In Zotero, bibliographies can be created from individual collections and sub-collections. After right-clicking on a collection, the option can be selected. The citation style must then be selected.

The list can be saved as RTF, HTML or in the clipboard and inserted in a word processing program.

By default, Zotero saves all data and files locally on the end device on which the program is used. There is a synchronization function that must be activated once, after which the data is synchronized automatically. A Zotero account and an Internet connection are required for the synchronization function.

Synchronization can be activated under Edit in the Zotero settings. The login information must be entered for this.

The synchronization of files can also be set in the settings.

The language can be set in the general settings in Zotero. These can be found at the top of the toolbar under "Edit -> Settings".

The Zotero interface is divided into three columns.

1. on the far left are the collections. These are folder structures in which you can sort your collected literature.

2. the media in the selected folder are displayed in the middle.

3. on the far right, the metadata such as the title and authors of a medium are displayed as soon as it is selected.

After clicking on the folder symbol in the top left of the first column, a collection title can be entered.

You can then select the location where the collection
is to be created.

Sub-collections can be created by right-clicking on a collection.

To create a backup, a copy of the Zotero folder must be created. The storage location can be viewed via the advanced Zotero settings under "Files and folders". The storage location is opened via the "Show data directory" button. For a backup, all files must be copied from the displayed folder and saved in the newly created backup folder (e.g. on an external hard disk).

In the middle column of the Zotero interface you will find the magic wand symbol of the identifier at the top left. After clicking on it, a media identifier such as ISBN or DOI can be inserted in the search field.

Media with the corresponding metadata can be added manually via the empty input mask.

With the appropriate Zotero connector for the browser used, digital texts and (parts of) web pages can be saved, for example. The connector icon is located at the top right of the browser. Depending on the medium to be saved, it looks different: for a book, the icon is also a book, for a magazine article a document, and if several results are found on one page of Zotero, e.g. when searching in Catalog Plus, a folder icon is displayed.

Several media from online search result lists and individual media from single title views can be saved.

Media found in the catalog plus can be added to the watch list. To do this, you must log in to the catalog plus with your TU account. Media can now be added to the watchlist during research. After navigating to the watch list, a selection can be made from the saved media in the browser via the connector and saved to any location in Zotero.

After clicking on the Zotero connector in the browser, a pop-up window appears. In this window, you can use the arrow on the edge (far right) to expand the library with the collections it contains and select a storage location.

By right-clicking on a medium, it can be moved from a collection to the recycle bin. Media are saved in the parent library and added to the collections as links.

If media are deleted from a collection, they still exist in the Zotero library. If they are moved from the library to the recycle bin and this is emptied, they are completely deleted.

Metadata is information about the media, such as the title, authors, creation dates, etc., which is stored in Zotero. When adding media, existing metadata, if available, is also imported. This data is used, for example, when citing from Zotero into a writing program for the bibliographic information. The data should therefore always be checked for
correctness and edited if necessary.

Tags or "keywords" can be assigned for finer categorization. Unlimited tags can be created for media, which can help with content categorization or the work process (e.g. "still reading"). Collections or the entire library can be filtered using tags so that, for example, media with a specific tag are displayed in the search.

Once a medium has been selected, the tag tab can be opened in the tool column on the right-hand side of the program and new tags can be added using the +.

Titles recorded twice are called duplicates in Zotero. To be able to view all duplicates, a duplicate folder is preset in the left-hand column of the program. If the folder is clicked, all duplicates are listed in the middle column. There is a "Merge entries" function on the right-hand side of the column, which eliminates duplicate storage.

Double-click on a PDF file to open it in a new window in Zotero. There are various editing tools at the top center:

• Highlight text (highlight text passages in different colors)
• Underline text (underline text passages in different colors)
• Note annotation (place notes anywhere in the PDF)
• Add text (make direct text entries)
• Select area (cut out PDF parts, e.g. graphics)
• Draw

The annotations made are displayed one below the other in the left-hand column.

The notes can be displayed in the third column of the PDF editor. There are "Entry notes", which are linked to the respective PDF and can be quoted, and "All notes", which are saved across all PDFs and entries.

A new entry note can be added via the "+" button or all annotations can be transferred to an entry note. So that individual annotations can be quoted, each one should be created as a separate entry note:

• Click on the "+" button
• Select "Add entry note"
• Navigate to the three dots of the respective annotation in the left-hand column
• Select "Add to note"

The "Add/Edit Citation" function for inserting citations can be selected via the Zotero tab in the Word ribbon.

When citing for the first time in a document, the citation style must first be selected. If your own citation style is not in the list that appears, a new style can be added via "Manage styles".

After selecting a citation style, the Zotero search bar appears, in which the corresponding medium can be selected via Title search. The Zotero icon on the left of the search bar can be used to switch to the classic view for easier orientation. After selecting the medium to be cited, a suffix/prefix and/or the page number can be added.

Once a citation style has been selected, the citation style editor can be opened via the "Add/Edit Citation" function by clicking on "Show editor..." to open it.

Yes, the citation style can be changed later via the "Document Preferences".

Citation styles can be customized and custom styles can be loaded into Zotero. Additional styles can be selected from a longer list via the "Get additional styles" tab in the document preferences. Styles can be customized via Markdown using the citation style editor.

Using the Mendeley CLS Editor, you can easily create your own styles or edit existing styles without Markdown. These can then be downloaded and added to Zotero using the + button. Instructions for this are already available from Mendeley itself.

The "Add/Edit Bibliography" function for inserting a bibliography can be selected via the Zotero tab in the Word ribbon.

The bibliography is created dynamically from the literature cited in the document. If new sources are cited or citations with sources are deleted, the bibliography is updated. If this does not happen automatically, the process can be started manually using the "Refresh" function.

Yes, you can quote from annotations. Click on "Insert Notes" to open a search field that can be used to filter and then insert notes.

In Libreoffice, all Zotero functions are displayed in the toolbar after successful installation of the add-in:

• Add/Edit Citation (insert citations)
• Add Note (insert notes)
• Add/Edit Bibliography (insert/edit bibliography)
• Refresh (manual refresh if it does not work automatically)
• Set Document Preferences (document settings, e.g. to subsequently change the citation style of the document)
• Unlink Citations (remove links from citations)

Once the add-in has been successfully installed, a tab appears in the ribbon in Google Docs. The following functions can be executed by clicking on the tab:

• Add/Edit Citation (insert citations)
• Add Note (insert notes)
• Add/Edit Bibliography (insert/edit bibliography)
• Document preferences (document settings, e.g. to subsequently change the citation style of the document)
• Refresh (manual refresh if it does not work automatically)
• Swich word processors (saving the Zotero links in the document in order to change the writing program)
• Unlink Citations (remove links from citations)