Zotero & research
Set up Zotero and pair Viamolt
- Word for Windows
- Requires sign-in
- Zotero 7
- Viamolt app
Bring your Zotero library into Word. Viamolt, a small Windows app, connects the Textmolt sidebar to Zotero on your computer. You set it up once per computer.
How it fits together
Section titled “How it fits together”Zotero keeps your library on your computer. The Textmolt sidebar can’t reach it directly, so Viamolt — a small app that runs in the background on the same PC — passes requests between them. Pairing tells Viamolt which Textmolt account it works for.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”- Zotero 7, installed on the same Windows PC as Word. Download it from zotero.org.
- Viamolt, installed on that PC. Viamolt is currently available to invited users: use the installer that came with your invitation. In the sidebar, the link Not installed yet? Get Viamolt ↗ opens the Viamolt setup page.
- A Textmolt account. Sign in in the sidebar first.
Step 1: Let Zotero talk to other apps
Section titled “Step 1: Let Zotero talk to other apps”You only need to do this once.
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Open Zotero and go to Edit → Settings → Advanced.
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Tick Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero.
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Keep Zotero open whenever you use your library from Word.
Step 2: Open the Zotero library in Word
Section titled “Step 2: Open the Zotero library in Word”At the top of the Textmolt sidebar, click Zotero library →. The first time, the panel shows Bring your Zotero library into Word and three steps: Prepare, Pair account and Open library.
Step 3: Start Viamolt
Section titled “Step 3: Start Viamolt”-
Click Open Viamolt. If Word asks whether to open an external app, allow it. You can also start Viamolt from the Windows Start menu.
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When Viamolt is running, click Continue pairing in the panel. If Viamolt was already running, click It’s open — continue →.
Viamolt runs in the background. Once it’s running, its icon sits in the system tray at the bottom-right of the screen — it may be tucked under the ^ arrow.
Step 4: Pair your account
Section titled “Step 4: Pair your account”-
The panel shows Enter this code in Viamolt, the account you’re signed in as, and an 8-character pairing code with a countdown (Expires in …). Click the code, or Copy code, to copy it.
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Click the Viamolt icon in the system tray to open its window. Under Enter the pairing code, paste the code into the box and click Pair. (Viamolt follows your Windows display language, so on Chinese Windows these labels appear in Chinese.)
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Viamolt shows the account it’s about to work for, under Hand this computer to. If it’s your account, click Confirm. If it isn’t, click Not me.
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Back in Word, the panel continues by itself: Account paired. Connecting to Viamolt…, and then your library opens.
Step 5: Check your library
Section titled “Step 5: Check your library”Search for a title you know is in your Zotero library — you can search by title, author or year. When everything works, the bottom of the panel says Connected to local Zotero.
What you can do next
Section titled “What you can do next”- Search your library from the sidebar.
- Insert citation puts a citation for an item into your document. Choose the format under Citation style: APA, IEEE, MLA, Chicago (notes), or GB/T 7714-2015 (numeric or author–date). The GB/T styles need a recent version of Viamolt.
- Read opens an item’s PDF in a reader window.
- Ask AI and research across your library use AI on your references. Whether you can use them depends on your plan; on the Free plan you can still search, read and cite.
What stays on your computer
Section titled “What stays on your computer”Your library files stay on your computer. When you start AI research, Textmolt sends your question, relevant text from your document, any PDF excerpts you choose, and the metadata and abstracts it needs, through Textmolt to the model service. You can unpair at any time.
Unpair or switch accounts
Section titled “Unpair or switch accounts”- Unpair this computer: at the bottom of the Zotero library panel, click Unpair and confirm. You can also unpair in Viamolt (Unpair).
- Use a different Textmolt account: unpair Viamolt first. Then sign in to the other account in the sidebar, open the Zotero library again and pair with a new code.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”“Not connected to Viamolt”
Section titled ““Not connected to Viamolt””Viamolt isn’t running, or it lost its connection. Start Viamolt from the Start menu, then click Reconnect (or Open Viamolt) in the panel.
“Can’t open the library yet”
Section titled ““Can’t open the library yet””Viamolt is connected, but it can’t read Zotero. Make sure Zotero is open and that Step 1 is done, then click Check again.
The pairing code expired
Section titled “The pairing code expired”The panel says This pairing code has expired. Get a new code. Click Get a new code and enter the new code in Viamolt.
Viamolt says the code can’t be used
Section titled “Viamolt says the code can’t be used”Viamolt says That code won’t do when a code has expired or a character was mistyped. Get a new code in the Word panel and paste it instead of typing it.
Viamolt shows a different account
Section titled “Viamolt shows a different account”Click Not me — don’t confirm. If Viamolt is paired with another account, unpair it in Viamolt first. To pair a different Textmolt account, sign in to that account in the sidebar and get a new code.
Nothing happens when I click Open Viamolt
Section titled “Nothing happens when I click Open Viamolt”Start Viamolt from the Windows Start menu instead, then click It’s open — continue → in the panel.
“This citation style needs a newer Viamolt Companion”
Section titled ““This citation style needs a newer Viamolt Companion””Your Viamolt is too old for that citation style. Install the latest Viamolt, then try again — or choose another style.