Citation Management with Zotero

Quick Search

The search box at the top of the center pane, at the far right edge of the pane, is useful for running simple searches of your library.

The drop-down menu lets you select from a few different search options. You can really only search a single word or phrase effectively using Quick Search.

 

Advanced Search

In the drop-down menu above or under "Edit," select "Advanced Search."

 

In this box, you have much more control over where you search. You can create complex searches (such as a word in the title, plus an author's last name, plus a tag). You can also use the % (percent) sign as a wildcard in Advanced Search.

Saving Searches

In Advanced Search, you can save a search, which will then appear as an option in your collections in the left-hand pane. Click on the saved search name to run it at any time.

Collections are folders in which to organize your references. All your references will always display in the main "My Library" folder, but you can also group them into named collections and subcollections. This is less like the folder organization of your computer and more like creating playlists: My Library is your library of music, and each folder is a playlist  you create from items in your library.

To add a collection:

• Click the New Collection icon (a folder with a plus on it) in the left-hand Zotero pane.
  
  
   
• A pop up box will appear asking you to name the collection.
   
• If you want this to be a sub-collection, drag it into the relevant folder. You can also create sub-collections by simply right-clicking the intended parent folder and choosing "New Sub-collection."
  
  
   
• Drag and drop items into your collection/s.

Other useful things to know about collections:

• If a collection is selected when you add an item to Zotero, the item will automatically be dropped into that collection. If you add something to a collection by mistake, just right click it and select "Remove Item from Collection..." Don't worry, this doesn't delete it from your library.
  
  
• Not sure which collections your references are in? Select an item in your library and then hold down the Ctrl, Option, or Alt (Linux) key. The collection or collections that include that reference will be highlighted in yellow.
  
  
  
  References that currently aren't in any collection are in the "Unfiled Items" special collection in the left-hand pane.
  
  
• Want to move a reference, rather than copy it, from one collection to another? Hold down the Command or Shift key, then drag and drop the item as usual.
   
• If you want to delete an entire collection, but not the items in it, right-click the collection folder and choose "Delete Collection."
  
  
  
  All your items will still live in your library. Deleting a collection also deletes any sub-collections.

Tags are descriptive keywords you can add to items in your library. They appear in the Tag Selector box at the bottom of the left-hand Zotero pane. Clicking on one will only show you references with that tag.

Automatic Tags

Zotero sometimes adds tags automatically, pulling in data like subject headings when you import a reference from a database. To avoid this, go to Edit → Settings→ General tab and uncheck the box for "Automatically tag items with keywords and subject headings."


 

Automatic tags can be hidden by opening the Tag Selector's Actions menu (the multi-colored dots in the bottom right of the box) and unchecking "Show Automatic." You can also delete existing automatic tags by choosing that option in the same menu.
 

Manual Tags

To tag a reference, select it in the center pane and click the "Tags" icon in the right-hand icon list. The right panel will scroll to the Tags pane. Click "+" in the Tags pane to add a new tag.
 

If you start typing and there's already a tag in your collection similar to that, it will show up as a suggestion.
 

To tag anything else (a file, link, or note, for example), select it in the center pane. Follow the steps above.

An easier way to add tags, so you don't have to remember the ones you've already created, is to select something in the center column and drag it onto the tag in the Tag Selector. This works for anything in your library.
 

Manage Tags

To remove tags, select the tagged item and click the minus sign next to the tag in the right-hand pane.
 

To rename or delete tags from your library, look at the tag box at the bottom of the left-hand pane. Right-click the tag you want to modify.
 

To merge tags, for example because you accidentally created both "teenagers" and "teenager," simply rename one to match the other. 
 

Searching Using Tags

You can search for items using tags in the search box at the top of the center pane, in the "Advanced Search" under "Edit," or by simply clicking on a tag in the Tag Selector box.

You can search your existing tags using the search box at the bottom of the tag box, too. Keep in mind that selecting more than one tag in that box is an AND search: an item must have ALL of the tags in order to appear in the center pane.

Coloring Your Tags

You can assign colors to up to nine of your tags, which will add a colored circle next to tagged items.
 

Colored tags take priority in the Tag Selector box and appear at the top of the tag list for an item.
 

Right-click a tag in the Tag Selector to add or remove a color.
 

You can create a relationship between items in your library using the Related feature.

To do this:

1. Select one of your references in the center pane.
    
2. In the right-hand icon bar, choose the "Related" icon   then click "+."
   
    
3. Select one or more items from your library and click "Select."
   
   
    

Note that when you relate item A to B, B will be automatically related to A. But relations are not transitive: relating A to B, and B to C, will not automatically relate A to C.

If you find relating items helpful, you may want to install the plugin Zutilo, which allows you to select several references in the center pane, right click, and relate them all at the same time.