Zotero at Temple

Videos for the Mastering Zotero: Course Intro 

For closed caption or auto generated transcript, view the video on YouTube.

Unit 1: Managing your Zotero library

• Module 1 - Intro to Collections, Tags and Related Items 
• Module 2 - Working with Collections
• Module 3 - Working with Tags
• Module 4 - Working with Related Items
• Module 5 - An easier way to manage tags and related items

Unit 2: Reading and Annotation with Zotero

• Module 1 - Fundamentals of Zotero Notes
• Module 2 - Using Zotero notes (and note-taking strategies)
• Module 3 - Generating reports based on Zotero items
• Module 4 - Creating notes from PDF highlights and annotations
• Module 5 - Working with PDF annotations on tablets

Video Tutorials from Zotero 7 Masterclass

Why create multiple profiles?

1. Smaller libraries are easier to manage
2. You want to keep your sources or work separate (home, work, vacation, courses, research, etc.)
3. You want to control which files or profiles are synced to the free Zotero cloud storage
4. You want to sync files to a third-party cloud storage service so you can access them on any device.

It is free to create a profile. There is no limit on how many profiles you create. You do not need an account to create a profile.

Steps to create a profile 

1. Run the script posted at kb:multiple_profiles [Zotero Documentation].
   1. Windows:  Press Windows icon and type run. Paste C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero\zotero.exe –P and press enter
   2. MAC: In launcher select terminal.  Enter or copy and paste into the terminal: /Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/MacOS/zotero -P 
2. Click “Create new profile” and enter a name (e.g. EPBI Google). Click Finish. 
3. On your device, create a folder and name it. You can create this folder anywhere, but it may be more convenient to create it at the same location as the default Zotero data directory folder.
   You can view the default data directory by opening settings, and clicking on advanced. Scroll down to "Data Directory Location" and click on "Show Data Directory."
   • Tip:  Use the same name as your profile and include "Zotero". If you plan to sync it to a third-party cloud storage add that cloud service name (e.g. Zotero EBPI Google)
   • Within Zotero, if you click on any file, and right click, you can choose Show file (Windows) or Show in Finder (MAC) to see the default data directory location.

4. Open Zotero.  Open Settings.  Click Advanced.  Go to Data Directory Location.  Click on "Use Custom Location" and select the folder you created (e.g. Zotero EBPI Google). If you have already chosen a Custom library, you will see "Choose" instead. 
5. Leave unchecked the two options: Work offline and Use the selected profile without asking at startup.
6. Close (Exit) Zotero.
7. Open Zotero.  Select the profile you want to open (e.g. EBPI Google) and click Start Zotero.

8. Optional: You can sync the profile with a Zotero account so the profile library will be synced with the web library and accessible on any device. Follows the set up instructions on the installation and setup page.
   • Notes: You can only sync one library at a time and load one library at a time in Zotero. If you have already synced a profile you may get a warning that syncing the new profile will delete the files from your device.  It is fine to accept this, since what this means is that your other profile files are removed and not loaded into Zotero.  The new profile library files are loaded.  When you exit Zotero and start Zotero with the other profile, that profile library will load on your device.

You can sync files using ZotMoov with a cloud storage service, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive. 

The Do More with Zotero Citation Manager Workshop demonstrates these advanced Zotero features: set up multiple profiles, sync to your own cloud storage, work with add-ons, backup your Zotero library, create feeds, add uncited reference to bibliography, and insert notes. Download Do More with Zotero workshop slides.

Step 1. Download and install Zotmoov as plugin in Zotero

1. Download file at Zotmoov latest release. For Firefox, right click and save link as.

2. Open Zotero, click “Tools” tab, and select “Plugins.” Click the gears and select “Install Plugin From File.”

3. Select the file “zotmoov-1.2.23-fx.xpi”. Click Open. 

GIF image shows downloading and installing Zotmoov in Zotero 7 using the Firefox browser.

Step 2.  Download the cloud service desktop application.

Examples of a cloud service could be OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, icloud. There are free plans for these services. 

Step 3.  Within the cloud service drive or folder, create a folder to store the files that ZotMoov will move from the Zotero data directory.

Tip: Include in folder name, the account or profile and cloud services names and the word ZotMoov  (eg. Zotmoov EPBI Google)

Step 4. In ZotMoov settings, select the cloud service folder as the directory to move/copy files to 

1. Open Zotero Settings.
2. Click on ZotMoov.
3. Click on Choose Directory.  Select the cloud service folder that was created. (eg. Zotmoov EPBI Google).
4. Click Select Folder
5. Optional: Add or delete file extensions.  The default file types (extensions) are listed in the Allowed File Extensions box.  You can add or remove extensions using the plus or minus button. If you delete all the extensions, all files in the Zotero data directory will be moved to the ZotMoov folder that you created. Note that snapshots are html files and will not be moved unless you add html as an extension.

Step 5.  In settings for Sync, check or uncheck file syncing 

In Zotero Settings, click Sync.

• Under File Syncing, check "Sync attachment files in My Library using Zoter" to have the option of moving files between the ZotMoov directory (folder) and Zotero data directory. If you are syncing to the Zotero cloud storage, this allows you to select the files to sync and limit your use of Zotero cloud storage for files. All allowed file extensions (types) will be moved automatically, and you will need to select the ones you want ZotMoov to move from the base directory back to the Zotero data directory.
• Files that are moved by ZotMoov will appear as linked files in Zotero desktop and Zotero Web Library.  You can open and view files that are linked in Zotero desktop.
• Linked files cannot be viewed in Zotero web library.
• If you uncheck File Syncing, you cannot sync any file to the Zotero cloud storage. All your files are going to be in the ZotMoov directory (eg, ZotMoov EPBI Google), which you can sync to your own cloud storage service.

Group files cannot be moved to the ZotMoov directory (folder), so leave checked "Sync attachment files in group libraries using Zotero storage."

Step 6.  In Zotero Advanced settings, choose the cloud service folder as the Base Directory

1. Open the Zotero Settings and click on Advanced.  
2. Under "Linked Attachment Base Directory", for Base Directory, select Choose.
3. Select the cloud service folder that you created (eg. ZotMoov EBPI Google).  Click "Select Folder."

Note: The data directory is the folder that contains important Zotero data and information and the storage folder for a Zotero account or profile.  The default location is on your computer.  For each profile you create, you need to create a data directory folder for that file. See Creating Multiple Profiles for instructions.

Step 8 (Optional).  Saving an annotated file to the ZotMoov directory

If you annotate a PDF or file, to see the markups on any device, you will need to save the edited PDF or file in the ZotMoov directory and replace the existing file. Follow these steps: 

1. In Zotero, click File, select Save As
2. Browse to the file location in the ZotMoov directory (folder) and click save.
3. You will be prompted that the file already exists and asked "Do you want to replace it?" Click Yes.

Step 9 (optional). Moving a file between the ZotMoov base directory and the Zotero data directory.

The image shows that the PDF is a linked file because it is sitting in the ZotMoov base directory (e.g. ZotMoov EBPI Google, which is in the Google Drive desktop application).  To return the file to the Zotero data directory, click on the file and select "ZotMoov: Move Selected From Directory."

Once that is done, clicking on the file and "Show file" (Windows) or "Show in Finder" (MAC), the file will now be in the data directory location. The PDF or file icon will appear without the link. If your Zotero data directory is sync to the Zotero cloud storage, you will see the file in the Zotero Web library for the account you are using.

If the file is in the Zotero data directory (you will see an unlinked file icon), you can select it and click "ZotMoov: Move Selected to Directory" to move it to the ZotMoov base directory (the folder that is synced with your cloud storage).  The file will now appear with a linked icon, as shown in the image.

If you select the file in Zotero, and click "ZotMoov: Move Selected to Custom Directory" you can choose where you want to store the file.