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There are seven sections to the General preferences in Zotero: Interface, File Handling, Reader, Locate, Miscellaneous and Groups. To save time, it is advisable to set your preferences in Zotero at the beginning.
Interface allows you to decide if you want Zotero in light or dark mode. Choose your working language and format the header in the reference item pane.
File Handling allows you to select the following options:
Reader allows you to select the reader, Zotero has a built-in PDF reader. It is normally set as the default. You can change this to select the reader that is the default on your computer (select 'Default') or another reader (select 'Custom'). In Zotero 7 you can select the reader option for PDFs, EPUBs and snapshots.
Locate: One of the changes in Zotero 7 is the location of the Library Resolver, which is now under the General settings.
Locate allows you to set Zotero to find the resource in Explore, UCL's catalogue.
Once you have done this, you can use the Library Lookup function in Zotero.
The Lookup sits at the bottom of the ribbon that lists the various functions for the Reference on the Zotero right hand-side panel.
Click on the the arrow icon and select Library Lookup to go straight to Explore the library catalogue.
Miscellaneous has the option to download the keyword and tags used in databases. This can be useful for searching your Zotero Library so we recommend you check this box. Under Miscellaneous you can also set up for how long you want to keep deleted references in the Bin.
Groups It is recommended that you check all the boxes. This will ensure that notes, snapshots, links and tags are copied across if you move the reference from the main folder 'My Library' to a sub-folder.
Zotero provides 300 MB of free storage space for your full-text PDFs, but unlimited storage for bibliographic data.
Data syncing allows you to copy all your references ('My Library') including any notes and tags you have added to the Cloud (Zotero's server). The space for data is unlimited unless you sync full text. If you sync the full text, you will quickly run out of the free space allocated by Zotero.
You may want to purchase extra space if you use a number of different devices. However, you will need to make sure that the file path and names (see Advanced) are identical on all versions of Zotero on different devices.
Quick Copy: this option allows you to select the default referencing style that you want your citations to appear in when you Export your library or a single reference.
The Cite option allows you to select the default style for your citations and bibliography. The list may be styles that have previously downloaded or the defaults that Zotero provides.
You can find find additional styles by clicking on the Get additional styles.. link and under Tools you can Preview a citaton style.
Also under Cite you will find Word Processors options:
The Advanced section has four sections: Advanced, Files and Folders, Shortcuts, Feeds and Search.
Advanced:
Includes Miscellaneous and Language and Region.
Files and Folders:
You can set up the 'path' which tells Zotero where (i.e. in which folder) you want to save the full text if you are automatically attaching the full text of the document in the Files and Folders submenu. If this is not of concern to you, leave the default option.
Shortcuts:
You to change Zotero's default keyboard shortcuts.
Feeds:
You can keep updated with published research on Zotero by using the RSS Feeds option. Here you can either keep the defaults or decide how often you would like the feeds to be updated and choose to see the newest or oldest items first.
Search:
Search can be used to configure and manage Zotero's full-text search feature.
You will find the Preferences option either under 'Edit' (Windows) or 'Zotero' (Mac). The Preference window is divided into the following six panes as shown below. Follow the instructions below to set up the preferences before you start using Zotero.
To save time, it is advisable to set your preferences in Zotero. There are three sections to the General preferences in Zotero: File Handling, Miscellaneous and Groups.
The File Handling option allows you to select the following options:
The Miscellaneous section has the option to download the keyword and tags used in databases. This can be useful for searching your Zotero Library so we recommend you check this box.
It is recommended that you check all the boxes in Groups section. This will ensure that notes, snapshots, links and tags are copied across if you move the reference from the main folder 'My Library' to a sub-folder.
Zotero provides 300 MB of free storage space for your full-text PDFs, but unlimited storage for bibliographic data.
Data syncing allows you to copy all your references ('My Library') including any notes and tags you have added to the Cloud (Zotero's server). The space for data is unlimited unless you sync full text. If you sync the full text, you will quickly run out of the free space allocated by Zotero.
You may want to purchase extra space if you use a number of different devices. However, you will need to make sure that the file path and names (see Advanced) are identical on all versions of Zotero on different devices. Alternatively, you may want to save your full-text files on the N:\drive which is the network drive on the computers at UCL.
Indexing on Zotero enables a full Search of your PDFs. If you index the PDFs, the PDFs will become searchable.
If you don't, Search uses only the metadata (the bibliographic information, that is, title, author, abstract if this has been downloaded and publication details) that you have entered or imported.
Quick Copy: this option allows you to select the default referencing style that you want your citations to appear in when you Export your library or a single reference.
The Cite option allows you to select the default style for your citations and bibliography. The list may be styles that have previously downloaded or the defaults that Zotero provides.
If you want to include URLs of the papers (DOIs or web addresses), check the 'Include URLs of paper articles in the references' option. You can preview the styles by selecting the 'Style Editor' and 'Style Preview' options.
Click on the Get additional styles link to find other styles in Zotero's Style Repository. Type in a subject e.g. History and you will get a list of styles used in journals on the subject; type the name of a publisher, and you will get all the styles recommended by the publisher.
You can use Zotero with Microsoft Word or LibreOffice. If the plugin has not installed automatically (which it should), use the option to install the plugin for the Word Processor you use.
Check Use Classic Add Citation dialog to ensure that when you use Zotero in Word or Office Libre, a window opens allowing you to see your complete library of references rather than a thin narrow red box.
The Advanced section has four submenues: General, Files and Folders, Shortcuts and Feeds.
General
If you would like Zotero to find the resource in Explore, UCL's catalogue, under Open URL click on the arrow down and then navigate to Europe, Unitied Kingdom and then select University College London. You can also add the URL exactly as it appears here in the Resolver field:
https://ucl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/openurl?institution=44UCL_INST&vid=44UCL_INST:UCL_VU2.
Once you have done this, you can use the Library Lookup function in Zotero (which is the green arrow on the right-hand side of the menu bar on Zotero Desktop) to go straight to the library catalogue Explore.
Files and Folders:
You can set up the 'path' which tells Zotero where (i.e. in which folder) you want to save the full text if you are automatically attaching the full text of the document in the Files and Folders submenu. If this is not of concern to you, leave the default option.
Shortcuts:
The Shortcuts tab allows you to change Zotero's default keyboard shortcuts.
Feeds:
You can keep updated with published research on Zotero by using the RSS Feeds option. Here you can either keep the defaults or decide how often you would like the feeds to be updated and choose to see the newest or oldest items first.
The Classic Dialogue Box opens up a window in Word that allows you to see the whole of your Zotero Library. It also allows you to search all your references and your full-text attachments.
