Updated library in Zotero, now Word can't see updated library properly

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T14:49:41+00:00

I updated my library in Zotero by uploading references which had more data fields, then merged them. The Word doc sees the references in the same library as new references. This means it won't update the old references, and if I use a current reference again, it sees it as a new reference and duplicates it in the reference list. If I rebuild each in text citation manually, it sees the old and new reference in my collection (even though I have one collection with updated references). The link between Word and Zotero is broken. Anything I can do?

dstillman · 2026-08-06T14:50:41+00:00

I'm not totally following. Merging items should update citations to the previous items in Word. Can you provide some screenshots that show exactly what you're seeing?

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T14:56:47+00:00

See first screenshot - this is the view from Word. There are duplicate entries because it's seeing the old version and the new.

The second screenshot shows the live library in Zotero - no duplicates, as they were all merged.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/u0y72fjyyl61jzi5cr2w.png
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/icw5rpcwvw4om1df36qe.png

dstillman · 2026-08-06T15:05:11+00:00

Is the second screenshot in a collection or in the library root?

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T15:08:01+00:00

I think it's a collection in the library root

Better screenshot attached

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/uxhxsjf2mgt0u7pxi9qx.png

dstillman · 2026-08-06T15:09:11+00:00

Right, and in the citation dialog you have the library root selected. You haven't actually merged those items — you just removed them from that collection.

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T15:21:26+00:00

Ok, good to know how to not show the duplicates.

What I did was create a collection from a RIS file, did the in text referencing (starting from manual referencing in Word). I realised the RIS file only showed up to 3 authors (and lacked other data fields), so I pasted it into Citation Finder and created a RIS file with the full authors/data). Imported into Zotero into a new collection, clicked Duplicate Items, went through and merged them.

I was expected the references in my word doc to update with the full details (each reference was merged, not re-created). However it sees the merged reference as a new reference to the previous one.

This is shown in the first screenshot where I'm selecting My Library. Those duplicates no longer exist in Zotero - I deleted the second collection post merge, and emptied the bin.

It means my bibliography says (for example):

Gangathimmaiah V, Drever N, Evans R. What works for and what hinders deimplementation of low-value care in emergency medicine practice? A scoping review. BMJ Open. 2023;13:e072762.

Whereas my Zotero library has the full info (it's not the referencing style truncating it):
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/8ysy1tkz470grtqfir2b.png

dstillman · 2026-08-06T15:24:18+00:00

I think you're misunderstanding. The point is that the two pairs you highlighted in your original screenshot still exist, unmerged, in your library. You can see them if you click on My Library within the main Zotero window, and that's why you see them in My Library in the citation dialog. All you need to do here is actually merge those two items, which you have not done.

Deleting a collection doesn't delete the items in it by default — the items just remain in the library root unless you choose to delete the items as well. (And if you've cited them already, you want to merge the items properly anyway, not just delete the old ones.)

You should read through https://www.zotero.org/support/collections_and_tags#the_zotero_collections_model to make sure you understand how collections work in Zotero.

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T15:28:31+00:00

Ah ok, I understand and that's fixed it. They weren't showing in Duplicate Items so assumed all had been merged, but I can see them in My Library and will merge there.

Thanks for your help

Referencer99 · 2026-08-06T15:45:57+00:00

Actually the problems still not quite fixed - there's still a lot of in text citations pointing to the old version of it (no duplicates now). I'm having to go through each in text citation and replace the link, so it points to the new one. Anything I can do to avoid doing this manually?

In the screenshot you can see that there are two Niven references. Details of the first one (which is old):

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/oyzfu4nw3qn7pzc8hzj5.png

And the second, showing they're two references of the same paper. When I search for Niven, only the second one will show. I'm in My Library, and if I replace all in text citations of the first one, it will completely disappear from Zotero.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21205073/gfbewt6xh6pm5x6az7wf.png

dstillman · 2026-08-06T15:48:43+00:00

If you delete items you've cited instead of merging them properly, you end up with orphaned citations in the document. You can see they appear in "Cited Items" at the top of the citation dialog, but they won't have a "Show in Library" option in the item-details popup.

You will indeed need to replace all existing instances in the document, choosing from the library list rather than from Cited Items. See https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/given_name_disambiguation#deleted_items — about a different symptom, but same cause.

To avoid in the future, always merge rather than deleting. A future version of Zotero will also include a new feature to make it easier to manage all citations in a document even if they've been orphaned.