LibGuides: Citation Management Software: Organizing Citations

Organizing References

Create a Collection and Sub-Collection

To create a collection:

Open the Zotero desktop app
Click My Library
Click New Collection
Type the collection name and click OK

To create a sub-collection:

Open the Zotero desktop app
Click the name of the original collection
Click New Sucbollection
Type the sub-collection name and click OK

Share Collections with Other Researchers

Zotero allows you to share collections with others by creating either private or public groups. Please visit Zotero's documentation page for more information.

Add References to a Collection or Sub-Collection

References can be included in multiple collections or sub-collections.

Open the Zotero desktop app
Select the item(s) you want to add to a collection or sub-collection
Drag and drop to the collection or sub-collection

Add Tags to References

Tags are keywords that allow you to describe an item. You can add multiple tags to a single reference.

To add tags:

Open the Zotero desktop app
Click the reference you would like to tag
Click the Tags tab
Click Add and type the name of the tag
- Zotero will automatically suggest matching existing tags
Hit Enter on your keyboard or click the matching tag name

Rename Tags and Assign Colors

Open the Zotero desktop app
Navigate to the Tag Selector area
Right click the name of a tag and select Rename Tag
Type the new name of the tag
Click OK
- Zotero will update the tag name across all items that include it
- Follow the same instructions to Assign a Tag Color or to Delete a Tag

Attach a PDF to a Reference

Open the Zotero desktop app
Right click the reference you would like to attach the PDF to
Click Add Attachment and select Attach Stored Copy of File

Add a Note to a Reference

Open the Zotero desktop app
Select the reference you would like to add the note to
Click Notes and select Add
Type the note text
Zotero will automatically save what you type

Find Duplicate References

Duplicate references are those that have been added to the same Zotero Library more than once. Items added to more than one Collection are not considered duplicate items.