Zotero [Zoh-TAIR-roh] is a free citation manager that collects, organizes, cites, and shares your sources.
Go to the Zotero Download Page, and click "Install Zotero"
If you are installing Zotero on a university-owned computer, you can bypass the Administration authentication page by downloading Zotero from the ITS Software Center.
A Word Processor Plugin is automatically installed when you download Zotero. This easy-to-use plug-in lets you insert citations and bibliographies directly into Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. Although the plug-in automatically installs for Microsoft Word, you can learn more about plug-in functionality on the Zotero Word Processor Plug-In site.
The Zotero Connectors allow your web browser to save citations to your Zotero library automatically. Open the web browser you would like to use Zotero with, and click the Zotero Connector link for that browser to install it.
Each browser has its own version of the Zotero connector, so if you use Chrome and Firefox when doing research, you'll need to install both connectors.
After you have installed the connector, be sure to close and restart the browser.
Create an account on the Zotero website and, once you've validated your new account by email, Zotero will ask you to finish setting up your preferences.
Log in on the Zotero website with your username and password, then open Zotero Standalone by clicking on the Zotero icon in the browser toolbar or opening the Zotero Standalone app from your computer's dock.
On a Mac computer: click the actions menu button (which looks like a gear), at the top of the left column and click "Preference". Then click the "'Sync" tab.
On a PC computer: click the "Edit" drop-down from the top of the app, and click "Preference", then click the "Sync" tab
Enter your username and password into the sync preferences.
Zotero will now automatically sync your saved items!
Open your Zotero library by clicking on the "Z" in the upper right-hand corner of your browser. Zotero can automatically tell if you are looking at a book, article, or website online. In the upper right-hand corner of your browser, an icon will display next to the Zotero "Z" icon. Click the icon to save the resource to your Zotero Library.
Also, if you're on a page with more than one resource, the icon will display as a manila folder. You can choose multiple items to add to your Zotero library from the manila folder.
Zotero can also save newspapers, blogs, audio recordings, artwork, and tons more. Usually, Zotero displays the icon in the upper right-hand corner of Firefox to reflect what the item is, but if Zotero isn't sure what the item you're saving actually is, Zotero will save it as a website and you can edit the details of the item after it is saved.
Easily organize your citations by creating folders - click on the yellow manila envelope in the top left-hand corner of the Zotero panel. Name the collection, and then add the citations to it by dragging and cropping the resource from your main Zotero library. Citations can exist in multiple collections folders at once without you having to save the citation more than once.
It's also easy to attach files or PDFs to your citations. Simply drag and drop the item into the citation you want it to be attached to, or, to create a new citation, drop them in between library citations.
To create a bibliography, open Zotero by clicking the "Z" in the upper right-hand corner of the browser, then right-click on the folder that contains the citations you want to make into a bibliography. Choose "Create Bibliography from Collection".
Choose the citation style you want to use, the output mode will automatically be set to "Bibliography" and you can opt to either save the document as an RTF or copy to a clipboard. Either method will allow you to copy and paste the bibliography into your paper.
Zotero also allows you to create in-text citations by using a Word Processor Integration PlugIn.
Zotero comes with many citation styles, but many more are available to download.
To install a style (via Firefox browser):
To install a style (via Zotero Standalone):
The new style will appear in Zotero's style file.