Zotero began as a Firefox plugin. There is now a standalone version that's available for Chrome and Safari (but not IE).
To download Zotero, visit http://www.zotero.org/ and hit the big red button. You’ll need to restart your browser once you’re finished.
To "cite as you write," add a plugin to Word or Open Office. Restart that program too.
The default preferences are mostly good, but it's helpful to change a few settings:
Open Zotero and click on the "gear" menu, then select "preferences."
* On the General tab, check the box "automatically attach associated PDFs."
* On the Sync tab, Create Account for Zotero server syncing
* On the Search tab, click the bar to Install PDF Indexers
Exporting references from EndNote to Zotero:
Add items two ways: automatically and manually
AUTOMATICALLY from library catalog, library database, many websites with Zotero translators.
Zotero detects – click on icon
Library catalog: single book = book icon; list of books = folder (puts in Zotero, you select which ones you want)
Library databases: Add PDF: highlight URL, drag and drop. Right click on pdf in library to "retrieve metadata for PDF"
Website: click on “Create New Item from Current Page” blue page icon at bottom
MANUALLY from sites without translator: green plus button – choose type of item
Collections: are sub libraries, separate groups of references – they always continue to be in “My Library” – one item can be in multiple collections
Tags: select items and choose “tags” in right hand column – can use a tag “Need more information” “Need more metadata” for things that you know are incomplete but don’t have time to fix
Notes: select item, right click and choose “add note” – notes are searchable
Search: use the search box at top, or click magnifying glass – if it’s indexed, it’s searchable
Zotero plugin for word processors adds a toolbar to Word (e.g., Add-Ins)
To insert citation, click first toolbar button, "Zotero Insert Citation"
To add bibliography, go to end of your document and click third toolbar button, "Zotero Insert Bibliography"
Zotero references can be dragged and dropped into any document
In your RefWorks account, go to REFERENCES > EXPORT
Select 'All references'
Select BIBTEX format, and click 'EXPORT'. Your references should appear in a new browser window or tab. If not, make sure that popup windows are not blocked.
Copy and paste the text into a .txt file, and save. Choose UTF-8 as the encoding if you have any non-English references in your list.
Back in ZOTERO, click on the little gear icon (ACTIONS) at the top > Import
Select the text file you created earlier; your database will be imported to the default folder in ZOTERO.
Syncing: sync with Zotero server, access your library from multiple computers. Server accounts are free (100 mb). Sync can be slow. To sync you need an account:
Creating group library: everyone needs to have their own 0Zotero account. Top left, people icon “New Group”. Invite others to join library.
Zotero maintains excellent help pages:
Use the Wizfolio program to take references from a pre-existing bibliography (such as a Word document) and import them into Zotero. You won't capture all of the bibliographic information, but you'll have them with your other materials in Zotero.