Zotero offers word processing plugins for Microsoft Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs. If you are using Microsoft Word, the plugin should automatically be added to Word when you download Zotero onto your computer.
The Microsoft Word plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to the ribbon along the top of the screen. This allows you to add citations to a document while you write (see image below).
►Note: The Word plugin for Zotero does not work with Office 365 Online. it only works with the local version/app downloaded on your computer.
►Note: 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).
The first time you click the Add/Edit Citation button in the Zotero Word Plugin, the Zotero Document Preferences box will open (see image below).
Select the citation style you wish to use, and select how you want your citations to be displayed (i.e. as 'Footnotes' or 'Endnotes').
If your desired citation style is not listed, click 'Manage Styles' and search for the style in the Zotero Style Repository.
►See e.g. Import McGill Guide Style
►Note: Before using the Zotero Word Plugin, you must make sure that your Zotero Desktop Library is open.
Open the Zotero toolbar in Microsoft Word. Place the cursor beside the word where you want to insert the footnote number, then click Add/Edit Citation (see image below).
This will cause the Zotero citation dialogue box to appear. Start typing the title, author, or year of the document you want to cite in the dialog box. Matching items from your Zotero library will be shown (see image below).
Select the item you wish to cite from the drop-down menu. The item will appear in the dialog box in a shaded bubble (see image below). Press Enter to insert the citation into a footnote.
Open the citation dialogue box and select the citation to which you would like to add a pinpoint. Choose what kind of pinpoint to add (page, paragraph, section number, etc.). Type in the pinpoint number and press Enter (see image below).
►Note: It is not recommended to manually add a pinpoint to a Zotero-generated footnote as it will be overwritten the next time you refresh the document.
►See Using the Zotero Word Processor Plugin for further information on customizing citations, including how to add prefixes and suffixes to citations, and how to suppress author names.
To fix a mistake in a citation generated by Zotero (see image below), start by making sure that the information for the item in your Zotero Desktop Library is correct and complete.
Open your Zotero Desktop Library app and correct the Item record (see image below).
Once you have done this, click 'Refresh' in the Zotero Word Plugin to update the citations in your document (see image below).
If Zotero has generated an incorrectly formatted citation, then the problem may lie in Zotero's programming for that citation style. For some types of errors, such as incorrectly formatted case law citations and statute citations, you may be able to manipulate the Item record in your Zotero Desktop Library app to force Zotero to generate a properly formatted citation.
►See Add a CanLII Citation to a Record and Add a Neutral Citation to a Record.
►See Add a Statute Citation to a Record.
Some errors cannot be corrected by manipulating the Item record in your Zotero Desktop Library. If making changes to the Item record does not work, then the only way to correct the error may be to manually edit the citation directly in the footnote (or endnote) in the Word document. Note: that this a "last resort" approach to be used only if the other methods for fixing a mistake in a citation do not work.
To manually edit a citation directly in a Word document, click the citation in the footnote (see image below)...
A grey box will appear around the citation (see image below). Make the necessary changes to the citation.
After you finish editing the citation, click the 'refresh button' in the Zotero tab (see image below).
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' (see image below).
►Note: Editing a Zotero-generated citation directly in Word will prevent Zotero from being able to update that citation later to reflect any future changes you make to the Zotero Item record.
►Note: If you make a manual correction to one of your footnotes, that correction will not carry over to the bibliography. You will need to manually edit the bibliography as well. See Edit a Bibliography.
Zotero can create a bibliography containing the references you have cited in your paper.
Click Add/Edit Bibliography in the Zotero Toolbar (see image below).
►Note: Any citation problem that you have manually corrected in a footnote will appear again in the bibliography. See Editing a Bibliography for further instructions.
If there are any spelling or formatting errors in your bibliography, first see if adjusting the Item Record in your Zotero Desktop Library app can fix the problem.
►See Fixing a Mistake in a Citation.
If the problem citation cannot be fixed by adjusting the Item record in your Zotero Desktop Library app (see image below), then you must make a manual correction to the bibliography.
►Note: If you made a manual correction to one of your footnotes, that correction will not carry over to the bibliography. You will need to manually edit the bibliography as well.
First, you must break the link between your Zotero Library and your document. This will prevent your edits from being overwritten by Zotero whenever your document is refreshed.
►Important! Unlinking your document from your Zotero Library means that your footnotes and bibliography will no longer be connected to Zotero. This is a permanent step that cannot be reversed.
The steps to unlinking 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 your footnotes/bibliography.
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.