How do I add PDFs to my Zotero Library?

There are several ways to add PDFs to your Zotero Library depending on whether the file has already been saved or not.

Drag and drop multiple PDFs

This is the quickest way to add items you already have saved. Simply open your file explorer and drag single or multiple PDFs from your computer to your Collection (left column) or Library (centre column):

Each PDF will be added to your library as a single item. Zotero will try to extract any metadata and populate the bibliographic fields. You will need to check these details. Click on an item in your library, then, if necessary, click in any empty or incomplete fields in the right-hand menu to add or edit details:

Attach PDFs to Library items

You can save a PDF to an item in your Library. Drag it into your Zotero pane and drop it onto the existing library item, or right-click on the library item and click Add Attachment and then File: 

Browse to the PDF you downloaded and save it. The blue dot to the right of the entry will change to a PDF icon. You will now have the bibliographic record and the PDF attached:

DOI and ISBNs

Using the Add item by identifier magic wand you can add DOIs of journal articles or ISBNs of books (you can also add using PMIDs, PubMed files, or arXiv IDs). In the case of DOIs you will link to the persistent record and thus the journal article. When using ISBNs it will populate with the item data:

Save PDFs to the cloud

  1. Create a folder in your computer’s Dropbox/OneDrive drive to store your Zotero PDFs, i.e. ZoteroFilesinOnedrive. Make sure it is properly synced with Dropbox/OneDrive.
  2. In Zotero, go to Zotero Edit > Settings > Advanced > Files and Folders. Change your Zotero file storage Base Directory by using the Choose… option to go to the folder you just set up. Now any PDF files you download as attachments to a Zotero record will be automatically saved in this synced folder, which will store the files online in your cloud storage app. Note: This is a *relational* link – if you change the file structure in any way, the link between the saved file in Dropbox/OneDrive and your Zotero record will be lost.
  3. Once you have created a Zotero record and separately uploaded your PDF to your cloud storage option, make sure you are working with the correct record in Zotero for your article. Open your Dropbox/OneDrive and open the PDF so it is readable on-screen, with a .PDF extension. Attach your link to its Zotero record using either the paperclip option in Zotero‘s toolbar (Attach Link to URI) or by right-clicking on the Zotero item, selecting Add Attachment, and then selecting Attach Link to URI. You will be prompted to paste in the file URL and add a title. Zotero will not be able to extract the correct title using Rename File from Parent Metadata, but you can change it later manually.
  4. Sync your Zotero library so the article’s item record on your library on Zotero.org is updated as well to include the cloud storage file links.
  5. Now from this computer, or your library on Zotero.org, or any other computer that is synced to it, you will be able to open the PDF from the Zotero record if you are logged in to your Dropbox/OneDrive account (if you aren’t, you will be prompted to log in). Note: If you are opening it from your Zotero application on your desktop/laptop, the file will just open as an online PDF once you click on the link. If you are accessing it online from Zotero.org, you will have to click on the Attachment Details link at the bottom of the article item record and then you will see the Dropbox/OneDrive link. Using these settings, any saved webpage screenshots will continue to be saved in your regular Zotero folder, not on Dropbox/OneDrive, and the screenshots will be saved on and directly accessible from your library on Zotero.org. Any PDF files previously saved to your regular Zotero folder will still be there, and will continue to be saved on, and directly accessible from, your library on Zotero.org.
  6. If you don’t want ALL your article PDFs (or other attachment files) to be saved to your Dropbox/OneDrive, you can keep your default Zotero settings and save individual items to Dropbox/OneDrive, manually as needed. To do this, move/upload the PDF file you want to access via Dropbox/OneDrive to Dropbox/OneDrive manually, then follow the directions starting at #3.

Annotate PDFs

Click on a PDF and it will open in Zotero’s own PDF reader. Annotate the PDF with coloured highlighters, snip an image, and add comments and tags. These are searchable and will be saved to the file whether you store that file locally or in the Zotero cloud. Toggle the left-hand pane to see all annotations:

To export annotations so you can open the PDF in a different PDF reader click File > Export PDF option, which will convert any Zotero annotations into standard annotations. Similarly, when exporting metadata from your library, see the “Include Annotations” option under “Export Files”.

Collaborate on PDFs

If you are using groups in Zotero you can open and annotate PDFs in your Group library and see fellow collaborators' comments. Toggle the sidebar to see all comments. Here you can also choose to show comments from certain collaborators by clicking their name at the bottom of the pane:

Help videos

You may also find the following short videos useful (MyBeckett login required):

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