Using the Zotero Connector (browser extension)

The Zotero Connector is the communicator between the Zotero application and your browser. 

Once the Zotero Connector is added to your browser (follow instructions on Getting Started page) you should see the Zotero icon near the browser address bar. The image of this icon will change based on the web page you are visiting. It may be a Z when first installed, or will show specific icons when viewing a book icon of blue book, article icon of sheet of paper, webpageicon of a grey vertical rectangle, or a list of database results icon of a yellow folder.

Add content with the Zotero Connector

  1. Open the Zotero application (desktop)
  2. Select the folder you want the citation to be added to (See Organizing Your Sources for instructions)
  3. Find an item to import in your browser (a webpage, an article, a book, etc)
  4. Click the Zotero Connector icon (paper, book, webpage or folder**)
  • A little window will briefly appear below the icon as the information is collected.
  • In the Zotero program, a new reference is created with the bibliographic information.
  • If a PDF was on the page, it is also saved in the Zotero program
  • If it was a webpage, a Snapshot will be saved to Zotero (a copy of the webpage at that point in time)
  • NOTE: The connector works best for adding articles and books from library databases

**If the icon is a folder, you can select one or multiple items from page and a new reference is created in Zotero for each.

Add Sources Manually

Add content manually

  1. Open the Zotero application
  2. Select the green New Item  button at the top of the center column
  3. Select the desired item type from the drop-down menu (e.g. book, article, etc)
  4. Enter the bibliographic information in the right panel

NOTE: Use for adding items not available online (e.g. interviews, personal communication)

Add Sources by Identifier

Add content by DOI, ISBN, or PMID

  1. Open the Zotero application
  2. Click on the folder you want the item saved to
  3. Select the wand icon 
  4. Enter the DOI, ISBN, or PMID in the box
  5. Zotero will create an item and attach any open access content it can find online

 

Proofread

Although Zotero is helpful, it isn't perfect. Always double check the bibliographic information for your sources and make edits when needed.