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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.

Selecting, Changing, and Adding a Style

A specific style's formatting is displayed within your word processor. The Zotero Library is a database of sources and does not display that information in a specific style's formatting.

Set Your Default Style

Within the Zotero Desktop app, you can choose a default style that you want to use within your Word documents.

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences (Zotero > Preferences in Mac OS)
  2. In the pop-up window, click the Export button/tab
  3. From the Default Format: drop down menu, choose your default style
  4. Click the OK button

Note: if the style you need is not on the default style list in the pop-up menu, follow the directions for adding a style to that list. Zotero provides access to over 8000 styles; most of which are for specific journals.

Select or Change a Style in Word

Use this option only if you need to use a different style from your default style set in Zotero. Within your Microsoft Word, you can select the specific style you want to use for your in-text citations and bibliography.

  1. Click the Zotero tab in Word
  2. Click the Document Preferences button
  3. In the pop up window, choose the style from the list
  4. Set any other preferences you need for the document
  5. Click the OK button
  6. You can now start adding in-text citations to your document or wait for Zotero to process and change the style within the document.

Adding a Style to Your Default List

The default list is only a small portion of all of the styles available. Along with the major styles, there are styles for thousands of individual journals.

  1. In the Zotero desktop app, click the Edit menu and then Preferences
  2. Click the Cite button
  3. In the pop up window, click the Get additional styles... link
  4. In the Zotero Styles Repository, search for the specific style you want
  5. Click the title of the style to add to your Zotero Preferences
  6. In the Zotero Preferences pop up, click the OK button

Updating or Creating a Style

If the style you need is out of date or one doesn't exist, you can edit or create a style. Zotero uses the open source Citation Style Language (CSL) for generating styles, in-text citations, and bibliographies.

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