Read and Annotate PDFs in Zotero | Scribe

    Read and Annotate PDFs in Zotero

    • Brittni Ballard |
    • 26 steps |
    • 2 minutes
    information ordinal icon
    Note: Zotero PDF Reader is only available on the desktop application.
    1
    New to Zotero? Albert S. Cook Library's [Zotero guide](https://towson.libguides.com/zotero/start) can help!
    2
    Open the PDF you want to read
    User clicks the first PDF in the library
    3
    Preview the Zotero PDF Reader interface: Annotations are kept in the left-hand column, and the PDF is in the center of the screen.
    User hovers between the Annotations sidebar and the PDF itself
    4
    Select the text you want to highlight
    User highlights the article title
    5
    Select the color to highlight with
    User selects the color gray from a menu of 8 options
    6
    In the left-hand column, select the highlight you just made
    User selects the gray coded highlight at the top of the sidebar
    7
    Click "Add comment" and enter your personal reminder or observation
    After selecting the comment, an Add Comment feature appears
    8
    Click outside the Annotation column to see all your highlights with comments
    User clicks onto PDF
    9
    Return to the Zotero library
    User selects the open Zotero tab to return to the library
    10
    Right click the title of the PDF you were reading
    User selects the same article they were just reading
    11
    Click "Add Note from Annotations"
    The user selects an action item in the middle of the pop-up list of options
    12
    Right click the newly-created "Annotations"
    The Annotations the user just created are listed alphabetically, before the title of the article
    13
    Click "Export Note…"
    The user selects an action item near the bottom of the pop-up list of options
    14
    Click "Format:"
    The user selects the only drop-down field within the Export pop-up window
    15
    Click "Markdown"
    The user selects the first option, Markdown, within the Export pop-up window; the other options are HTML and Zotero RDF
    16
    Un-check the box to "Include Zotero Links"
    User selects the only check box field within the Export pop-up window
    17
    Click "OK"
    User selects OK; the other option is Cancel
    18
    Rename the Annotations and save them somewhere easy to find
    User saves the Annotations to the Desktop and titles the file Annotations plus the first several words of the article title
    19
    Click "Save"
    User selects Save; the option is Cancel