Zotero Tips and Tricks

Note that the Wheaton Zotero style has been tested for its fidelity to the style guide. For a file with the results for the 2010 style guide, see ZoteroTest.pdf on the Downloads page.

Collecting Bibliographic Data

Correct data when you collect it (be sure to keep series information because it is required; drop unnecessary issue information when pagination is continuous for a given year—this is the case for most academic journals but not for magazines such as Biblical Archaeology Review).
Check that pagination is correct: use an en-dash for sequences of pages and abbreviate the second page number according to the chart in the style guide (section 2.7.3).
Note that an en-dash looks short in Zotero but shows up as an en-dash in the citation.
Check publisher information in order to be consistent (you can display such information in the center pane of Zotero and sort by publisher, making sure that you are consistent for the publisher’s name and city). For a listing of shortened publisher names, see section 6 in the style guide.
To add italics in titles (for foreign words) use this format: <i>word in italics</i>.
Best Sources of Data

Managing Zotero Databases

You can use standalone notes. In other words, you can create a note that isn't attached to a bibliographic item. This is useful for keeping track of a chapter outline or random thoughts.
Tabs in notes may not be persistent if you edit notes in a separate window—the most reliable way is to use the buttons for indentation.
When taking notes, make note of the page numbers for the location of that information in a given source at the top of notes
Synchronize with the Zotero server to backup your data and access from another computer: From the Actions menu (the gear icon) choose Preferences; under Settings click on the link to create an account and then enter your information and check the box to Sync Automatically; click on the Sync tab.
How do we share libraries? Need to find out
Note that when you change an entry in the database in one folder/collection it changes for all other places.
How to Organize
1. category of citation/place in dissertation
2. PDFs – you can associate them with a Zotero entry, but this can be time-consuming. One suggestion is to keep a folder for each paper and name PDFs by the Author_Title.pdf.
3. Use the folder system in Zotero (and tags)

Using Zotero Databases to Write Papers/Chapters for the Dissertation

If you need to edit a citation created by Zotero in Word or OpenOffice, click on Show Editor to manually edit the citation. Keep in mind that doing so will mean that your citation will not update when you change your database or change the citation style. Perhaps add a comment to your file when you manually edit a citation so that you can go back and check it or fix it later.
Choose a word processor (Word or OpenOffice Writer) and stick to it, especially if you use Zotero-generated citations because they do not transfer between the two programs. The content remains the same, but their connection to your database is severed.
There is a bug in Zotero in which titles with a question mark, when they appear in quotation marks (such as a journal article title) have a period inserted at the end even though they shouldn't. Apparently this will be fixed in 2.1. See this forum: http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/6147/titles-ending-with-a-question-mark/.

Items to Fix Manually Before You Print

Parenthetical citations when it is the first citation. Instead of parentheses () for publisher information or the date of a journal, you need to use brackets [].
Abbreviated citations that end with ".—put the period inside the quote.
Look for otherwise misplaced quotation marks, such as ',".
Check for "Ibid" where it should be "ibid."
Check for places where you should have "idem" for the same author. You can use the "Suppress Author" option and manually add "idem" to your citation.

Useful Links

A blog with some helpful tips on using Zotero for biblical studies