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Zotero Citation Manager Guide

This guide contains information about installing and using Zotero, a free open source reference management program.

Translators with Major Issues

  • EBSCO - Doesn't work for items in “My Folder”.
     
  • JSTOR - Only saves PDFs after manually clicking “OK” to the terms and conditions once in the session. Workaround: Manually download one PDF during each session; all subsequent ones should work fine.
     
  • Google Scholar - Google Scholar will lock you out to protect its data against automated downloads when you use its service a lot (which may be as quickly as saving three pages of results). See here for a workaround for large downloads. You should be able to click on an individual item in the results page, but you can't add in bulk using the Folder icon.

Problems with Saving Items to Zotero

Troubleshooting Translator Issues
When you're unable to save high-quality metadata from a particular website, most likely either the page isn't supported by an existing Zotero translator or the page layout recently changed, breaking Zotero's ability to recognize data. On some sites, most notably Google Scholar, you may also be running into site access limits.

Allowing pop-ups

Chrome Browser: If you are seeing the Zotero browser icons but nothing happens when you click on them to add sources to your library, you may need to enable pop-ups for the Zotero connector. You can customize which sites are allowed to use pop-ups so you don't have to allow them for every site you visit. 

Chrome > Settings > Extensions > Zotero Connector > Pop-ups and Redirects (set to Allow)

Can't Add the Extension In Your EKU Chrome Profile

EKU users have reported not being able to install the Chrome extension when in their EKU Chrome profile (logged in with your EKU username/password). For a workaround, install the Chrome extension under a personal Chrome profile (one that isn't using your EKU credentials). If you don't have a Gmail/Google account, you may want to set one up if you are unable to use your EKU Chrome profile.