Citation Management with Zotero

Zotero 6.0 is the current version of Zotero. It's a standalone program, or "client," that works in conjunction with a browser extension called the Zotero Connector. The most efficient process, outlined below, is to create your Zotero account and then complete the installation process.

Step 1: Register for a Zotero account

You can use whatever email address you prefer to set it up. Be sure to write down your username and password. After registering, go to your email and activate your account.

Step 2: Download Zotero 6.0 for your computer

• Open the downloaded file and install Zotero. It will open automatically once installed.
• Please note! At this point your default web browser will open. Close or minimize your browser and complete the final part of Step 2 before you move on to Step 3.
• In Zotero, you'll see a Welcome to Zotero! message. Click on the blue Set up syncing link in the message and login with your Zotero username and password, then click OK.
• If you use a Mac, quit Zotero and restart it to ensure the Microsoft Word integration takes effect.

Step 3: Install Zotero Connector for your browser

If you use Chrome, Firefox, or Edge:

• Using your preferred browser, go to the link below and click the button to install the Zotero Connector.
• If you then don't see the Connector in your toolbar, follow your browser's instructions to pin it there.

If you use Safari:

1. Go to the Safari menu, choose Preferences, then choose Extensions. Check the box next to the Zotero Connector to enable it.
2. Go to the View menu, choose Customize toolbar, and drag the Zotero Connector extension to your toolbar.
3. If you do not see the Zotero Connector in your available extensions, you may need to remove the Zotero application and reinstall it; this is a known issue with Safari, so if you run into trouble, consider using Chrome or Firefox instead.

Under the Edit menu, choose Preferences (Windows/Linux); on a Mac, under the Zotero menu, choose Settings.

Select Sync, enter your account information, and press the Set Up Syncing button. Zotero will then sync your library and files automatically to zotero.org and on any other computers on which you have Zotero installed.

To change the default font size, which is very small, go to the View menu, choose Font Size, and make it Bigger.

To streamline the process of getting full text articles from the library, modify the OpenURL link resolver in your preferences

Under the Edit menu (or Zotero menu on Mac), choose Preferences and select Advanced. In the General tab, under OpenURL, replace the link currently in the Resolver box with this one: https://webservices.lib.uconn.edu/redirect/

This will enable you to use the Locate menu to easily access the library's full text articles and place interlibrary loan requests for items we don't own. The Locate menu is the green arrow above the right-hand details pane in Zotero; changing the link resolver modifies the Library Lookup option in the Locate menu.

Now Library Lookup will work just like the UCONN Full Text buttons in our library databases.

Your off-campus access to library resources uses the library's proxy server. Zotero will detect when you're using a proxy system. The first time you access a site, it will ask if you want to save that site in your proxies. The aim is to make your access to full text articles more seamless.

What does this mean for you?

You'll probably see a yellow bar pop up at the top of your browser the first time you try to access one of our proxied resources, asking if you'd like to proxy the site automatically. Select Proxy Settings to modify your settings.

You can also get to the proxy settings manually by right-clicking the Zotero Connector in your browser and choosing Options (Chrome) or Manage extension ⇒ Options in Firefox. This feature is not available in Safari.

In the Options screen, choose Proxies. Make sure the Enable proxy redirection box is checked. This automatically checks the two boxes below it.

To ensure the Zotero Connector goes through our UConn proxy server, tap the plus sign (+) under the Configured Proxies box. Then enter this text in the Scheme box: %h.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/%p

Zotero's ability to locate, automatically import, and store digital files is a valuable feature. Your Zotero account has 300 MB of free storage; after that, they offer a tiered pricing plan.

ZotFile is a Zotero plugin that allows you to store your files elsewhere in the cloud, such as your UConn OneDrive account, Dropbox, or Google Drive. For more information about ZotFile, see the Plugins section of this guide, or go directly to ZotFile's information and download page.

Zotero strongly recommends you back up your data in addition to syncing it.