Save Citations - Overview
You can add citations to your Zotero library in a number of different ways:
1. Import citation information from databases and library catalogs.
3. Automatically save web pages.
4. Retrieve metadata associated with PDF files.
5. Import citation information from other citation management tools.
6. Manually enter citation information.
Note: If you use EndNote, you need to change the default settings in Zotero so that you are not prevented from using Direct Export to EndNote features. To do so, right-click on the Zotero connector in your web browser, select Options, and under Automatic File Importing, uncheck the box that says Import BibTeX/RIS/Refer files into Zotero.
Where are citations saved?
By default, your Zotero library is stored in a folder called Zotero in your user directory on your computer. You can choose some other options; for more information, see The Zotero Data Directory.
Import Citations from Databases and Catalogs
Zotero is compatible with many databases and library catalogs, including:
- Library Catalog Search
- JSTOR
- ProQuest
- PubMed
- EBSCOhost
- InfoTrac
- OCLC FirstSearch
You may view the full list of systems that Zotero supports.
Once you have your search results, you can import multiple citations at the same time or choose just one individual citation.
If you are on a page with a list of results, a Folder icon (
) will appear in your address bar. If you are looking at an individual record, a Book icon (
) or Article icon (
) will appear instead. Click on the displayed icon.
- If it is an individual record, it will immediately be added to your library.
- If it is a result list, a box will appear with a list of all of the records so you can check the items you would like to import.
Click OK and your items will appear in your library.
Create Citations from Webpages
With Zotero, you can create an item from any webpage by clicking the save button in the browser toolbar. If the page isn't recognized by a translator, you'll see the gray webpage icon. If the page does have a recognized translator, you can force Zotero to save a Web Page item instead by right-clicking (click-and-hold in Safari) on the Zotero save button and choosing “Save to Zotero (Web Page with/without Snapshot)”
Firefox:
Safari:
If “Automatically take snapshots when creating items from web pages” is enabled in the General tab of the Zotero preferences, a copy (or snapshot) of the webpage will be saved to your computer and added as a child item. You can also save a snapshot with this setting disabled by right-clicking (click-and-hold in Safari) on the Zotero save button and choosing the relvant option. To view the saved copy, double-click the item or the snapshot in Zotero.
Double-clicking a Web Page item without a snapshot in your library will take you to the original webpage. Double-clicking a Web Page item with a snapshot will display the snapshot instead. You can also visit the original webpage by clicking the ”URL:” label to the left of the URL field in Zotero's right-hand pane.