Ensure your laptop’s Zotero library is fully synced with your desktop library. Go to Edit → Preferences → Sync and click "Sync."

Look for the Document Preferences dropdown (gear icon) or right-click inside any citation. Select "Relink Citations..."

For anyone writing a thesis, journal article, or book, Zotero is an indispensable tool. It manages your references and, via its word processor plugins (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice), inserts in-text citations and bibliographies automatically.

When all else fails, remember that a Zotero citation is just a pointer. If the pointer is irreparably broken, you can still manually re-insert the citation. It's tedious, but it's faster than rewriting your bibliography from scratch.

Open your Word document. Click the Zotero tab in the ribbon.