Managing Reference Data with Zotero: Zotero Q&A

• How to add footnote/endnote that is a parenthetical thought rather than a citation of a source?

  • Use Word's insert footnote function. You can safely mix Word processor and Zotero generated footnotes (technically they are the same thing).  You can't use Zotero's insert a citation feature since no citation is used, and you can't just use the prefix or suffix to do that.

  • Alternatively, you can edit the plaintext document after unlinking Zotero citation. 

• If I “insert footnote/endnote” through the MS Word program in same document where I’m inserting Zotero footnotes, will the two systems work perfectly fine together and respect each other to combine the numbering of footnotes?
  • Adding both Zotero citations (using the Zotero plugin) and informational footnotes (using Word’s footnote feature) is no problem. For footnote styles, the numbering is all handled by Word and will work very smoothly. 
  • Refer to How to insert comment/footnote by author that is not a citation on Zotero Forum for more information. 
     
• What to do if you want two things in one footnote:  both a parenthetical thought and a citation of a source from Zotero? Enter sentences between references (see for example:...., for a list of relevant works see...) within the footnote.
  • Place the cursor in the Zotero reference, click the Add/Edit Citation button, then click on the blue reference bubble in the pop up dialog. You can enter that sort of text in the prefix/suffix fields.   
    
    
     
• How to insert citations with different format such as (author, year) or by author (year)?
  • With author-date styles, authors are often moved into the text and omitted from the following parentheses-enclosed citation, e.g.: ”…according to Smith (1776) the division of labor is crucial…”. To omit the authors from the cite, check the “Suppress Author” box (this will result in a cite like ”(1776)” instead of ”(Smith, 1776)”), and write the author's name (“Smith”) as part of the regular text in your document. Refer to Omitting Authors: Using Authors in the Text. However, you will encounter the updating problem as described in this thread "Suppress Author in Author/Date-Style (APA)".
• How to share PDF files in a Zotero collection?
  • Right click over the collection -> Export Collection... ->Zotero RDF, make sure check “Export Files” on Translator Options, choose a temporary place such as Downloads folder or Desktop,  Zotero will create a folder that contains both a .rdf file and a folder that contains the attachment files.  
  • To share a single PDF file, select it, go to Zotero menu, File -> Export, choose a temporary place, save a copy. Then share it. 
• How to annotate PDF files in Zotero?
  • Zotero 6 has a built-in PDF reader that enables you to annotate PDF files. Click on a PDF, it will open in a new tab within Zotero. You can highlight and annotate sentences, paragraph and area. You can also create notes from the annotations. 
• How do I import records from EndNote to Zotero including PDF attachments?
  • The instructions on this Zotero site explains clearly how to do it step-by-step: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/endnote_import
• How can I see what collections my item is in?
  • To see all the collections an item is in, select the item and then hold down the “Option” key (Mac OS X), “Control” key (Windows), or “Alt” key (Linux). This will highlight all collections in yellow color that contain the selected item.
  • To include sub-collections, expand all collections by clicking in the collections pane and pressing the ”+” (plus) key.
• How do I cite in Spanish if my Zotero UI is in English?
  • Simply select the citation language you'd like to use from the appropriate location:
    • The “Create Bibliography from Selected Item(s)” dialog
    • The word processor integration plugin's document preferences window
    • The Quick Copy section in the Export pane of the Zotero preferences
  • Read Zotero language support for more information.
• I have a MacBook Air, Zotero storage takes up too much space. How can I save space on my local computer?
  • Make sure your Zotero library is fully in sync and any files in it are available in the web library
  • Go to the Sync pane of the Zotero preferences, File Syncing -> Download files, choose "as needed" rather than "at sync time".
    • Option A
      • Disconnect your computer from internet. Back up your Zotero library just to stay on the safe side. 
      • Delete your Zotero library on the local computer.
      • Reconnect your computer to internet. Sync your local Zotero library to the web library. 
      • This will fix the space issue for a while. When the space becomes an issue again, you might need to repeat the above steps again. 
    • Option B

      • Go to the "storage" subfolder in your Zotero data directory. Search for and delete any large PDFs or other attachments you find there. Zotero will automatically redownload these files for you whenever you try to open them from within the program.

  • The future version of Zotero will have a feature to let you control local hard drive space usage. 
  • More tips are available at Tips for getting the most out of a paid version of Zotero.
• Is Zotero 6's built-in PDF viewer available for iPad?
  • Based on the documentation of Zotero for iOS, the answer is yes. You can " Read PDFs and add highlight, note, image, and ink annotations’ with Zotero for iOS app.
• What is the difference between the Weblibrary and the local Zotero library?
  • Zotero has always been a local tool/desktop app first. Zotero Desktop application is the primary way of using Zotero and offers complete functionality. Web library is mainly for access purposes. It is a complementary tool for specific situations, e.g., where you're away from your main computer, or there is no Zotero for your platform (e.g., some Chromebooks). For more details, read Web vs Desktop version.
• How do I use Zotero with Overleaf?
  • Make sure you have created a Zotero account online and you have synced your local Zotero library to the Zotero website. 
  • Refer to either of the following guides
    • How to link Zotero to your Overleaf account from the Overleaf.
    • How do I use Zotero with Overleaf? from CalTech Libguide. 
• What is the Rice University's OpenURL resolver?
  • http://linkresolver.library.rice.edu
  • To use Zotero’s Library Lookup feature,  go to Settings-> General → Locate, Base URL: http://linkresolver.library.rice.ed. To find more OpenURL resolvers, go to Zotero's OpenURL resolvers page
• In Zotero group libraries, can you identify who added a note to a PDF, filter by annotation author, or sort based on that?
  • Yes, annotations in group libraries show the user who created them. And you can filter by annotation author. 

For citation styles, refer to Fondren's Citation Style Guides. 

Below are just a few quick links. 

• Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition 
  • Author-Date: Sample Citations 
    • Author-Date sample paper 
      Note: place author-date citations before a mark of punctuation whenever possible, and note that parenthetical citations usually follow direct quotations, but it is acceptable to place them before such a quotation if it allows the date to be placed next to the author's name. 
  • Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations 
    • Foot note sample paper
      Note: numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence to which they refer and should be placed after all punctuation except the dash.
• APA 7th ediiton