There are two steps to moving from RefWorks to Zotero:
- Export your RefWorks library (or part of it).
- Import the library into Zotero.
Let's start with Zotero
- If you haven't already, go to the Get Started tab and follow the instructions to create a Zotero account, download the client, and configure your preferences.
- You may wish to set up the ZotFile plugin before you go further. See that tab for more details.
Now go to RefWorks
Option 1:
If you want to keep your folders organized as they already are, right-click a single folder (1) and choose Export (2). Select Bibliographic Software (3). This should download a text file. If it opens in a new tab instead, go to the browser menu and choose "Save as" to download the txt file.

Option 2:
To export your entire library at once, click Export in the Quick Access menu directly under your folders. Then select Bibliographic Software in the Export References pop-up window. This should download a text file. If it opens in a new tab instead, go to the browser menu and choose "Save as" to download the txt file.


Head back to Zotero
- Go to the File menu and choose Import.

- Zotero assumes you want to import from a file. Click Next.

- Select the text file with your RefWorks citations in it.

- Make sure "Place imported collections and items into new collection" is checked. Even though the box has information about File Handling, it will NOT import any of your PDFs. Click Next.

- Click Finish.

- Rename the new Collection (see the Organize & Find References for more details about Collections) to match the RefWorks folder it came from (or to whatever you prefer).
And now RefWorks again
- If the folder of references you just imported had any digital files, such as full-text PDFs, download those files now. You'll probably want to rename them to something you can easily identify, so you can match them with the new items in your Zotero library.
And finally, Zotero
- Open the folder on your computer where you stored your downloaded digital files.
- Select the file that is the full-text of one of your references, drag it into Zotero, and drop it on top of the matching reference.
- Zotero will attach the file to the refernece; if you've set up ZotFile, it will also rename it based on your ZotFile preferences, and store it in your preferred folder location.
If text-based instructions are not for you, this video provides very clear instructions for how to export your references and import them into your Zotero client.