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Zotero setup v7

Zotero setup v7

This is an updated guide on how to setup zotero, now for version 7. In this update I’ve moved from cloud storage to WebDav. I am using infini-cloud for their geneours free plan (20 gb) and nice tutorial on how to setup WebDav for Zotero; if you apply the promo code 9PQYW we both get bonus storage.

For redundacy, and easy sharing of documents, I am using Zotmoov to make a copy of the files into a local folder on my computer.

Setup

  1. create account in infini-cloud (or any other WebDav provider)
  2. download and install Zotero
  3. download and install plugin::Zotmoov
  4. download and install pluggin::BetterBibTex
  5. go to Edit > Settings > General > …
    1. Rename linked files > Customize Filename format > citationKey (in curly braces)
    2. Show tabs as : Creator-Year-Title
  6. go to Edit > Settings > Sync > …
    1. Sync attachment files in My Library using: WebDav
    2. fill in the credentials
  7. go to Edit > Settings > Advanced > …
    1. in Data Directory Location set the Data directory: ...\user\zotero
  8. go to File > Export Library
    1. select the Format to be Better CSL JSON
    2. check Keep updated
    3. to confirm the export setup go to Edit > Settings > Better BibTeX > …
    4. in Automatic export check that the Format to be Better CSL JSON as setup above

configuration of plugins

To avoid conflicts beween papers (i.e. same citation key name and pdf file name) these are my tweaks to:

  • BetterBibtex: Citation Key formula is auth+year
  • Zotmoov will copy the citation key

tricks

select a reference, then press ctrl/cmd+shift+c, and then paste to have the complete reference. very useful to quick share references on e-mails

Happy reading! 📑

other plugins

These are the other plugins that I have installed to help me out:

Colour highlight rules

When reading document I use the native Zotero pdf reader which allows to use different colours for highlight, and also making comments. This is the color rules that I found to work for me.

pdf annotations

  • yellow 🟡: interesting peace of knowledge
  • red 🔴: controversial or in disagreement with running hypothesis
  • green 🟢: confirmation of something
  • blue 🔵: definitions
  • purple 🟣: material and methods details to consider for experiments
  • orange 🟠: follow up on this reference
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.