
Tags not assigned to currently shown items are greyed out. To show all of the tags present in the library, click the multi-color button in the lower-right corner of the tag selection and choose “Display All Tags in This Library”. It shows all the tags that have been assigned to the items currently shown in the center pane (i.e., items in the currently selected collection that match the current search). The tag selector is located at the bottom of the left Zotero pane. Experiment with both to see what works best for your own workflow. Both organizational methods have unique advantages and features. Copying items between Zotero libraries (My Library and group libraries) will transfer their tags, but not their collection placements. Tags are portable, but collections are not. Items can have as many tags as you like, and you can filter your library (or a specific collection) to show items having a specific set of one or more tags. You can tag items based on their topics, methods, status, ratings, or even based on your own workflow (e.g., “to-read”). Tags (often called “keywords” in other contexts) allow for detailed characterization of an item.

You can import items directly to a specific collection or add them to collections after they are already in your library. Collections are useful for filing items in meaningful groups (e.g., items for a particular project, from a specific source, on a specific topic, or for a particular course). The same item can belong to multiple collections and subcollections in your library at the same time.

Items in Zotero libraries can be organized with collections and tags.Ĭollections allow hierarchical organization of items into groups and subgroups.
