Reference management tools

• The reference looks strange and there is missing information
  • Check that the item (the reference in the database itself) has all the metadata needed to create a complete reference.
• My source list sorts ÅÄÖ under A and O!
  • Change the language in Zotero to Swedish: Zotero -> "Edit" -> "Settings". Please note that not all reference styles are available in Swedish. You can see this in "Document Preferences" in the Zotero tab in the word processing program. For example, p as in "page" cannot be converted to s as in "sidor".
• Zotero doesn't seem to work with Apple Pages?
  • No, that's right. There is currently no working Zotero plugin for Apple Pages.
• I get the error message "You have modified this citation since Zotero generated it. Do you want to keep your modifications and prevent future updates?"
  • If you've changed something in the source reference, that is, the gray area created by Zotero,  you'll get this message at some point. (If you want to change a reference, click "Add/Edit citation".) If you choose "Yes", the change you added manually remains, but if you change the item's metadata or citation style, the reference will not be updated. If you click "No", your source reference will be updated, but the change you made manually will disappear.
• My reference in APA does not become "author, 2023a" and "author, 2023b" even though it is the same author?
  • Check that you don't have duplicate references by going to "Duplicate Items" and merging them if you have several. Then redo the references. It can also be due to the metadata in the reference not being in the same order, e.g. several authors are listed in different order. 
• I already have a Zotero account but haven't used an abo.fi address, does that mean I can't get the institutional license and must make a new account?
  • Not at all, it's easy to change your address or add a new one. Log into Zotero, go to your account settings and add/change your email. You should then automatically be covered by the license.
• Connector is not working correctly/not importing to Zotero. Why?
  • Check your settings on your browser by going to the add-ons menu. If you do not let the Connector read the contents of the browser continuously, it cannot read metadata and import this into Zotero. Change it so that it can always do it.

It may be a good idea to back up your library regularly, even if you have synchronization in use. Note! This is not a must and nothing you need to do as a beginner.

You can back up your library by going to “Edit” -> “Preferences” in the Zotero program. Select the “Advanced” tab, then the “Files and Directories” subtab. In the second field  is a button that says “Show Data Catalog”.

Click on it and a folder will open on your computer where all the Zotero data is located, probably with the address C:\Users\username\Zotero. Then close Zotero, if you tinker with the data while the program is open there is a risk of corruption. Copy all files and folders contained in the folder.

Create a folder where you want to back up the files: a usb stick, ÅA's home area, OneDrive, etc. Paste the files and folders, and you've made a backup! Feel free to include today's date in the name of your backup folder so you know when you made the last backup. Try to remember to do this regularly, such as the first or last day of every month.

Restore your library

If you have problems with your library, you may need to restore it, and you do this using your backup in the following way:

Go to the data directory as instructed above. Create a temporary, new folder on your desktop. Select the zotero.sqlite and storage files from the data directory and move them to the temporary folder.

Open your backup folder and select the same files from there and copy them over to the data directory. The Zotero library should now work, and you can delete the temporary folder.

More information about and options for restoration on the Zotero site .

In case of problems, it’s good to first search for a solution in the Zotero Forums or Zotero's support . The Zotero Forum is very active and users often offer each other customized solutions, so it's likely that you'll find someone who has run into the same problem as you at some point. 

If you can't find the solution in the Zotero Forums, you can contact the library .