Zotero: Zotero "in the cloud": First-time Users

• Goal 1:  Register for a free account at Zotero.org
  • Steps:
    • Go to Zotero.org
    • Click on “Log in”
    • Click on “Register for a Free Account”
      • Create your own username and password for Zotero.
      • Type in a legitimate email address where you can receive email.
      • If you are integrating Zotero and WordPress with an Evergreen program, please use your official Evergreen email!
      • Click the Register button.
    • Check your email and follow instructions there.
    • Check to see that you are logged in at Zotero.org
    • If not, log in to Zotero.org with the username/password you just created.
    • From now on, when using Zotero, keep Zotero.org open and remain logged in.

• Goal 3:  Save a real live citation to your new Zotero library
  • Example:  saving a book citation from the Evergreen catalog
    • Go to the library site (library.evergreen.edu)
    • Do any search you want that gets results
    • Click on the title of any Print Book.
      • Ebooks often have bad data
    • When the page for that book is fully loaded . . .
    • . . .you should see the “blue book” connector in your add-ons toolbar.
      • • 
      • If instead you see the Zotero “Z” icon
        • 
        • ,. . . click on that and follow the prompt – hopefully that will fix things.  Or see the Troubleshooting box.
    • Click on the blue book Zotero connector.
    • Each time that you are newly logged into zotero.org, the first time you try to use the connector you will get this message:
      • 
    • Click on "Enable Saving to Online Library".
    • The very first time that you ever do this (and never again thereafter) you will see this message:
      • 
    • Click on Accept Defaults.
    • Now click on the blue book Zotero connector again, and . . .
    • . . .A small pop up window should show that your book info is being saved to your account at Zotero.org
      • Don’t leave that page until that pop up either disappears, or the text goes from grayed out to black.
    • You should never have to set a private key again.
    • And you won't have to Enable Saving to Online Library again so long as you stay logged into Zotero.org.  When you do log out, the next time you log back in you'll have to Enable Saving to Online Library one more time.
    • If you want to see the results of your work:  refresh your page at Zotero.org
    • The citation for the book you chose should appear in your My Library.

[This page assumes that you know the basics of saving citations in Zotero]

Saving and Organizing Citations

All citations will always be saved to My Library by default.  This is true for both the desktop app and Zotero in the cloud.  However, there is an important difference.  In the cloud, citations will always be saved only to My Library.  In the desktop app, you can indicate that you also want the citation to be saved to another specific collection.

To move a citation from My Library to another collection, you can drag and drop, or use the icon for moving items to different collections:

Saving Full Text PDFs

As with the Zotero desktop app, Zotero will often save associated PDFs when available.  When working directly with zotero.org, they live under the Attachments tab.  Be aware that you will rather quickly use up your free server space on zotero.org if you begin collecting pdfs.

• Goal 2:  Download the Zotero Connector browser extension
  • Steps: 
    • Go to https://www.zotero.org/download/connectors
      • Googling zotero connectors will also get you there.
    • You should see the download button for the connector specific to your browser (chrome, edge, or firefox)
    • Download the connector for your browser.  

      • Special Instructions for Safari:  The Zotero connector downloads automatically with Safari.  After downloading you need to activate the extension::

        • From the Safari menu, go to Preferences. 
        • Select the Extensions tab. 
        • Select the checkbox next to the Zotero Connector. 
        • The Zotero icon should now appear next to the URL bar,
    • Chrome Users:  Sometimes the Zotero connector is successfully downloaded, but it is sort of hidden in your toolbar under an icon that looks like a jigsaw puzzle piece (this is where your Chrome add-ons are listed).
      • • 
      •  Click on the jigsaw puzzle piece, find “Zotero Connector” in the list, and click on the push pin icon next to it.  It should turn blue, and your Zotero icon should show up in your toolbar forever after.

Troubleshooting:

• Each time you login to you account at  zotero.org, you will see the following when you use your Zotero connector the first time:  
  • 

• • IF so, confirm that you have Zotero.org open, and that you are logged in. Then click “Enable Saving to Online Library”
  • If you are asked about a Private Key, then click “Accept Defaults”
    • 

• • If anything is going wrong, check to see if the ‘Zotero is Offline’ message or the ‘Private Key’ message are open in another window.  If so, follow the troubleshooting advice I just provided above.