The easiest way to save items to your Zotero library is using the Zotero Connector for your browser (see installing Zotero if you have not yet installed it.) Immediately after you install it, the Zotero Connector should appear to the right of your browser search bar with the Z icon. You'll need to click this to activate it. Some browsers then might hide it from your browser bar. To ensure it's always visible, open your list of browser extensions, find Zotero, and make sure it's been pinned to your browser bar.
To use the Zotero connector, you have to have your Zotero desktop library open on your computer to save citations to it - this will not work with your library on the Zotero website. Then, based on what website you're on, Zotero can automatically tell if you are looking at a book, article, or website online. When you're on the webpage of a source you want, click on this icon to save its information to your library. A pop-up window will then appear to show you it's saving the item and in which folder - Zotero usually saves citations to the folder you currently have open by default. However, sometimes it will randomly switch folders. Pay attention to where it's going and, if it's not to the right folder, you can select the drop-down menu and choose the one you want.
Zotero can also save newspapers, blogs, audio recordings, artwork and more. Most of the time, Zotero will scan the page and the Connector icon will change to reflect what the item is (e.g., a rolled up newspaper for newspapers). If Zotero isn't sure what the item you're saving actually is, it will save it as a website, and you'll have to edit the details of the item after it is saved. The icon looks like a blue book in the screenshot below.
Also, if you're on a page with more then one resource, the icon will display as a manila folder. Then you can choose multiple items to add to your Zotero library.
The Zotero Connector should work the vast majority of the time. However, if it doesn't, there are other ways to add an item to your Zotero library. If you've downloaded a born-digital item, you can usually drag and drop the file over whichever Zotero folder you want it in. Zotero will then create a record for the item automatically. However, this will not work with an item that has been scanned from print or older items.
If the item has a persistent identifier, such as an ISBN for books or a DOI for journal articles or datasets, you can select Add Items by Identifier at the top of the middle pane of Zotero desktop. In the small box that appears, you can then enter that identifier, and Zotero will work to create a record of the item for you.
Finally, if none of the other options work, you can always create a record manually by selecting New Item (icon appears as a page outline with a circle in the bottom right corner) at the top of the middle pane of Zotero desktop. You will choose which item type you want and then enter information into the provided fields. Don't feel you need to fill out all the fields - we suggest focusing on the ones used in the citation style of your choice.
The Zotero desktop has three panes: the left one shows all your folders, the middle pane will show individual items in whichever folder is selected, and then the right pane will show metadata (the information needed for a citation) for any item selected in the middle pane.
Easily organize your citations by creating folders by clicking on the yellow manila envelope icon labeled New Collection in the top left corner of the Zotero panel. Name the collection, and then add citations to it by dragging and dropping the resource from your main Zotero library. Citations can exist in multiple collection folders at once without you having to save the citation more than once. You can also create subcollections by right clicking on any collection and choosing New Subcollection.
It's also easy to attach files or PDFs to your citations. Simply drag and drop the item into the citation you want it to be attached to, or, to create a new citation, drop the item in between library citations.
Zotero is great for generating citations for items in your Zotero library; however, the citation will only be as good as the metadata Zotero has. Usually when Zotero creates a record for an item, you will not need to make any changes to the metadata. However, sometimes you might notice the metadata is not correct. For instance, the author's name field is blank when there is a known author, or it put the title of a journal in the field for the article title. All of these fields are editable - you can just click in any of them and start typing to correct them. Fixing any errors you see within Zotero desktop can save you a lot of hassle down the road.
