Zotero

Zotero can be downloaded free of charge at zotero.org.

Zotero is also made available via the URZ software kiosk.

Zotero is installed on all public PCs in the University Library.

Zotero runs on Windows, macOS and Linux computers.

No, registration is not absolutely necessary.

If you create a free account with Zotero, you can synchronize your local Zotero library with the Zotero cloud and access it anywhere with the Zotero web application. Registration is mandatory for group projects.

Yes, if you register with Zotero, you can open and edit your library in your browser. There are also various apps for Android and iOS.

Further guides and detailed instructions can be found in the Zotero documentation. You may also find the video tutorials of the TU Berlin University Library helpful.

You can create a free Zotero account via Edit > Preferences > Sync. To set up data synchronization between your local Zotero library and the Zotero cloud, enter the username and password of your Zotero account and click on Set Up Syncing.

Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Files and Folders, you can see the current storage location and adjust it if necessary.

Under Edit > Preferences > General > Locate you can select the link resolver of the University of Greifswald via Europe > Germany > University of Greifswald. You can now check directly from Zotero whether titles are available at Greifswald University Library. To do this, select the desired title in Zotero, click on the arrow at the side navigation bar and select Library Lookup.

You can add more styles to the list of existing citation styles by searching the Zotero Style Repository via Edit > Preferences > Cite. To do this, click Get additional styles.

In Zotero, you have the option of adding titles from your Zotero library to various collections. When you start a new writing project, you can create a new collection for it. To do this, click on the folder icon at the top left.

Zotero provides 300 MB of cloud storage free of charge. This is usually sufficient for student projects. The cloud storage serves as online storage space for your Zotero files and is required to synchronize PDFs, images, web snapshots and other files with all your devices and to access files via your online library on zotero.org.

Additional storage can be purchased from Zotero. Alternatively, it is also possible to integrate other cloud storage services via WebDAV (e.g. Nextcloud).

The University library of the TU Hamburg explains how you can connect Nextcloud with Zotero in a blog post.

Yes, this requires a free registration with Zotero.

After logging in, you can create a new group or search for an existing one under Groups. The creator can also determine the rights management and invite members to the group. All members can then save, manage and annotate their literature together in the group.

Please note that the free storage available is limited to 300 MB. The storage used in group libraries is always deducted from the storage volume of the group creator. In contrast to personal libraries, it is not possible to expand the storage of group libraries by connecting to Nextcloud and it is currently only possible to purchase additional Zotero storage.

The storage extension, which is subject to a charge for group libraries, is currently being tested until 31 December 2025. Please contact literaturverwaltunguni-greifswaldde if you are interested and would like more information.

If you want to share a Zotero collection with other people, you can do this in various ways:

1. you can create a group library and copy the collection in question into this group library using drag & drop. In your Zotero account, you can define who can access this group library and with what rights (e.g. read access).

2 Alternatively, you can export a Zotero collection and then make it available for import into another Zotero library. Please follow our instructions for this.

Yes, the Zotero Word add-in is automatically installed with the desktop version. There are also other add-ins, e.g. for LibreOffice.

Yes. On the page Mehr Zeit für die Forschung: Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung für den PDF-Reader und Notizeneditor von Zotero 6 you can inform yourself in detail about important functions.

Yes. In addition to the default short citation dialogue (search field outlined in red), there is also a so-called ‘classic Add citation dialog’, which opens when you click on the Zotero-Z and then select ‘Classic view’. An additional window will then open in which you can get an overview of your collections and their contents as well as information on individual titles. You can, for example, select the desired title for the citation, add page numbers or prefixes and suffixes (e.g. Cf. or See this) or edit several sources. If you want to use the ‘Classic view’ by default, select Edit > Settings > Cite and tick the citation dialogue at the bottom of the settings dialogue.

Yes. In Zotero, but also in other reference management programmes such as Mendeley, citation styles are based on the Citation Style Language (CSL). The Citation Style Language (CSL) is an open XML file format that describes a scheme for formatting citations and bibliographies. An open source visual editor is also available for customising citation styles: editor.citationstyles.org/visualEditor/. It is possible to search for a very specific style (https://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByName/) or for a style that fits as well as possible (https://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/). The selected citation style can then be customised by selecting the individual components of the citations or bibliographies. This user guide provides a basic overview of how the editor works. You can also integrate individually adapted citation styles into your Zotero application by clicking on the ‘+’ sign in the settings dialogue (accessible via Edit > Settings) under ‘Cite’ and selecting the relevant csl file.

Yes. Click on Document Preferences in the Word add-in to select a different style. If the desired citation style is not in the selection list, click on ‘Manage Styles’. This will take you to the settings dialogue and via ‘Get additional styles’ to the Zotero Style Repository, which currently contains over 10,500 citation styles. Click on the desired citation style to add it to the selection list.

Yes. At the end of editing your writing project, you can use the Unlink Citations function in the Word add-in to unlink the text document from Zotero. This can be useful if you want to manually change small details in the documents or in the bibliography. ATTENTION: Unlinking is irreversible. You should therefore make a copy of the document beforehand.