Managing Your Saved Papers & Zotero Sync

Saving a paper is just the first step. What really matters is being able to find it again, read it on your own terms, and get it into the tools you already use for writing and reference management. ZiNote makes all of that straightforward.

This guide walks you through everything you can do with your saved papers — from browsing and filtering on the Liked page, to exporting citations in bulk, to setting up automatic Zotero sync so your library stays up to date without any extra effort.

The Liked Page: Your Personal Paper Library

Every paper you save (by swiping right or tapping the heart icon) lands on the Liked page. Think of it as your personal reading list, organized so you can quickly pick up where you left off.

Date-Based Groups

Papers are automatically sorted into clear time-based sections:

Today — papers you saved during the current day
Yesterday — papers saved the day before
Older — everything else, listed in reverse chronological order

This grouping helps you stay oriented. If you remember saving something "a couple of days ago," you know exactly where to look.

Filtering Your View

At the top of the Liked page, you can toggle between two views:

Liked only — shows just the papers you explicitly saved. This is the default and the one most people stick with day to day.
All papers — includes papers you skipped as well. This is useful when you vaguely remember seeing something interesting but did not save it at the time. Instead of searching from scratch, just switch to the "all" filter and scroll back.

Single Paper Actions

Tap on any paper in your list to see what you can do with it. Each saved paper comes with a set of quick actions designed to fit into different parts of your workflow.

View Translation

Need to read a paper that is not in your preferred language? Tap View Translation to see a translated version of the title and abstract. This is especially helpful when you are scanning through a batch of papers and want to quickly understand what each one covers before deciding whether to read the full text.

Open in Browser

Tap Open in Browser to jump straight to the paper on its original source — whether that is arXiv, Semantic Scholar, or another repository. From there you can read the full PDF, check supplementary materials, or explore the authors' other work.

Copy to Clipboard

Sometimes you just need to quickly share a paper with a colleague in a chat message or paste it into your notes. Copy to Clipboard grabs the paper's key details (title, authors, and link) so you can paste them anywhere instantly.

Batch Operations

When you have a stack of papers to process, doing things one at a time gets tedious fast. ZiNote includes several batch actions that let you work with multiple papers at once.

Translate All

If you have saved a handful of papers in a language you are less comfortable with, hit Translate All to generate translations for every paper on your list in one go. No need to open each one individually.

Share via Email or Clipboard

Want to send your reading list to a labmate or advisor? Use the Share option to package up your saved papers and send them via email or copy the whole batch to your clipboard. This is a quick way to collaborate — no need to forward individual links one by one.

BibTeX Export via Email

For anyone who writes academic papers, citations are non-negotiable. The BibTeX Export option compiles citation entries for all your saved papers and sends them to your email as a ready-to-use .bib file. You can then drop that file into your LaTeX project, Overleaf document, or any other reference manager that accepts BibTeX.

This is particularly useful at the end of a literature review session when you have saved a dozen or more papers and need proper citations for all of them.

Zotero Sync (Recommended)

If you use Zotero to manage your research library, this is the feature you will want to set up first. Once connected, ZiNote automatically sends every paper you save directly into Zotero — no manual exporting, no copy-pasting, no extra steps.

Step 1: Install the ZiNote for Zotero Plugin

Download the ZiNote plugin (an .xpi file) from zinote.app. To install it in Zotero:

Open Zotero on your computer
Go to Tools > Add-ons (or Tools > Plugins in Zotero 7)
Click the gear icon and select Install Add-on From File
Choose the .xpi file you downloaded

The plugin will appear in your add-ons list once installed.

Step 2: Connect Your Account

Open the ZiNote mobile app and go to Settings. You will find a Zotero Sync section where you can link your Zotero account. Follow the on-screen prompts to authorize the connection.

You only need to do this once. After that, ZiNote and Zotero stay linked.

Step 3: Save Papers and Watch Them Appear

That is it for setup. From now on, every time you swipe right on a paper in ZiNote, it is automatically synced to your Zotero library. Each synced paper includes full metadata:

Title
Authors
Abstract
URL (link to the original source)
Source (e.g., arXiv, Semantic Scholar)

Your Zotero library stays current without any manual effort. Discover a paper on your morning commute, swipe to save it, and it will be waiting in Zotero by the time you sit down at your desk.

Export to Other Tools

Not everyone uses Zotero, and that is perfectly fine. ZiNote's BibTeX export works as a universal bridge to virtually any reference management tool.

Mendeley

Import the .bib file you receive via email directly into Mendeley. Go to File > Import > BibTeX (.bib) and select the file. Your papers, complete with metadata, will appear in your Mendeley library ready for organizing and annotating.

Overleaf

If you write in Overleaf, upload the .bib file to your project and reference it in your LaTeX document with \bibliography{filename}. All the citation keys are ready to use with \cite{} commands throughout your paper.

Other Tools

Any reference manager or writing tool that supports BibTeX import — including EndNote, Paperpile, and JabRef — can use the exported file. The format is standard, so compatibility is broad.

Tips for Staying Organized

Review your Liked page regularly. A quick scan at the start of your work session helps you remember what you have saved and decide what to read next.
Use the "All" filter sparingly. It is there for those "I know I saw something" moments, but keeping your default view on "Liked only" keeps things clean.
Set up Zotero sync early. The sooner you connect it, the more of your library builds itself automatically.
Export BibTeX before writing deadlines. Do not wait until the last minute. Run a batch export at the end of each literature review session so your citations are always ready.

Get Started

Head to your Liked page to explore your saved papers, or visit Settings to connect Zotero and unlock automatic sync. If you have not installed the ZiNote for Zotero plugin yet, grab it at zinote.app — setup takes less than two minutes, and your future self will thank you.