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Zotero

Quick Citation for Copying and Pasting Using Zotero on the Desktop

Creating a Single Bibliographic Citation

Open Zotero on your desktop.  You will need to set your preferences for the default bibliographic style first.  Go to "Edit" and select "Preferences."

Then click on "Cite" and select the default citation style.  For the purposes of this demonstration, the 7th edition for APA formatting will be selected.  Once you have made your selection, click on "Okay."

Then, select the item for which you wish to create a bibliographic reference.  Then, click on "Edit" and "Copy Bibliography."

Now, open a word processing document.  For the purposes of this demonstration, Microsoft Word will be used.  You can paste the citation any number of ways.  You can use "Ctrl v" on your keyboard (or "command v" if you are on a Mac).  You can right click using your mouse and select "Paste."  You can click on "Paste" in Word, located on the toolbar (left side under the word, "File," but do NOT click on "File;" click on "Paste.)

These are machine generated, so always make sure to double-check the citation using a source such as the OWL at Purdue.

 

Creating a Bibliography Using the Zotero Plug-in for Word

Creating Bibliographies in Word

Note that In order to create bibliographies, the desktop version of Zotero will need to be open.  Then, open your Word document.  You should see "Zotero" on your toolbar.  Click on "Zotero."  You should see a tool bar that looks similar to this:

Click on the "Add/Edit Citation" button.  A box will open, and you will be prompted to select the formatting style for your bibliography.  In the example below, the 7th edition of APA formatting has been selected.  Once you have selected the desired formatting style, click on "Okay."

  

You will then get a red Zotero box like the one shown below:

Click on the arrow next to the "Z" and select "Classic View."

You will get get a screen that looks like the one below.  In order to add multiple items, select "Multiple Sources."

A box will open up on the right side. To add an item, select the item, and then click on the green arrow pointing to the right.  Do this for each item that you wish to be included in your bibliography.

In order to remove an item, select the item inside the box, and then click on the green arrow pointing to the left.

Once you have all of the desired items included, click "Okay."  You will get a screen that looks like this, but don't panic, as there is one more step before this will look like a bibliography.

Now, you will highlight the line that you see at the top of your page and then click on "Add/Edit Bibliography."  You will be prompted to replace the Zotero view, and you will click "Okay."  Once you have done this, you will see the actual bibliography with full bibliographic citations.

These are machine generated citations, so these may and often do have errors.  You will still need to check your citations by using a source such as the OWL at Purdue.

Google Docs Integration

Creating Bibliographies in Google Docs

First, make sure that Zotero is open on your desktop.  Then, open a Google document.  You should see "Zotero" on your toolbar.  Click on "Zotero" and select "Add/edit citation."

If this is your first time using this integration, you may be prompted to select a Google account.  If that is the case, you will get a screen that looks similar to this:

Select the SAME account within which you are currently working.  You may get a message that Zotero is updating your document.  Don't be fooled by this, as a new window has opened up on your desktop task bar.  It is called "Zotero Document Preferences."  Click on "Zotero Document Preferences."

You will then see a screen that looks like this one, and you will select the appropriate formatting style for your bibliography.  In the example, the 7th edition for APA formatting is selected.  Once you have made your selection, click on "Okay."

You will then get a red Zotero box like the one shown below:

Click on the arrow next to the "Z" and select "Classic View."

You will get get a screen that looks like the one below.  In order to add multiple items, select "Multiple Sources."

A box will open up on the right side. To add an item, select the item, and then click on the green arrow pointing to the right.  Do this for each item that you want to be included in your bibliography.

In order to remove an item, select the item inside the box and then click on the green arrow pointing to the left.

Once you have all items included, click "Okay."  You will get a screen that looks like this, but don't panic, as there is one more step before this will look like a bibliography.

You will highlight the information that you see on the document, and then under "Zotero," select "Add/edit bibliography."  You will be prompted to replace the Zotero view, and you will click "Okay."  Then, you get a document that looks like this:

These are machine generated citations, so these may and often do have errors.  You will still need to check your citations by using a source such as the OWL at Purdue.