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Ohio University

Zotero

A guide to using Zotero, a free tool for collecting information about your research sources and creating citations.

Attaching Files to Citations

Each citation in y our Zotero library can have multiple attached files. The most common use for this feature is to attach the full-text of a citation in a PDF format, but you can also attach Word documents, Zotero notes, images, and other types of files.

Click the image to the right for a larger version in a new window.

Right click on an item and choose attach stored copy of file. A window will pop up and let you choose which file to attach

Some things to know about attaching citations:

  • If a full-text PDF is available, some websites and library databases will include this attachment automatically when you use the browser connector to add a citation.
  • Usually, you'll want to add an attachment to an existing citation by right-clicking on a citation in the middle panel and choosing Add Attachment > Attach Stored Copy of File. This method will create a version of the file in your Zotero folders on your computer and in your synced Zotero library (if you are using this feature). Synced files are accessible from any device on which you use and sync Zotero.
  • You can link a file on your computer to a citation by right clicking on a citaiton in the middle panel and chooing Add Attachment > Attach Link to File. This document will not be available on other devices.
  • Once you have attached a document, you can open the document from with Zotero by double-clicking on the file. Any edits you make to the document will be saved to this version.