Tools & Features
Online Back-up & Access
Web-based access to your citations allows you to collect and use your citations when not using your own computer. Zotero's online access is limited to only 300MB of content (expandable through a personal subscription).
Saving & Organizing References
You can export citations from databases to Zotero from the database's export function. You can also save online journal articles or websites with a few clicks using the Zotero Connector for Chrome.
Reference Sharing
Zotero allows you to share your citations with others by creating Groups. All users must have a Zotero account in order to save articles to a Group.
Attaching Full Text
Zotero offers a manual option for attaching a full text PDF to a reference, and will automatically add full text PDFs when available using the Zotero Connector for Chrome.
Cite-While-You-Write
Zotero provides the ability to Cite-While-You-Write in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, allowing you to directly import in-text citations and bibliographies from your Zotero library into your document. Once you download Zotero to your desktop, this feature should automatically become available with no extra download required.
Reference Screening & Analysis
Citation managers may differ in how smoothly or seamlessly they work with the tool you use to screen or analyze your citations (e.g. when using Rayyan or Covidence to screen the hundreds or thousands of citations gathered during a systematic review project).
Access & Updates After Leaving DePaul
Zotero software updates are free and automatic.
Cite-While-You-Write
Zotero's Cite-While-You-Write plugin is available for Microsoft Word and Google Docs.