Zotero for Law

To download and install Zotero, visit https://www.zotero.org/download/

DOWNLOAD ZOTERO HERE

You must download and install two components:

1. The standalone Zotero program (includes the word processor plug in). Zotero is available for Windows, Linux or macOS
2. The Zotero connector for your browser. Supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox and Safari which Zotero will detect.

For help installing Zotero after download, see the Zotero installation page.

Register for an online account at https://www.zotero.org/user/register

Online accounts are free. You don't need an account to use Zotero software, but it allows you to join groups and sync your library across multiple devices.

To link Zotero software to Zotero online and sync your data, open your Zotero Preferences > Sync > Settings. Then sign in with your account details.

For more information about syncing, refer to the Sync, Share and Export page of this guide.

Zotero comes with commonly used citation styles already loaded. However, if your style is not pre-installed, you can install it through the following steps. 

1. Open Zotero Settings via Edit from the top menu ribbon. Preferences – accessing preferences will differ depending on your operating system.

For Windows, it may be in the Edit or Tools menu: 

For Macs:

2. Select the ‘Cite’ tab. If you do not see your style listed, click on ‘Get additional styles’

3. When ‘Style Search’ window opens, search for the citation style (e.g. Australian Guide to Legal Citation): 

4. When the style is found, click on the link to add it to Zotero. Note: the current edition of AGLC is the 4th edition. Make sure you add this style into the style repository. 

5. To change the Default Output Format, click on the ‘Export’ tab and choose your preferred style 

In Zotero, information is divided into three panels.

Left panel

The left panel identifies the libraries, collections, subcollections, feeds, trash, and tags. 

The middle panel is the list of the items in the library or collection selected from the left panel. There are several ways to change the view of the middle panel:

• Add or remove columns by right clicking the column headings and selecting which headings to add or remove. 
• Reorder columns by clicking on the column heading and dragging across to desired location. 
• Reorder content by clicking on the heading you wish content to be ordered by. 
• Resize columns by hovering over the border of the columns until the cursor changes to a line with arrows. Click and drag to resize.

Right panel

The right panel identifies information of the item selected in the middle panel. 

Right menu icons

The vertical menu items (far right) navigate to document information fields.

To check an item's output style, right click the field above the document information pane and select 'view as' 'bibliographic entry' from the pop up menu. If the entry is not in AGLC style, select 'view as' > 'more options' from the pop up menu and navigate to 'cite' and 'export' settings.

Remember to regularly back up your Zotero library. Don't rely on online syncing. Save a back up file to a USB or external storage device. 

To make a back up of your Zotero library, make a copy of your Zotero data directory.

This is located in Zotero Edit > Settings > Advanced > Files and Folders > Show Data Directory.

To create a back up, close the Zotero and copy everything in this folder location. Then save to a storage device.