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Zotero

Zotero for Firefox or Zotero Standalone?

There are two versions of Zotero: Zotero for Firefox and Zotero Standalone.

Use Zotero for Firefox if:

  • You use the Firefox broser.
  • You prefer to have Zotero as a pane inside your browser instead of in a separate window.


Use Zotero Standalone if:

  • You prefer using Safari or Chrome as your browser.
  • You prefer to have Zotero as a separate pane outside of your browser.

For Zotero Standalone, you will also need to install the Connectors to allow your browser to save items to your Zotero library.

Getting and Installing Zotero

Zotero will run on any operating system. It requires Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or greater. Installation only takes a few seconds. To install:

  1. Go to http://www.zotero.org/ and click the red "Download" button. Click "Install Now" and follow the instructions.

  2. When you see the message “Firefox prevented this site from asking you to install software on your computer," click "Allow".


  3. Restart Firefox and you're all set! You'll see a small Zotero button at the bottom of your Firefox window.

  4. If using Zotero for Firefox, download and install the Microsoft Word citation plugin (or the OpenOffice plugin) to easily cite items from your Zotero library in your papers.

If you have any problems, check the Zotero installation page.

Installing Zotero for Firefox

Step 1: Install Zotero Standalone

Download and install Zotero Standalone from the Zotero website.

(There's a different version for each operating system: Windows, Mac or Linux.)

Step 2: Install connectors

Connectors allow your web browser to save citations to your Zotero library.

Open Chrome or Safari and click the Zotero Connector link for that browser to install it.

Each browser has its own version of the Zotero connector, so if you use both Chrome and Safari you'll need to install both.

(Firefox does not require a connector to work with Zotero; it's built into Zotero for Firefox.)