Zotero offers word processing plugins for Microsoft Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs. The plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor that allows you to add citations to your document while you write.
If you are using Microsoft Word, the word processing plugin should be automatically added to Word when you download Zotero to your computer.
The Word plugin for Zotero doesn't work with Office 365 Online, it only works with the local version/app downloaded on your computer.
Zotero in Word may look different depending on operating systems and software versions. Look for "Zotero", "Add-ins" or a whistle icon (on a Mac).
When you click Add/Edit Citation for the first time, the Zotero Document Preferences box will open asking which citation style you wish to use. Make sure the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation 10th edition (McGill Guide) is selected, and 'Footnotes' is selected under 'Display Citations As'.
If the McGill Guide is not listed, click 'Manage Styles' and search for the McGill Guide.
Installing the Zotero Word plugin adds a Zotero tab to Microsoft Word. To create a footnote, place the cursor beside the word where you want to insert the footnote, then click Add/Edit Citation.
Pressing the button brings up the Zotero citation dialogue box. Start typing part of a title, the last names of one or more authors, and/or a year in the dialog box. Matching items will be shown for each library in your Zotero database. Select an item by clicking on it or by pressing Enter/Return when it is highlighted. The item will appear in the dialog box in a shaded bubble. Press Enter/Return again to insert the citation and close the Add Citation box.
The citations that Zotero generates in "McGill Guide" style may not always be correct. This is especially true for Canadian cases and legislation.
If a citation is simply incorrect or missing data, start by making sure that the item metadata in your Zotero library is correct and complete, and then click Refresh in the word processing plugin to update your document with any changes.
However, if a citation is incorrectly formatted or the wrong information has been included, then the problem may lie in the way that Zotero has been programed to generate Canadian legal citations. The only way to address this kind of error is to edit the citation directly in the Word document.
To edit a citation directly in a Word document, click the footnote and make the necessary changes.
After you make a manual edit, click the 'refresh button' in the Zotero tab. This will cause a pop-up window to appear asking you to confirm that you want to keep the edit and prevent the citation from being updated automatically going forward. Click 'Yes'.
Note: Editing a Zotero-generated citation directly in Word will prevent Zotero from being able to update that citation later to reflect any changes made to the Zotero record. Fortunately, editing a Zotero-generated citation does not appear to impede Zotero's ability to update ibids or supras within the Word document.
For further information on customizing citations, including how to add page or paragraph numbers, how to add prefixes and suffixes to citations, and how to suppress author names, go to Using the Zotero Word Processor Plugin.
Zotero can create a bibliography at the end of your paper containing all the references that have been cited in your footnotes. To do this, go to the Zotero tab and click Add/Edit Bibliography, as shown below:
The citations that Zotero generates in "McGill Guide" style may not always be correct. Any formatting problems that you have fixed directly in the footnotes may appear again in the bibliography.
If you need to manually edit the citations in your bibliography, you must first break the link between Zotero and the bibliography/footnotes in your document. This will prevent your edits from being overwritten by Zotero whenever your document is refreshed. Unlinking the citations in your document is a permanent step that cannot be reversed once it has been performed. Therefor it is best to do it only as a final step after you have finished writing. The steps to unlinking the citations in your document are as follows:
Step 1: Save a backup copy of your document so that you retain a copy of your document with an intact link between Zotero and the footnotes/bibliopgraphy.
Step 2: In your original document, click the “Unlink Citations” button (
) to disconnect it from Zotero. Doing this will convert all citations in the footnotes and bibliography to regular text.
Step 3: You can now make edits to your bibliography that will not be overwritten by Zotero.