Does Zotero support automatic reference updates?

Zotero supports automatic reference updates for sources with persistent identifiers. This feature helps maintain current bibliographic data when items like journal articles are updated online. Automatic updating requires an identifier such as a DOI or ISBN within the item record. Zotero periodically checks for changes to the source metadata online and offers updates through a refresh mechanism. It functions best with academic items possessing stable identifiers and when utilizing the Zotero Connector browser extension. Users must enable cloud syncing and the specific setting for automatic updates, and cannot update items solely added via PDF metadata extraction lacking identifiers. Enabled automatic updates save significant time by tracking changes to online resources and reducing manual correction efforts. It ensures citation accuracy against the latest available version, significantly enhancing reference integrity within academic workflows relying on current publications.