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Adding items to your library
There are several ways you can add items to your Zotero library.
1. PDF files: If you already have PDF files saved to your computer that you'd like to add to your Zotero library, you can drag them into the desktop application.
2. Use the Zotero browser extension: Click on the Zotero icon in your Internet browser to automatically import the citation information for an item to your library. The Zotero icon in your browser will change depending on what type of item you are looking at (journal article, book, video, etc.), but it should always say "Save to Zotero" when you hover over it. When you are looking at a journal article, the icon will appear as a white sheet of paper. When viewing a list of items, such as search results, the "Save to Zotero" icon will appear as a small folder and you will be able to select multiple items.
If the full text of an article is available, Zotero should automatically save the PDF as an attachment. To see files that are attached to an item in Zotero, click on the arrow next to the item:
3. Add an RIS/BibText file: LibrarySearch and most databases will offer the option to export a citation in a particular file format that works with tools like Zotero. Open the file in Zotero to add it to your library.
4. Manually add a source: Click on the "New Item" icon and select the type of item you are trying to add (additional options are available under "More"). Then you can manually enter the information about the item (title, author, etc.).
Editing item metadata
After adding an item to your Zotero library, you will want to review the metadata for the item and make any corrections if necessary. The metadata is the information about the item you added, such as the title, author, publication date, etc. You can edit an item's metadata in the "Info" pane on the right side of the screen.
Click on any metadata field to edit it. You can right-click on the "Title" field to change the title capitalization to title case or sentence case, depending on the requirements of whatever citation style you will be using.
