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Zotero

Zotero Connector

The Easiest (and recommended) Way to Export into Zotero

The fastest way to export a resource from a database into Zotero is to use the Zotero Connector:

Zotero has plug-ins for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox known as the Zotero Connector that makes it quick & easy to capture PDFs and citation information as you're navigating databases and journals. Simply click on the connector while on the current webpage when you want to save an item or items.

NOTE: You must have the Zotero application open on your computer for the Connector to send articles to Zotero.

Library search example

Here's an example using Zotero Connecter with the Chester Fritz Library Search:

1. You can add all items on a page of results at once, or one item at a time.

2. On your page of results, click on the Zotero Connector browser tool once you have it installed. It will now look like a manila folder →  Zotero Folder icon

3. Click on the check boxes for the items you want to import to Zotero, or Select All

4. Click OK

5. Choose the folder in Zotero where you would like the citations saved, and click OK

 

Zotero Popup window of results on Library SEARCH

Exporting Citations

Using the Export Option

Instead of the Zotero Connector, look for an Export option within a database, for example:

From Web of Science

  1. Select "Export"
  2. Click on "Other File Formats" and choose "BibteX" 
  3. In the desktop version of Zotero, select Add and then select the BibTeX file you downloaded 

From the Library Catalog

  1. Click on the article title and select Export BibTeX 
  2. Download by selecting the green DOWNLOAD button 
  3. In your desktop Zotero, select File, import, and select the downloaded file which will have the file name starting with Primo_BibTex

Check Your Metadata

Zotero (and other citation managers) "decide" what kind of document something is--a book, journal article, dissertation, etc--based on the "metadata" that comes along with it, which comes from the library catalog, database, website, or the document itself.  Sometimes, that metadata isn't quite right.  It might have the title in ALL CAPS, or call a "report" an "article," list the person writing just the preface as the author, etc. You should check your citations in citation managers to make sure that everything's as it should be.