Reference management software: Zotero 7

You can find over 10,000 citation styles at zotero.org/styles or by clicking Edit → Preferences → Cite → Styles → Get more styles in Zotero.

• Find the style you want by searching by name, format, or research discipline.
• When you have found a style that you would like, download it to your computer.
• Then go back to Cite and click on the plus sign (+). In the dialog box that opens, find the downloaded file on your computer and open it in order to install the style.

You could find yourself unable to locate the exact style you are looking tor. Perhaps you need a variant of a well-known style, or do not know the name of the style that you would like – for example when a journal only offers a style sheet rather than a CSL style. If so, try the options below.

Find a style similar to the one you are looking for by searching by appearance on http://editor.citationstyles.org → Search by example.

1. Choose item type by clicking Previous and Next. The yellow square contains pre-filled information demonstrating the style. For instance, the below example represents a book chapter.
2. In the search box, type how you want the citation to look 
        (a) in the text (or footnote): In-text citation, or
        (b) in the reference list: Bibliographic entry.
   The information you can write can be seen in the yellow box.
   You can also search for numeric reference styles. For instance, if you are looking for a style that uses square brackets, simply type [1] in In-text citation.
3. Click on Search. Styles will now be listed, sorted by similarity with your example. The styles can be downloaded and installed in Zotero. 

If the style you are looking for does not exist, you can request a new style. Look for "Requesting a new style" on zotero.org for instructions. You will be asked to provide links to the style guide of the journal and give some sample citations.

You can edit a style or create your own. This requires some technical know-how. You must edit the CSL (Citation Style Language) file using the XML markup language. More information can be found here. A fairly easy way to do this is by modifying a similar style.

Using Zotero's Style editor

• Select an item in your Zotero library for reference.
• Go to Preferences → Cite → Style editor. Choose and edit a style and save it as a new one. The item that you have chosen as an example will show how the style will look in the document. Be sure to save the edited style under a new name so that it is not overwritten the next time the style updates.

Use the Visual CSL editor

Go to https://editor.citationstyles.org/. Here, you can either:
    (a) go to Visual editor and choose Load style (top left of page) to choose a style you have saved as a CSL file on your computer, or
    (b) identify the style you would like to use as a starting point and click Edit style; the style will open in the Visual CSL editor.

Use the Visual CSL Editor to view the different parts of the style and make changes without having to use XML code. The Editor also shows how the style will look.

Finish by saving the style on your computer with a new name and adding it as a new style in Zotero.