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You can edit most Zotero preferences through the preferences window. However, the preferences window does not include all of the different ways you can customize your copy of Zotero. To view the the full list of Zotero's preferences, including many hidden preferences, type “about:config” into the Firefox location bar and enter “zotero” into the Filter field at the top of the list that comes up. In Zotero Standalone you can access about:config from the Advanced pane of the preferences. Preferences that can be safely changed by users are described below.
All Zotero hidden preferences are preceded by “extensions.zotero.”
General Preferences
These general hidden preferences allow you to refine your Zotero configuration.
| Preference Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| debug.log | false | Used for debugging Zotero. See [debug output]. |
| debug.level | 5 | When debug.log is enabled, determines the lowest of the debug levels (1-5, with 5 being the lowest) that is displayed |
| debug.time | false | When debug.log is enabled, shows the milliseconds from the previous debug call |
| browserContentContextMenu | true | By default, Zotero will include various options to your Firefox context menu. If you set this to false, those context-dependent right-click options will no longer be available. |
| fontSize | “1.0” | This preference allows you to increase or decrease the size of text in the Zotero interface. |
| recursiveCollections | false | By default, each of your collections displays only the items you have placed there. When you place a collection inside another collection, the contents of the second collection are not added to the first. If you enable recursive collections, items from subcollections will appear in all higher-level collections. |
| attachmentRenameFormatString | '{%c - }{%y - }{%t{50}}' | Zotero automatically renames attached files saved from translators. This string controls how those names are formatted. %c is creator, %y is year, %t is the title, the curly braces around each part mean “only include this part if the field specified inside is non-empty”and {50} means “truncate at 50 characters.” You can rearrange these to suit your needs. |
| capitalizeTitles | true | By default, Zotero will recase titles of items you capture. Switch this preference to false and you will preserve case information for titles. |
| launchNonNativeFiles | false | By default, Zotero will open any file stored inside Zotero through whatever means Firefox uses to launch that type of file. So, for example, if you click on a PDF in Firefox, the PDF might launch inside the browser using a PDF viewer plugin. If you switch this preference to true, Zotero will use your operating system to launch non-native files like PDFs instead of Firefox. |
| sortNotesChronologically | false | If set to true, your notes will be sorted by the order you added them instead of alphabetically. |
| sortAttachmentsChronologically | false | If set to true, your attachments will be sorted by the order you added them instead of alphabetically. |
| connector.enabled (for Zotero 3.0 and higher: httpServer.enabled) | false | If set to true, Zotero in Firefox will be able to receive citations from Safari or Chrome with the Zotero Connector installed. See the knowledge base article on this feature. |
Full-Text Indexing
These preferences deal with Zotero's ability to create full-text indexes from imported files.
| Preference Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| search.useLeftBound | true | This preference determines whether Zotero only finds word matches based on the left bound or whether it finds matches anywhere within words. Switching this to false may be beneficial for languages other than English, but it may significantly slow down Zotero's search functions. |
Reports
These options allow you to customize your reports.
| Preference Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| report.includeAllChildItems | true | By default, selecting only parent items for a report causes those items' child notes and attachments to be included as well. If includeAllChildItems is set to false, only the items you have selected will be included. Selecting a combination of parent and child items will cause only the selected items to be displayed regardless of this setting. |
| report.combineChildItems | true | By default, Zotero groups child notes and attachments in reports together under their parent items. Switching this to false will cause notes to appear separately from their parent items. This can be helpful for people interested in using Zotero's note-taking features as an outlining tool. |
Export and Citation Settings
| Preference Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| export.bibliographyLocale | By default, Zotero creates bibliographies in the language of the installed version of Firefox. Entering a locale code here causes Zotero to use the specified language instead. For example, to cite items in English in a non-English version of Firefox, enter 'en-US' (without quotes) into this preference. For a full list of available locale codes, see Zotero's chrome manifest. | |
| export.quickCopy.compatibility.indentBlockquotes | true | Word and TextEdit don't indent blockquotes on their own and need this enabled. Results in an extra indent in OpenOffice, which handles blockquotes correctly. |
| export.quickCopy.compatibility.word | false | Add Word Normal style to paragraphs and enable double-spacing. OpenOffice inserts the conditional style code as a document comment. |
| quickCopy.quoteBlockquotes.plainText | true | Add quotes around blockquote paragraphs in plain-text output |
| quickCopy.quoteBlockquotes.richText | true | Add quotes around blockquote paragraphs in rich-text output |
Annotation Settings
| Preference Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| annotations.warnOnClose | true | By default, Zotero will warn you before you close a sticky note annotation. If you switch this to false you will not receive that warning. |