Zotero tutorial for my mom! :)
Saving articles to Zotero is a straightforward process. Check out this Zesty™ guide I made!
Step 1: Open the full text of the article
The first thing you'll need to do is, naturally, open the article. It's important that you open the full text of the article though. This will allow Zotero to capture the entire contents of the article and save a PDF (when available). When you do this, you'll be able to access the article without an Internet connection, if the article is removed online, or if you lose access to your library.
Step 2: Click the Zotero icon in your browser
This might go without saying but once that article is loaded, click that button! It looks kinda like a piece of paper. Don't ask why. Once you click it, Zotero will automatically cite and save the document to your bibliography in the Zotero app.
Organization
Optionally, you can move the saved citation to a collection to organize your citations. You don't have to switch to the Zotero app either; you can do this right from the browser. Click the down arrow to the right of the window that opened up to display a list of your collections. Select the collection you want to save to, and Zotero will automatically move it.
How it looks in Zotero
When you switch to Zotero, the citation will be available in the collection you saved it in. Additionally, you'll find the snapshot or PDF saved along with the citation if it was available. You may have to scroll for it in the sidebar, demonstrated in the GIF below.
Step 3: Create the bibliography
When you're ready to export your bibliography to your article or whatever, make sure you've got all your citations highlighted. Then, right click the citations and select "Create Bibliography from Items..."
A little wizard should appear—no, not the magical kind. ☹️ In this wizard, make sure you have the style of bibliography selected that you need, as well as selecting the "Bibliography" and "Copy to Clipboard" options. Once everything checks out, click "OK" and Zotero will create your bibliography and put it on your clipboard!
Step 4: Put it in your document
Finally...FINALLY... we're almost done. Switch over to your document and paste it. If you're in Microsoft Word or another rich text editor, the bibliography should be formatted.
Splendid. Now you can take over the world while citing your sources!
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