Skip to Main Content Skip to footer content

Zotero Citation Manager

Zotero is a free, open source citation manager that can help you organize your research sources and properly format your paper.

Syncing your Zotero library

Zotero Sync preferencesYou can sync your library to Zotero.org in order to have all your sources available on multiple computers. To do this:

Zotero will sync your library automatically. You can disable automatic syncing, and instead sync manually by choosing the button on the right end of the Zotero toolbar:

Zotero sync toolbar button

Zotero.org offers a limited amount of storage space for free. There are many options for syncing only item data, without full text such as PDFs, or for syncing full text content using other services or Zotero plugins. For full information, see sync information from Zotero support.

Multiple email addresses

Note that you can have more than one email address associated with your Zotero.org account. Add additional email addresses under "Settings > Email."

For example, you may want to sign up with your Fresno State account, but add a personal email address, so you still have access to your Zotero library in your future work or studies.

Back up your Zotero library

Zotero advanced preferencesDon't rely on syncing to back up your Zotero library! Be sure to back up the files in your Zotero library just as you back up other important files.

To find where your Zotero data is stored, open Zotero's settings and choose the "Advanced" tab. The location will be shown under "Data Directory Location." Make sure this location is part of your regular computer backups!