In order to use Zotero in Google Docs you need to install the Zotero desktop application and Zotero Connector in your web browser (Chrome or Firefox).
Zotero Connector adds the Zotero menu in Google Docs.
The first time you're using Zotero in Google Docs you will need to authenticate the add-in with your Google account.
Before you start writing you must choose which reference style you want to use. We recommend to use the style American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition in English. You must clarify with your supervisor if you want to use another style than the recommended style.
1. Go to the Zotero menu and choose Add/edit citation
2. Choose American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition with Language: English.
It's easy to change reference style and language in Zotero. Please follow these instructions if you need to change style or language.
1. Go to Document Preferences.
2. Choose a new style under Citation Style.
3. If you want to change the language you can do this in the field Language.
4. Click OK.
1. Place the cursor where you want to add a citation.
2. Choose Zotero -> Add/Edit Citations.
2. A Zotero menu will now be visible and you can search and insert references from your library. It's possible to search for author name, title words, keywords etc.
3. Choose the reference you want to insert and click Enter.
3. The citation is now visible in your text.
1. Highlight the citation where you want to add a page number and click Edit with Zotero.
2. Click on the reference in the toolbar and add page number(s) in the Page field and click Enter.
3. The citation in the text will now be updated and the page number is now visible.
1. Place the marker on the citation where you want to omit the author and click Edit with Zotero.
2. Click on the reference in the toolbar and tick the box Omit Author and click Enter.
3. The citation will be updated and the author name has been removed.
1. Place the cursor at the end of the document and choose Zotero -> Add/Edit bibliography.
2. The reference list will be created based on the citations in your text.
1. Place the marker on the citation you want to remove and click Delete or Backspace.
2. Go to Zotero -> Refresh to update the reference list.
3. The reference has now been removed from both the text and the reference list.
Google Docs is a great tool for co-writing and it works very well with Zotero.
Anyone who writes in the same document can insert and edit references in the document and it's not necessary to collect all the references in a shared Zotero group.
It is however recommended to use citations from a shared group if there are many co-writers. This makes it easier to get an overview and all participants can edit the references in the Zotero group if needed. Citations from a private library can only be edited by the owner of the library.
Be aware that it's not recommended that multiple users insert and edit citations in the document simultaneously. This can cause problems with the references in the document.
Read more about creating and sharing groups.
1. Make a copy of your document by choosing File -> Make a copy.
2. In the new document, select Document Preferences from the Zotero menu and select Switch to a Different Word Processor.
3. Select File -> Download as -> Microsoft Word (.docx) and save the converted file.
4. Open the downloaded file in Word and click Refresh in the Zotero menu. Then click Restore Citations to continue using the document.
Learn how to convert from Word to Google Docs and other text editors.