center panel with DOIs entered into the drop down field.


Here’s a list of some unique numbers you can use in Zotero:

  • Digital Object Identifier or DOI.

    • Example: 10.1681/ASN.2020081175

  • International standard book number or ISBN.

    • Example: 9780262043502

  • arXiv identification number or arXiv ID

    • Example: 1602.03837v1

  • PubMed identification number or PMID

    • Example: 34288289

How do I import citations from a file into Zotero?

You can import files that contain bibliographic information! These files end in .bib, .ris, or .rdf. Plus, if you have a .txt file that is formatted like a bibliographic file, you can import that, as well.

Screenshot of a file formatted with bibliographic information

To import files into Zotero Standalone:

  1. Go to file (top, left corner)

  2. Select import

Screenshot of importing files into Zotero Standalone.

  1. Zotero will ask ‘Where do you want to import from?’ There are two choices.

  • A file (BibTeX, RIS, Zotero RDF, etc.)

  • Mendeley Reference Manager (online import)

Screenshot of where you want to import files from in Zotero Standalone.

  1. Choose ‘A file…’ and click ‘Next’

  2. Locate your file, select it, and click ‘Open’

  3. Zotero will then offer some options:

  • The first is a checkbox to ‘Place imported collection and items into a new collection’

    • If you want to keep track of the files you have imported, keep this box checked. Otherwise Zotero will add the items to ‘My Library’ without organizing them

  • Next there is an option about ‘File Handling’

    • Copy files to the Zotero storage folder

    • Link to files in original location

Screenshot of file handling options in Zotero Standalone.

  1. Choose ‘Copy files to the Zotero storage folder’ click ‘Next.’ 

    1. This is the best choice so that you don’t lose access to original files later.

  2. An ‘Import Complete’ window pops up when the items have been imported

  3. Click ‘Finish’ and you will see a folder under ‘My Library’ with the same name as your imported file

Screenshot of import complete and new folder in My Library in Zotero Standalone.

How do I manually enter citations in Zotero?

If you can’t add citations to Zotero Standalone using any other method, you can enter citations manually.

To enter citations manually from within Zotero Standalone:

  1. Select the green circle with the plus sign (top, left of the center panel).

  2. Choose the item you want to add manually (for example, book, book section, email, etc.)

Screenshot of button used to enter citations into Zotero manually.
 

  1. Zotero will open the right panel where you can start adding information by typing in each field.

Screenshot of panel in Zotero Standalone where you enter citations manually.