Subject guides: Zotero: Getting started

Is Zotero right for me?

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool that helps you collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources. Zotero automatically senses content in your web browser, allowing you to add it to your personal library with a single click. You can add PDFs, images, audio and video files, or snapshots of web pages.

Use Zotero to:

organise your personal research library
share references with other researchers
cite resources from your library and easily change citation styles
generate bibliographies automatically in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or OpenOffice
synchronise your research library across multiple devices

Just need a quick citation or reference list? Try Zoterobib. You will still need to check every citation, so it can be easier to create citations manually for shorter assignments.

Download Zotero

Step 1: The standalone Zotero program (includes the word processor plug in). Zotero is available for Windows, Linux or macOS

Step 2: The Zotero connector on your browser for webscraping. Supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari which Zotero will detect.

For help installing Zotero after download, see the Zotero installation page.

Online accounts are free. You don't need an account to use Zotero software, but it allows you to join groups and sync your library across multiple devices.

To link Zotero software to Zotero online and sync your data, open your Zotero Preferences > Sync > Settings. Then sign in with your account details.

Once installed, display options can be changed in the middle panel.

Right click on one of the headings (eg Title) in the middle panel
Select from the list of options

Click on title to get list of options

If the field you need isn't in the list, click on More Columns, and select from the list

click for more options

Reorder columns by dragging them. Click on the column heading and hold while dragging it.
Columns can be resized by hovering over the border of the columns until the cursor changes to , then clicking and dragging.

Zotero Storage

Zotero Storage provides online storage space for your Zotero files, allowing you to synchronise PDFs, images, web snapshots, and other files among all your devices, share your Zotero attachments in group libraries, and access files via your online library on zotero.org.