Add full text PDFs
Add full text PDFs to your reference library
Automatically added PDFs
The foundation of your library in Zotero are not full text publications, but references. References are not the publications themselves, but information about the publications. Often when you add a reference to your library, Zotero will automatically add the full text PDF of the publication as an attachment, which is very useful. When Zotero doesn't automatically add the PDF to your reference, there are a few different solutions you can try:
1. Use VPN outside of Campus
If you are outside of campus, always use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on your computer. When you are identified as a LU student through your internet connection, you will be able to download all PDF:s that you have access to through the Lund University libraries.
LU Support guides about VPN Links to an external site.
2. Accept browser proxy settings
If you get the following message (or a similar one) in your browser when using the Zotero Connector, click Accept:
This means that Zotero has detected that you are accessing resources through Lund University, and it will automatically take this route in the future.
3. Zotero "Find Full Text" function
Right-click the reference in your library and select "Find Full Text"
If a PDF is found, a grey triangle will appear to the left of your reference in the list and the PDF will be attached to your reference. In many cases, this function will be enough to get the PDF.
4. Save references from the publisher platform
Zotero is more likely to attach the PDF if you save the reference from the publisher platform, rather than directly from your search tool result list (also, the data is sometimes better). So even if it means an extra click going from the search tool to the journal webpage (use the link LU Full Text Finder), it will save you time in the long run.
To get to the publisher platform from an existing reference in Zotero, double click the reference in your library or try to find a DOI-link in the reference and open it in your browser. Save the reference again with the Zotero Connector (now hopefully with the PDF attachment). Merge the two duplicates.
5. Use LU Library link resolver
Go to Edit (PC) or Zotero (Mac) > Settings > General. Under Locate: Resolver, go to Europe > Sweden and select Lund University. The Base URL should automatically be filled in with "https://lulinker.lub.lu.se".
Close the Settings window. Select a reference that you haven't got an attached PDF for. Click the "Locate"-button on the menu on the far right and select "Library lookup":
This will (in most cases) take you to the publisher platform or the university search tool where you have access to the PDF through Lund University. Save the reference again (now hopefully with attachment). Merge the two duplicates.
6. Attach Full text PDFs manually
Try to find a DOI-link in the reference and follow it in your browser. If you can't find a link, you may have to find the publication online through your search tool of choice, and follow the LU Full Text Finder link to access the PDF.
Once you have found the PDF and downloaded it, you can attach it to a reference by right-clicking and selecting Add Attachment >File:
Find the downloaded PDF on your computer and click "Open". The PDF will now be attached to your reference.
Optional: Compare different sources
Find the following paper in LUBsearch, Web of Science and Google Scholar:
"Diversity, phylogeny, and adaptation of bryophytes: insights from genomic and transcriptomic data"
Add the reference to Zotero with the Zotero Connector browser plugin, directly from the search result list. Do it for all three search tools and compare the result in Zotero. Can you see any difference in the information that was saved to the reference?
Answer: Google Scholar didn't save the DOI-link, otherwise they all contain the information you need to cite it. However, did Zotero add the full text PDF as an attachment on any of them?
Now view the publication on the journal webpage and add the reference to Zotero:
https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac127 Links to an external site.
In addition to saving a correct reference, Zotero have now also added the full text PDF.