Start at: Zotero Downloads
Go to Zotero download page and click the blue Download button on the left to install Zotero
You will be prompted to save a file. Save it to your computer.
Find the saved file and double-click to install Zotero
Make sure to use the browser you plan to use when using Zotero in the future. Return to the Zotero download page.
Click the blue Install Connector button on the right to install the Zotero connector for your browser.
A box may appear at the top of the web page asking you to allow the installation. Click “Allow.” Then click the “Install Now” button in the Software Installation pop-up window. After the installation has completed you will need to restart your browser.
If you use Google Chrome as your browser, note that you cannot be signed into your MSU Google account when trying to install the Zotero Browser Connector for Chrome, as this ability does not fall within MSU's Google access. You should be able to install the connector when not signed into any Google account or when signed into a personal Google account as desired.
1. Open Zotero by double-clicking the Zotero desktop icon. Open your browser. Go to Google.com. Verify that an icon resembling a sheet of paper is visible on the right of the address bar in the browser toolbar.
2. Verify that the Word plugin is installed by opening a Word document and looking for the Zotero tab in Word for Windows. In Word for Mac, it may be under the AppleScripts menu (the manuscript icon to the right of the Help menu).
This section provides recommendations and accompanying instructions to set up Zotero for optimal performance with MSU Libraries resources.
A. Some additional features of Zotero are only available online through Zotero.org. This includes syncing, groups (collaboration), posting in the support forums, and sharing your library online. Take advantage of these features by creating a free Zotero.org account.
The URL to register is www.zotero.org/user/register.
B. The sync, or synchronization feature, uses Zotero's cloud storage to back-up your library (free up to 300 MB) and make it accessible from multiple computers. This is a very useful feature if you use both a computer in your office on campus and a laptop that you use at home and in the library. You can install Zotero on both machines and sync your accounts. You can also access your library online at Zotero.org from any computer, regardless of whether or not it has the Zotero application installed.
After registering with Zotero.org, open Zotero and then open the Zotero Preferences menu (click on Edit, then choose Preferences). Click on the Sync tab and enter your Zotero.org username and password.
The Library Lookup (OpenURL) feature in Zotero allows you to connect to the FindText@MSU full text linking tool to automatically search the MSU Libraries electronic holdings and find the full text of an item in your Zotero library that is available only by library subscription.
To configure Library Lookup for MSU, follow these steps:
This completes the configuration. To use the Library Lookup feature, select an item in your library and click on the Locate button (green arrow icon) for options to find and view the item. Choose Library Lookup and a FindText@MSU window will open.
Note: This method may not automatically download full text PDFs. You may have to download available PDFs separately if desired.
A complete list of OpenURL resolvers available at other institutions is posted at https://www.zotero.org/support/locate/openurl_resolvers.
Zotero lets you create Quick Copy bibliographies by highlighting references in the Zotero pane and dragging them into any text field. To set up the preferred citation style for these bibliographies click on the gear icon, choose the Preference menu, and then choose the Export tab. From here, there is a drop down menu to set your preferred citation style.
Don't see your preferred style? Zotero comes preloaded with 15 of the most commonly used citation styles. Many more styles are available for download from the Zotero Style Repository.
Attachments are files that are associated with the items in your library. This includes notes, webpage snapshots, and full-text files. This is what an item with attachments looks like:
The default setting is for Zotero to add attachments automatically, such as a webpage snapshot and the full text PDF if available. This can be convenient, but if you want to save on Zotero server storage space then you should consider disabling this feature. You can still selectively choose when to attach a PDF by adding attachments manually.
Tags allow you to categorize and sort items by associating relevant keywords with items in your library. If you are importing an item from a library catalog or database that includes subject classification information, Zotero will detect this and import these classifications as tags. Many people prefer to set up customized invidual tags rather than using library subject classifications when sorting through their Zotero libraries. Consider disabling automatic tags to keep your library clutter free.
You can disable automatic attachments and tags by selecting Tools and then Options, and clicking on the General tab of the Preferences menu. Under the Miscellaneous heading, uncheck "Automatically take snapshots when creating items from web pages", "Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items", and Automatically tag items with keywords and subject headings."
The default setting (on) interferes with downloading from some library databases.
Open your web browser. Right-click the Z icon in your browser bar.
Select “Options”.
Select “Proxies” on the window that appears. Uncheck “Enable proxy redirection”.
