Q. How do I manually create or edit citations in Zotero?

Zotero has a lot of ways to automatically save citations. However, sometimes you will not have that option, and those automatic citations may sometimes have errors. Here's how to add or edit citations by hand.

• Desktop App
• Web Library
• Mobile App

Desktop App

1. To create a new citation:
   1. Select the "New Item" icon at the top of the web library that looks like a sheet of paper with a plus icon.
      
   2. In the box that opens, select what item type your source you are citing. You may need to scroll down to see all item types.
      
   3. A blank citation will be created at the top of your library.
2. To edit a citation, click that citation in your library.
3. In the panel to the right of the citation, go to the Info section. It is marked by an icon of a page of paper with an "i" in a circle. and you can select that icon in the right navigation bar to go to it.
   
4. To edit the information, scroll to the field for the citation information you want to edit. In most cases, there will be a text box next to the label for your two enter information, but there are two fields that are a little more complex:
   1. Item Type: select a type from the drop-down menu. Note: changing the item type will change which citation fields appear and may prompt a notification.
   2. Creator: there are multiple options with this field.
      
      1. You can select the type of creator (i.e. author, editor, presenter etc.) from the drop-down menu. This menu also has options to move creators up or down in the list order when there is more than one creator listed.
      2. There will be then text fields for entering creator information. You can select the icon to the right of it to toggle between two fields (for entering last/family name, first/personal name) or one field (for group/corporate authors or for cultures where family name is listed before personal name).
      3. If you have multiple creators, there are plus and minus icons on the far right for adding ("Create") or subtracting ("Delete") the number of creator fields.
5. To add an attachment, scroll down to the Attachments section of the right panel. You can also click the icon of the paper clip in the right navigation bar.
   
6. Select the Add icon (a plus sign) and then select one of the three options that will be listed.
   
7. Follow the instructions in the box that appears.
8. Your citation information is now updated!

Web Library

1. To create a new citation:
   1. Select the "New Item" icon at the top of the web library that looks like a plus icon.
      
   2. In the box that opens, select what item type your source you are citing.
      
   3. If you do not see your item type, click "More" to see the full list of item types.
   4. A blank citation will be created at the top of your library.
2. To edit a citation, click that citation in your library.
3. In the panel to the right of the citation, select the "Info" tab if not already opened.
   
4. To edit the information, scroll to the field for the citation information you want to edit. In most cases, there will be a text box next to the label for your two enter information, but there are two fields that are a little more complex:
   1. Item Type: select a type from the drop-down menu. Note: changing the item type will change which citation fields appear and may prompt a notification.
   2. Creator: there are multiple options with this field.
      
      1. You can select the type of creator (i.e. author, editor, presenter etc.) from the drop-down menu. This menu also has options to move creators up or down in the list order when there is more than one creator listed.
      2. There will be then text fields for entering creator information. You can select the icon to the right of it to toggle between two fields (for entering last/family name, first/personal name) or one field (for group/corporate authors or for cultures where family name is listed before personal name).
      3. There are plus and minus icons on the far right for adding or subtracting the number of creator fields for multiple creators.
5. To add an attachment such as the PDF of the source:
   
   1. Click the "Attachments" tab in the right panel.
   2. Click "Add file" to upload a document or "Add Linked URL" to link a document.
   3. Follow the instructions in the box that opens.
6. Your citation information is now updated!

Mobile App

1. To create a new citation:
   1. Go to either All Items or the collection you want to add the citation to.
   2. Select the plus icon in the top right.
      
   3. Select "Add Manually"
      
   4. Select your item type from the list.
      
2. To edit a citation:
   1. Find that citation in your library.
   2. Select the icon of an "i" in a circle to its right to open the citation information page.
      
   3. In that page, select "Edit."
      
3. To edit the information, scroll to the field for the citation information you want to edit. In most cases, there will be a text box next to the label for your two enter information, but there are two fields that are a little more complex:
   1. Item Type: select a type from the drop-down menu. Note: changing the item type will change which citation fields appear and may prompt a notification.
   2. Creator:
      
      1. Select "Add Creator" to open a new page with editing options. To edit a creator that is already there, just select it to open that page.
         
         1. You can select the type of creator (i.e. author, editor, presenter etc.) from the drop-down menu.
         2. There will be then text fields for entering creator information. It should default to two fields, one for last name and one for first name. You can select "Switch to single field" to have only one text field (for group/corporate authors or for cultures where family name is listed before personal name). Select "Switch to two field" to go back.
         3. Select "Delete Author" to remove that creator from the list.
      2. You can remove a creator by selecting the icon of a minus sign in a red circle then selecting the "Delete" button that appears on the right.
      3. To change the order the creators appear, select the icon that looks like three horizontal lines on the right and then drag the creator up or down.
   3. Select "Done" when you are finished editing. This will take you back to the citation information page.
   4. To add an attachment, scroll down to the "Attachments" field and select "Add attachment." Select a file to add.