Initial settings

To use Zotero Word add-in (image on the left), accessible by the respective tab (#a),
we should make sure Zotero is open. Otherwise, we will get an error message (image on the right).

If Zotero is open, and you still get the error message, close Word and in Zotero 7 go to Edit → Settings, click on the tab Cite, and scroll down to find the button Reinstall Microsoft Word Add-in and click on it

In the same tab, Cite, the Include URLs of paper articles in references box (#a) should be cheeked, otherwise, Zotero will not include links in articles with page numbers.

If we keep the Use classic Add Citation dialog box (#b of image above) unchecked, we will get the new red citation box when citing.
But even if you don't opt ​​for the classic box by default, if we select the Classic View (#a of image below), from the drop-down menu that we get when we click on the arrow next to the Zotero logo...

... we can use the classic Add/Edit Citation box.

One final thing to consider before you start using Zotero on a document is defining the bibliographic style. It is important to note that the chosen style can be changed at any time.

If this is not done manually by clicking Document Preferences (#a), when we click Add/Edit Citation (#b) for the first time in a specific Word document... 

... the preferences box will open automatically. This is where we must choose the bibliographic style to be applied to our document.

Some styles are already in our Zotero, they are installed along with the application. If you want a different style, you can import it with a CSL file (see the tutorial on this guide), or you can click Manage Styles... (#a on the image above). The link opens the Zotero Preferences window (image below on the left), where you can click Get additional styles... (#b on the image below).

By clicking on Get additional styles... you will have access to the Zotero Style Repository (see image below), where you can choose and install more than 10 thousand of different styles/variations. You just have to click on the desired style, and it will be automatically available in your Zotero.

Insert a paraphrase

When paraphrasing sources, using the author-date citation format/system, these elements (the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication) should be inserted in the text in parentheses. The page number (or other locator) is not mandatory, as is the case with quotations. The name(s) of the author(s) may, however, be used in the narrative (the text outside the parenthetical citation). In this case, the year of publication is the only element to be inserted in parentheses. The parenthetical citation (with only the year of publication of the source) must come immediately after the respective name(s) of the author(s) of that source.

Tip: if you are using Zotero for the first time in a Word document, please see the information on the tab Initial settings of this page.

To follow step-by-step this tutorial, you can download the RIS file with the bibliographic sources and the DOCx file with the sample text used in the tutorials.

Inserting a paraphrase citation

Strep #1a: select the local to insert the paraphrase citation (#a), (in the sample text, selecting the orange ‘a’), go to the Zotero tab (#b), and click on Add/Edit Citation (#c)

Step #2a: A search box will pop up to choose the intended work to cite. 
You can type the name of the author (#a), or any other word that you know the record of the desired work has, (whether in the title or in other bibliographic element). Click on the desired document in the list of results (#b) and press the Enter key.

The paraphrase citation is inserted in the standard format of an author-date style (#c).

In Word, if you click on the citation, it turns grey as it is an automatic field.

Inserting a paraphrase citation in a narrative form

The next insertion is again a paraphrase citation, but in narrative form because the author’s name (highlighted in yellow, see image below) is already in the text (#a).

Step #1b: Select the local (#b) for the next reference (the orange ‘c’ in the sample text).

Step #2b: Click Add/Edit Citation on the Zotero tab (see Step #1a), and search for the desired work.
This time we will use the journal name.

Step #3b: As we already have the author’s name in the text, we don’t want it in the citation. 
To do this, click on the blue label (#a) and, in the “balloon box,” check the Omit Author box (#b). Then, press the Enter key twice

The paraphrase citation in a narrative form (with only the publication year of the source) is inserted (#c).

Insert a quotation

When quoting sources, using the author-date citation format/system, in addition to the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication, we should add the page number (or other locator) that specifies where the quotation is found in the source. Zotero provides 26 more locators in addition to the page number.

Tip: if you are using Zotero for the first time in a Word document, please see the information on the tab Initial settings of this page.

To follow step-by-step this tutorial, you can download the RIS file with the bibliographic sources and the DOCx file with the sample text used in the tutorials.

Inserting a quotation

Strep #1a: to insert the reference for the quote (text highlighted in yellow), select the end of it (#a) - the orange ‘b’ in the example text...

...  go to the Zotero tab (#b), and click on Add/Edit Citation (#c)

Step #2a: On the search box, you can use any metadata associated to the Zotero record, such as part of the title (#b), of the desired work you what to cite (#c).

Step #3a: to insert the page number of the quotation click on the blue label (#a), with the name of the author and the year of the work, and a “balloon box” opens. After entering the page number in the first field (#b) press the Enter key twice.

The quotation is inserted with the page number of the original source (#c), as it is an automatic field inserted into the Word by the Zotero add-in, which turns grey if we click on it.

Inserting a quotation with a source without page numbers and with emphasis added to the original text

The next insertion is a quotation of the text highlighted in yellow (see image below), but the part highlighted in green (#a) are not in italics in the original source. If, as in this case, we want to emphasise some part of a text that is not ours, this change should be acknowledged in the quotation.

Step #1b: Select the local (#b) for the next reference (the orange ‘b’ in the sample text).

Step #2b: Click Add/Edit Citation on the Zotero tab (see Step #1a), and search for the desired work using, this time, the name of one of the authors. As soon as the work we want appears in the drop-down menu, we can click on it.

Step #3b: Click on the blue label (#a) to insert the locator of the quotation.
As we are dealing with an online source without page numbers, we need to choose a different locator. We will click on the arrow next Page (#b), select ‘Section’ and type the respective number in the first field (#c).  
Before finalising the insertion, we need to take an additional step.

Step #4b: To insert the information about the italics applied to part of the text, we type ‘emphasis added’ in the Suffix field (#d), so that the information appears at the end of the quotation.
Then, press the Enter key twice.

The quotation is inserted (#e) with the section number of the original source as a locator and the information about the modification (the italics) to the original text.

Tip: In some documents the sections (or chapters) are not numbered, we can still use them as a locator using their title (it is not necessary to type the full title, just enough to be located in the source).
 

Insert a reference list

We can insert a list of references with the sources used in the quotations or paraphrases, inserted with Zotero's Word Add-in, at the end or just after the first insertion.

Although the button we should use is called Add/Edit Bibliography, technically what we insert with the Add-in is a list of references and not a bibliography. The latter can contain sources not used in quotations or paraphrases, while the list of references only shows those that have been used.It is only this list of used sources that the Add-in provides. 

Place the cursor where you want to insert the list of references (#a) and click on Add/Edit Bibliography button (#b) on the Zotero tab

And the list of references with the works that you cited is inserted with just one click.
(Just like the quotations or paraphrases inserted with the Add-in, in Word the list is also an automatic field, so it turns grey when we click anywhere in the list.)

If, after entering or removing a quotation or paraphrase, the list is not updated automatically, simply click on the Refresh (#c of image above) button and the list will be updated accordingly. The list is presented within the bibliographic style previously chosen (see Initial settings tab of this page), but it can be easily changed using the button Document Preferences (#d of image above). 

Changing the bibliographic style of a reference list 

Step #1: click on Document Preferences button (#a) to open the respective window, where you can see, selected in blue, the current style (#b) applied in the references.

Step #2: select the new style you want, say the APA 7th edition (#c), click the OK button (#d)...

... and the reference list will be updated according the new selected style.