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Milner Library

Zotero

This guide provides in-depth instructions on how to use Zotero, organize sources, and create in-text citations and bibliographies.

Troubleshooting the Word Plug-in

In Microsoft Word, the Zotero plug-in creates an additional tab or toolbar. The plugin is bundled with Zotero and should be added automatically when you install Zotero. If it does not here are the most common resolutions.

Zotero Plug-in Is Not Displaying

  • First, close Word (quit for MacOS) and open again - if Word was open when you installed Zotero, the tab won't appear until you close (quit) and open Word again
  • Second,
    1. Make sure Word is closed (Quit in MacOS)
    2. In the Zotero desktop app, open up Preferences from the top menu
    3. Click the Cite tab in the pop-up window
    4. Click the Word Processors tab
    5. And then click the Install Word Add-in
    6. Click the OK button on the Preferences window
    7. Open Word to check the tab is visible
  • Third,
    1. In Word, go to File > Options (Instructions for Mac OS)
    2. Chose Add-ins
    3. At the bottom of the window, change COM Add-ins to Word Add-ins
    4. Click the Go button
    5. Check to see if Zotero.dotm is present and checked
    6. If not checked, check Zotero.dotm and click the OK button until you are back to your document
      1. If not listed, try manually installing the plug-in
  • Fourth, Manually Install the Zotero Word Processor Plugin
  • If still not appearing, try these other Word Processor Plugin Troubleshooting options

Google Docs

If the Zotero menu is not visible in your Google Document, try one of these options.

  • Make sure the Google Document is open in that same browser with the Zotero connector (e.g., connector is on Firefox and then open the doc in Firefox).
  • Have a Google Document open; not the Google Drive or Google Docs navigation page. The menu item only appears in a document.
  • Close the Google Document tab and open it again.
  • Clear the browser's cache and/or history.

OpenOffice / LibreOffice

Zotero provides a thorough help page for the LibreOffice suite.

Please note Zotero requires LibreOffice 5.2 or later. Apache OpenOffice and NeoOffice are not supported by Zotero.

Where Else to Go for Help

There are several reasons you might be getting an error message when deleting or modifying your document. Consult this list of troubleshooting errors to determine a potential fix.

If you are not able to find an answer to your issue here, the Zotero community has a robust knowledge base and discussion forums. Most answers to issues can be found in there.

Download MS Office for Free

As an ISU student, you can download the Office Suite to your Mac or PC for free.

Additional Links