Thread by @MushtaqBilalPhD

Every academic knows that the BEST software for citation and reference management is Zotero.

BUT many folks don't know how to take notes and annotate PDFs in Zotero.

Here's how to get started 👇

Zotero Annotations 101: A step-by-step guide with visuals 🧵

Download a PDF and drag it to Zotero's main panel.

This is how your PDF will look initially in the main panel.

Zotero will automatically collect metadata relevant to your PDF and rename your it.

PS: I used to think the add-on Zotfile renamed PDFs. Looks like you don't need Zotfile to rename your PDFs. Here I'm using Zotero without Zotfile.

To start annotating, simply double-click the PDF. Zotero will open it in a new window.

On the left is the annotation panel.

In the middle are four options for annotating: Highlight, Add Note, Select Area, and Color

On the right is a button for Notes.

Clicking on the Notes button in the top right corner will give your two options for note taking: Item Notes and All Notes.

I will discuss it further in a bit.

When you highlight a certain passage in a PDF, Zotero will show it in the annotation panel on the left.

You can easily add your comments on individual annotations.

You can color-code your annotations. I'm using blue for secondary sources I should read.

PS: I wish I were this organized while writing my dissertation 🤦‍♂️😂

You can also add a note using the "Add Note" option without having to highlight any text.

You can also select a certain area in a PDF using the "Select Area" option.

The Mendeley equivalent for this is "Highlight Rectangle."

But unlike Mendeley, Zotero will paste the selected area in your annotation panel, which is pretty cool.

Now to the Notes panel on the right side.

You can take TWO types of notes in Zotero: Item Notes and All Notes. (Mendeley equivalent for "All Notes" is "Notebook")

You can add an independent Item Note and you can also convert an annotation into an Item Note.

Here I am adding an "Item Note."

And this is an example of converting an annotation into an Item Note. You can add further comments too.

All Notes also gives you two options: "Add Standalone Note" and "Add Standalone Note from Annotations."

"All Notes" shows ALL of your notes that you've taken on ALL of your PDFs.

Here you can see a note on a different PDF that is being shown in "All Notes."

You can also access you annotations on the web (in an internet browser) but you can't edit them online.

And that's about it.

If you've never used Zotero, or are new to it, here's a helpful guide to get you started 👇

This guide has been read by 2 million people.

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Happy annotating!