Q. How do I organize citations in Zotero using tags?

Tags help you describe citations in more detail. You can create your own tags or Zotero automatically tags citations with keywords and subject headings that come from a publisher, author, database, or index. 

Tags come in two colors:

1. Your own tags will have a blue icon:

2. Imported tags will have an orange icon:

Tags show up in Zotero Standalone in two places:

1. At the bottom of the left panel there is a list of all tags: 

2. When you click into a single citation:

To create a tag:

1. Click on a citation in the center panel to reveal details in the right panel.
2. Choose the tags tab.

3. Click on ‘Add.’
4. Look for a blank field with a blue icon at the bottom of the list.
5. Name your tag by typing in the field.

6. Push the enter or return key on your keyboard when you are finished naming your tag.
7. Your tag will appear in the tag list alphabetically.

To add multiple citations to a single tag:

1. Search for your tag in the tag search field in Zotero Standalone.

2. Select, drag and drop the citations onto the tag.

To add tags with a single key on your keyboard:

1. Right-click or CTRL click on a tag..
2. Choose ‘assign color.’

3. Pick a color and Zotero will automatically assign a number to that color.

4. Click on ‘set color’ and the tag changes to that color and a dot with that color will appear next to your citations.

5. Select a citation and push the key on your keyboard associated with the tag color and Zotero will automatically tag your citation with a single keystroke

See Zotero's documentation about collections and tags for more information about tags (e.g. adding colors and keyboard shortcuts with numbers).