Features Category

We’re excited to announce our latest major release, Zotero 8. Zotero 8 builds on the new design and features of Zotero 7 and includes a huge number of improvements and refinements.

Redesigned Citation Dialog

Zotero 8 introduces a new unified citation dialog, replacing the previous citation dialog (the “red bar”), the “classic” citation dialog, and the Add Note dialog (the “yellow bar”).

The new dialog has two modes: List mode and Library mode. List mode lets you quickly search for citations from across your Zotero libraries by title, creator, and year. Library mode includes a library browser, letting you find items in specific libraries or collections. You can switch between the two modes with a single click, preserving any added items or entered search terms. By default, it will open in the last mode you used, but you can choose a different default mode in the settings.

In Zotero 7, we added the ability to quickly add citations for selected items and open documents. In the new dialog, these options are available in both List mode and Library mode, so you can make these quick selections even if you otherwise prefer to add items via the library browser.

As before, once you’ve selected an item, you can click on its bubble to customize the citation with a page number, prefix, etc. It’s also now possible to add any locator — not just a page number — right from the search bar by typing the full or short name (e.g., “line 10” or “l. 10” after the citation and pressing Enter/Return.

You can switch between adding citations and adding notes using buttons in the bottom left, corresponding to the Add/Edit Citation and Add Note buttons in your word processor.

(For those coming from the classic dialog, note that there’s no text field to make manual edits to citations. It’s been possible to edit citations directly in the document for many years, which is why the red bar didn’t include such a text field either. More importantly, though, such manual edits should be avoided in almost all cases. Instead, customize the citation via the citation dialog, which will allow Zotero to continue to update the citation as necessary.)

Annotations in the Items List

Annotations you make on PDFs, EPUBs, and webpage snapshots now show up under their parent attachments in the items list.

Showing annotations in the items list makes it easier to view annotations across a library or collection, and it also makes it possible to search for annotations directly. For example, you can search for all annotations in a collection with a given tag and then create a note from those annotations or copy them to an external text editor with Quick Copy.

In Advanced Search, you can use “Item Type” “is” “Annotation” to match annotations or use the Annotation Text and Annotation Comment search conditions to search for specific parts of the annotation.

You can assign tags to selected annotations by dragging them to the tag selector, just like other items.

Selected annotations show up in the item pane, grouped by top-level item.

Reader Appearance Panel with Theme Support

We’ve added a new Appearance panel in the reader that provides quick access to view settings and introduces support for reader themes.

The view settings are per-document settings. Themes are applied globally for all documents, including in the attachment preview in the item pane, and apply to PDFs, EPUBs, and webpage snapshots.

We offer a number of built-in themes (“Dark”, “Snow”, “Sepia”), and you can create custom themes just by specifying a foreground and background color. (Some other theme engines require additional accent colors, but we’ve tried to make this as simple as possible for users by automatically adjusting other colors based on the foreground and background colors.) You can set a different theme that applies to light mode and dark mode.

The themes replace the previous on-by-default “Use Dark Mode for Content” option, which inverted images in dark mode. We’re now simply darkening images a bit when using a dark theme. Images and ink annotations in the reader sidebar and note editor are now only darkened as well (and only when Zotero itself is in dark mode).

When possible, we also try to apply themes to PDF pages containing full-page images, such as scanned papers, by replacing whitish/dark colors with theme colors. (Otherwise we simply darken the page slightly.)

Note Tabs

It’s now possible to open notes in tabs in addition to separate windows. Note tabs fill the whole window, with wide margins for better readability and a clean, distraction-free space for note-taking.

By default, double-clicking a note in the items list will open it in a tab. You can choose to open the note in the other space from the context menu, and you can change the default behavior using the “Open notes in new windows instead of tabs” setting in the General pane of the settings.

Notes in tabs have a separate font size setting in the View menu.

Reading Mode for Webpage Snapshots

Reading Mode reformats webpage snapshots for easier reading, with unnecessary page elements removed. You can adjust line height and other view options from the Appearance panel.

Improved Tabs Menu

We’ve reworked the tabs menu to make it faster to interact with via the keyboard.

You can now press Ctrl/Cmd-; to bring up the menu at any time.

Once the menu is open, it simultaneously accepts search input, up/down navigation, and row selection, without the need to move between different parts of the menu. You can simply start typing the name of an open tab and then press Enter/Return to switch to it once you’ve narrowed down the list.

It’s also possible to quickly close multiple tabs by moving between the row close buttons with up/down and pressing space bar to close a tab.

Continuous File Renaming

Zotero now automatically keeps attachment filenames in sync with parent item metadata as you make changes (e.g., changing the title). In previous versions, while Zotero would automatically rename files when you first added them to your library, if you later edited the item’s metadata, you would need to right-click on the attachment and select “Rename File from Parent Metadata”.

You can configure which file types renaming applies to from the General tab of the Zotero settings.

After upgrading to this version, existing eligible files that don’t match the current filename format won’t be automatically renamed, but you can choose to rename them en masse from the Zotero settings. Zotero will also prompt you to rename all files if you change the filename format.

“Rename File from Parent Metadata” has been removed from the item context menu. If a filename doesn’t match the configured filename format (e.g., because automatic renaming is disabled or you changed the format but didn’t choose to rename all files), you can click the “Rename File to Match Parent Item” button next to the filename in the attachment’s item pane to rename it.

New Attachment Title Options

Zotero 7 introduced more consistent handling of attachment titles, preserving simpler, less-redundant titles (e.g., “Full Text PDF” or “Preprint PDF”) in cases where the title was previously changed to match the filename. Zotero 8 further refines its renaming and titling logic when adding multiple and/or non-primary attachments, to bring the functionality better in line with the intended behavior.

We’ve also added a “Normalize Attachment Titles” option under Tools → Manage Attachments to update old primary attachments with titles matching the filename to use simpler titles such as “PDF”.

While we recommend the default behavior, allowing Zotero to rename primary files and keep them renamed while using simpler titles in the items list, if you really prefer to view filenames instead of titles, you can now enable “Show attachment filenames in the items list” option in the General pane of the settings.

ARM Linux Support

Zotero 8 adds a version for Linux running on ARM64 devices. This includes ARM-based Chromebooks, Apple Silicon Macs running Linux (Linux VMs, Asahi Linux), and Raspberry Pis.

If you’ve been unable to run Zotero on your ARM-based device, or you’ve been running the x86_64 version under emulation, give it a try.

User Interface Improvements

We’ve made a number of changes across the interface to address common requests:

• A new button in the library tab allows you to quickly close the item pane without dragging its edge or using the menus.
• You can reorder item pane sections by dragging their icons in the side navigation bar.
• You can drag items, collections, and searches into the trash.
• You can drag attachments, notes, and related items from the item pane (e.g., to copy files to the filesystem or use Quick Copy).
• Collections automatically expand when you drag over them, making it easier to drop collections or items into subcollections.
• You can delete attachments from the item pane.
• Tabs maintain their size as you close them for faster closing of multiple tabs.

Tag Autocomplete and Note Field in Zotero Connector

With Zotero 8, the Zotero Connector save popup can autocomplete tags in your Zotero library and allows you to add a note to items as you save them.

And Much More

Zotero 8 includes much more than we can list here. See the changelog for additional details.

System Requirements

Zotero 8 requires macOS 10.15 or later, Windows 10 or later, or a Firefox 140–compatible Linux system.

Faster Future Releases

Going forward, we’re changing how we put out Zotero releases. Read about Zotero’s new release schedule.

Get Zotero 8

If you’re already running Zotero, you can upgrade from within Zotero by going to Help → “Check for Updates…”.

Don’t yet have Zotero? Download Zotero 8 now.

[Update, October 2022: You can now scan books using the Zotero iOS app, so the iOS shortcut described here is no longer necessary.]

Zotero makes it easy to collect research materials with a single click as you browse the web, but what do you do when you want to add a real, physical book to your Zotero library?

If you have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 12, you can now save a book to Zotero just by scanning its barcode:

This feature takes advantage of the new Shortcuts functionality in iOS 12, which can chain together series of actions to perform tasks.

To get started, you’ll first need to install Apple’s Shortcuts app, if you don’t yet have it on your iPhone or iPad.

Next, install the Scan Book to Zotero shortcut by tapping on the link below from your iPhone or iPad and selecting Open in “Shortcuts”:

Download Shortcut

Update, October 2019: In iOS 13, you need to enable “Allow Untrusted Shortcuts” in Settings to install shortcuts from outside the Shortcuts app Gallery. As of iOS 13.1.2, it may be necessary to first download another shortcut from the Gallery before the option appears in Settings.

After the shortcut opens, tap Done to close it, and then tap on the “Scan Book to Zotero” rectangle. The first time you run it, you’ll need to select “Run Shortcut” and grant the shortcut access to the camera, and you’ll need to log into the Zotero website before you can save. (If you haven’t yet set up syncing with Zotero on your computer, you’ll want to do that as well so that items you save will sync to Zotero on your computer.)

Whenever you want to scan a book into Zotero, you can trigger the shortcut in a number of different ways:

• You can open the Shortcuts app and select Scan Book to Zotero.
• You can swipe right from the lock screen or home screen to open the Today View and select Scan Book to Zotero in the Shortcuts widget. If the Shortcuts widget doesn’t appear or doesn’t appear where you want it, you can add or move it via the Edit button at the bottom.
• If you have an iPhone that supports 3D Touch, you can hard-press on the Shortcuts app icon and select Scan Book to Zotero from the widget popup.
• You can say something like “Hey Siri, add this book to Zotero”. (Maybe don’t use this one in the library.) To set a phrase for Siri, open the Shortcuts app, tap the three dots in the Scan Book to Zotero rectangle, tap the settings icon in the top right, and then tap Add to Siri and assign a phrase. In our testing, we found Siri support to still be a bit buggy in the current version of Shortcuts, so if Siri doesn’t recognize your phrase, try editing the shortcut and re-recording the phrase or wait for an update from Apple.

Happy scanning!

P.S. If you don’t use an iPhone or iPad, or you can’t upgrade to iOS 12, you can still save a book from your phone when you’re away from your computer by entering the ISBN manually. Simply bookmark this page and load it whenever you need to add a physical book.

We are excited to announce major improvements to the Zotero Connectors for Chrome and Safari.

Chrome

The Zotero Connector for Chrome now includes functionality that was previously available only in Zotero for Firefox.

Automatic Institutional Proxy Detection

Many institutions provide a way to access electronic resources while you are off-campus by signing in to a web-based proxy system. The Zotero Connector for Chrome makes this more convenient by automatically detecting your institutional proxy. Once you’ve accessed a site through the proxy, the connector will automatically redirect future requests to that site through the proxy (e.g., if you open a link to jstor.org, you’ll be automatically redirected to jstor.org.proxy.my-university.edu).

Proxy detection does not require manual configuration. You can disable or customize it from the connector preferences.

Style Installation and Automatic File Importing

Zotero for Firefox has long included support for installing citation styles and importing reference manager files such as BibTeX or RIS when opened in Firefox. This functionality is now supported by the Zotero Connector for Chrome.

Clicking on a link to a CSL file will display a prompt to install the style into Zotero. Clicking on a BibTeX or RIS file that is served correctly by the website will prompt to import its data into Zotero. If you choose ‘Cancel’, you can download the file normally.

Note that this feature requires Zotero 5.0.

Upgrading

If you have the latest version of Chrome installed, you should be automatically updated to version 5.0.5 or later of the Zotero Connector. If you’re not currently using Zotero with Chrome, you can install the extension from the downloads page. Make sure you’ve installed Zotero 5.0 as well for the best experience.

Safari

We’ve brought several features to Safari that were previously available only in Chrome and Firefox.

Streamlined Saving

Previously, on pages where Zotero could not detect any high-quality data, the Zotero save button was inactive, and you could save a basic webpage item and snapshot by right-clicking on the page and selecting “Save Page to Zotero”. In the latest version of the Zotero Connector for Safari, it’s possible to save any page to Zotero with the click of a button.

When high-quality data is available, the button will show the same icon as before: book, newspaper, etc. On all other pages, you’ll see an empty page icon, and clicking on it will create a basic webpage item and snapshot in Zotero. Hovering over the icon will tell you which translator, if any, Zotero would use to save the page.

One-click PDF saving

You can also now save PDFs to Zotero with a single click.

Previously, saving a PDF to Zotero from Safari required dragging from the address bar into Zotero or saving the PDF to disk and adding it to Zotero manually. Now, when you’re viewing a PDF in Safari, simply click the toolbar button to save the PDF as a top-level attachment in Zotero, after which you can use “Retrieve Metadata from PDF” or “Create Parent Item” to create a full bibliographic item. Note that, when possible, it’s still preferable to save from a webpage with full metadata.

Secondary Translators

On some webpages, Zotero can save data using multiple translators, but up until now it hasn’t been possible to choose a secondary translator from Safari. You can now long-press the Zotero button to see additional options for saving from the current page, including saving as a regular webpage instead of using a translator.

Secondary translators may provide different data for the page itself or data for other sources referenced in the page (for example, cited references on Wikipedia, as in the example above).

Upgrading

You can get the new version of the Safari extension from the downloads page or by updating to 5.0.0 or later from the Extensions pane of the Safari preferences. Make sure you’ve installed Zotero 5.0 as well for the best experience.

Zotero 4.0.27, now available, brings some major new features, as well as many other improvements and bug fixes.

Streamlined saving (Zotero for Firefox)

In Zotero for Firefox, it’s now easier than ever to save items from webpages.

Zotero senses information on webpages through bits of code called site translators, which work with most library catalogs, popular websites such as Amazon and the New York Times, and many gated databases.

In the past, there have been two different ways of saving web sources to Zotero:

• If Zotero detected a reference on a webpage, you could click an icon in the address bar — for example, a book icon on Amazon or a journal article icon on a publisher’s site — to save high-quality metadata for the reference to your Zotero library.
• If a site wasn’t supported or a site translator wasn’t working, you could still save any webpage to your Zotero library by clicking the “Create Web Page Item from Current Page” button in the Zotero for Firefox toolbar or by right-clicking on the page background and choosing “Save Page to Zotero”. In such cases, you might need to fill in some details that Zotero couldn’t automatically detect.

In Zotero 4.0.27, we’ve combined the address bar icon and the “Create Web Page Item from Current Page” button into a single save button in the Firefox toolbar, next to the existing Z button for opening the Zotero pane.

The new save button on a New York Times article

(Don’t be confused by the book icon in the address bar in the top left — that’s a new Firefox feature, unrelated to Zotero.)

You can click the new save button on any webpage to create an item in your Zotero library, and Zotero will automatically use the best available method for saving data. If a translator is available, you’ll get high-quality metadata; if not, you’ll get basic info such as title, access date, and URL, and you can edit the saved item to add additional information from the webpage. The icon will still update to show you what Zotero found on the page, and, as before, you can hover over it to see which translator, if any, will be used.

This also means that a single shortcut key — Cmd+Shift+S (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+S (Windows/Linux) by default — can be used to save from any webpage.

The new save button also features a drop-down menu for accessing additional functionality, such as choosing a non-default translator or looking up a reference in your local (physical) library without even saving it to Zotero.

Additional save options

(This functionality was previously available by right-clicking on the address bar icon, though if you knew that, you surely qualify for some sort of prize.) The new menu will be used for more functionality in the future, so stay tuned.

Prefer another layout? In addition to the new combined toolbar buttons, Zotero provides separate buttons for opening Zotero and saving sources that can be added using Firefox’s Customize mode.

Custom button layout

With the separate buttons, you can hide one or the other button and rely on a keyboard shortcut, move the buttons into the larger Firefox menu panel, or even move the new save button between the address bar and search bar, close to its previous position. (Since the new save button works on every page, it no longer makes sense for it to be within the address bar itself, but by using the separate buttons you can essentially recreate the previous layout.)

While all the above changes apply only to Zotero for Firefox for now, similar changes will come to the Chrome and Safari connectors for Zotero Standalone users in a future version. For now, Zotero Standalone users can continue to use the address bar (Chrome) or toolbar (Safari) icon to save recognized webpages and right-click (control-click on Macs) on the page background and choose “Save Page to Zotero” to save basic info for any other page.

Easier bibliography language selection

Making Zotero accessible to users around the world has always been a priority. Thanks to a global community of volunteers in the Zotero and Citation Style Language (CSL) projects, you can use the Zotero interface and also generate citations in dozens of different languages.

Now, thanks to community developers Rintze Zelle and Aurimas Vinckevicius, it’s much easier to switch between different languages when generating citations.

Previously, Zotero would automatically use the language of the Zotero user interface — generally the language of either Firefox or the operating system — when generating citations. While you’ve always been able to generate citations using a different language, doing so required changing a hidden preference.

You can now set the bibliography language at the same time you choose a citation style, whether you’re using Quick Copy, Create Bibliography from Selected Items, or the word processor plugins.

Choosing a bibliography language for Quick Copy

In the above example, even though the user interface is in English, the default Quick Copy language is being set to French. If an item is then dragged from Zotero into a text field, the resulting citation will be in French, using French terms instead of English ones (e.g., “édité par” instead of “edited by”).

The new language selector is even more powerful when using the word processor plugins. The bibliography language chosen for a document is stored in the document preferences, allowing you to use different languages in different documents — say, U.S. English for a document you’re submitting to an American journal and Japanese for a paper for a conference in Japan.

Note that, of the thousands of CSL styles that Zotero supports, not all can be localized. If a journal or style guide calls for a specific language, the language drop-down will be disabled and citations will always be generated using the required language. For example, selecting the Nature style will cause Zotero to use the “English (UK)” locale in all cases, as is required by Nature’s style guide.

Other changes

Zotero now offers an “Export Library…” option for group libraries, allowing the full collection hierarchy to be easily exported. If you find yourself facing many sync conflicts, you can now choose to resolve all conflicts with changes from one side or the other. For Zotero Standalone users, we’ve improved support for saving attachments from Chrome and Safari on many sites, bringing site compatibility closer to that of Zotero for Firefox. And we’ve resolved various issues that were preventing complete syncs for some people.

There’s too much else to discuss here, but see the changelog for the full list of changes.

Get it now

If you’re already using Zotero, your copy of Zotero should update to the new version automatically, or you can update manually from the Firefox Add-ons pane or by selecting the “Check for Updates” menu option in Zotero Standalone. If you’re not yet using Zotero, try it out today.