1. Download the software package and the browser extension.
2. Zotero should automatically detect your operating system and browser. Make sure that you download the correct application and connector.
3. Open Zotero and install the application.
4. Add the connector. Click on the 'install connector' button for your chosen browser. (Browsers that have connectors for Zotero are Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox). You may get a notification that the connector has been added.
5. Now you are ready to start using Zotero!
1. Create an account with Zotero by clicking on the link here.
2. You will get an email welcoming you to Zotero with instructions for how to sync the desktop application to your account by logging in on the desktop app. This is a necessary step, do not skip it. 
3. Make other folders for all of your research/class needs, you can do this directly on the desktop application. Click on the New Collection button. New Collections will be under 'My Library'. Your groups will fall under "Group Libraries".
Pro-Tip: Groups can only be created through the web portal and not in the desktop application.
1. Create an account with Zotero by clicking on the link here.
2. You will get an email welcoming you to Zotero with instructions for how to sync the desktop application to your account by logging in on the desktop app. This is a necessary step; do not skip it.
3. Make other folders for all of your research/class needs. You can do this directly on the desktop application. Click on the New Collection button. New Collections will be under 'My Library'. Your groups (folders shared with others) will fall under "Group Libraries".
Pro-Tip: Groups can only be created through the web portal and not in the desktop application.
What if you have some older articles or dissertations that are PDFs or even on paper? Can you add these to Zotero?
Fortunately, you can! Unfortunately, you do need to have a PDF. If your PDF is older and you cannot highlight words or ideas, consider running it through Adobe Acrobat's OCR (Optical Character Recognition) so that you will be able to search it and highlight main ideas.
First, choose the type of resource that you are adding.
Then you will have to add the metadata manually. check this
Once that is complete, choose the resource you need to add the PDF to by highlighting it.
Then, at the top of the window, choose the file drop-down and select Attach File
Simply choose the correct PDF and you are done!
Adding Articles:
1. Open Zotero. In your browser, search for an article in a database.
2. Click the Zotero Connector icon at the top of your browser to save a citation from that page. The icon will change based on the type of item on the page. For example, on a library catalog page for a book, the Zotero save button will show a Book icon.
3. While writing your paper, use the Zotero tab in Word to insert citations and a bibliography.
4. See the Zotero page on "Getting Stuff Into Your Library" for more information.
Correcting References
Now that you have used the magic of Zotero to add references, you may realize that some of the citations are incomplete or even incorrect. If you try to edit it, it will go back to what Zotero has stored in its database. How do you fix this??
To correct a citation, you must change the information in Zotero.
1. Choose the library that you want to work with on your main screen, then choose the work that needs to be corrected.
2. Enter the correct information. The image below shows that this journal article is missing volume, issue, and page information. If you cannot see the information pane, click on the information icon in the sidebar.
3. Enter the correct information. It is saved automatically. This will ensure that your citations are correct.
Sometimes a PDF does not download or is not available. Whether you get it by downloading it manually, scanning it, or through ILL, it is simple to add it to your Zotero Library.
First, choose the resource you need to add the PDF to by highlighting it.
Then, at the top of the window, choose the file drop-down and select Attach File
Simply choose the correct PDF and you are done!
Are you having problems adding the Zotero connector for your browser? Are you getting the message that you are blocked from the extensions? This is probably because you are logged into your JagMail in the browser you are trying to add the connector to. Try these steps to solve this issue.