Zotero

The Zotero Desktop app is the best way to access your library-it has the most functionality of the three access points.

Desktop Library

All Zotero libraries look relatively similar, but variations come down to customization by each user. A Zotero (v. 7) library on a Mac will look something like this:

 Each library will have 3 panes:

1. The left pane that shows your libraries (building icon) and collections (folders), as well as shared group libraries which follow the same file hierarchy.
2. The central pane shows the contents of the collection selected within the left pane. In this case, I've selected "Zotero," so the central pane is showing the contents of that collection. If I were to select "My Library," the center pane would instead show the entire library which includes the content of every collection. Everything shown here is an individual item.
3. The right pane shows the metadata (the "about" data) for the item selected in the center pane.

Navigation Bar

If we zoom in a bit, the navigation bar looks like this:

From left to right we see:

• Create collection - this creates a collection folder under the library of your choice, or a sub-collection in the collection of your choice
• Manual Add - to manually add any item, select the paper plus sign icon and choose the type of material your are citing from a drop down list. Use this when the item has no other metadata  (DOI, ISBN, etc.) that can be used.
• Wizard Add - to instantly import any citation using a DOI, PMID, ISBN, or arXiv ID select the magic wand icon and paste in the digital identifier. This should automatically retrieve the available metadata and populate the item. Be sure to check that nothing is amiss!
• Add a File - You can use this to attach files to citations. Other options to add a file include drag and drop and retrieve.
• Add a note - You can create notes within your library either as "standalone notes," able to be seen in the center pane, or "child notes," which are nested under an item.
• Search - You can search here or click the dropdown to open the advanced search window that will allow you to create a more complex logic search using keywords and fields.

Learn more about adding items here

Once you have installed the Zotero connector and adjusted its settings, you can start importing items directly to Zotero from your browser. Depending on the metadata available, the connector will look different on different pages. Below are a few of the possibilities:

On a new tab, where there is no metadata to import, the Zotero Connector appears as a faded red "Z" icon in the navigation bar.

When an item is open in the browser, the connector displays the appropriate icon. In this case, I have a journal article open, so Zotero displays the lined page icon in the navigation bar. Clicking on the page icon will download the metadata for that item into your library, and depending on your settings, the PDF as well. You can choose which collection a saved item goes to from the drop down by selecting your preferred collection name in the "Saving to" drop-down list. If you need additional information about the file structure, select the carat to the right of the drop-down menu.

When a search in a library catalog or a database like Web of Science is open in the browser, the connector displays a file folder icon. In this case, clicking on the icon will allow you to select which items to import from a list of detected items like this:

Migrating data from other reference managers to Zotero is easy! There are several standardized reference formats like RIS, BibTeX, and CSL JSON, all of which Zotero is capable of importing. Here is a full list of bibliographic formats Zotero can import.

Generally importing a file into Zotero will go like this:

• Menu Bar → File → Import... → A file
  • Once you have selected a file you will be given handling options. Generally, placing the imported collections and items into a new collection will keep them organized together, and you can always move them. For file handling, you can either copy the files to Zotero's storage folder (recommended) or link to them in their original location (interferes with sync, not recommended).

Instructions for specific reference managers here