Add-in for Microsoft Word
Real sources and footnotes, right inside Word
Select a sentence in your paper, and the cytado panel finds a verified publication with a printed page number and a quote. One click — and a proper footnote lands in your document. No leaving Word, no guessing.
Free add-in · 100 citations a month with no card · Word for the web is enough
Sound familiar?
The chapter is nearly done, but every third sentence is waiting for a footnote. Next to Word hang forty tabs: Google Scholar, a digital library, three PDFs with no page numbers. Every source costs fifteen minutes: find it, open it, scroll, work out the page, format the footnote, get back to the text — and remember what you were writing.
The shortcut is worse: AI citations “from memory” can look flawless and not exist at all. Supervisors spot-check, reviewers check systematically — and one fabricated reference undermines the whole work.
With the add-in, the same footnote is:
- 1. Select the sentence (it lands in the panel by itself).
- 2. Click Find source — a few seconds.
- 3. See the source, the page and the quote. Click “Insert footnote”.
The footnote is a real Word footnote — it numbers and moves with your text, exactly like one inserted by hand.
Why this works unlike anything else
Printed page numbers
We read publications page by page, preserving the edition's original numbering. “p. 82” in the footnote really is page 82 — the one your supervisor will check.
Zero invented sources
The panel returns only existing publications with a link to the original and a quote. When nothing supports the claim — it says so, instead of guessing.
You never leave Word
The whole loop — claim, source, footnote — happens in the side panel, next to your text. You keep writing instead of juggling tabs.
Install step by step (4 minutes)
Nothing to buy, nothing to configure. Free Word for the web and a free cytado account are enough.
- 1
Download the add-in file
Click “Download manifest” on this page — a small XML file that tells Word where the add-in lives. Save it anywhere. (An official AppSource listing is on the way — this step will disappear then.)
- 2
Upload it to Word
Open a document in Word for the web (word.new — free with any Microsoft account). Ribbon: Insert → Add-ins → My Add-ins → “Upload My Add-in”, then pick the downloaded file. The add-in appears on the Home tab as a “Find source” button.
- 3
Sign in with your cytado account
Click Find source — a panel opens on the right. Click “Sign in with cytado”: log in (or create a free account in half a minute, no card) and click “Allow”. You do this once.
- 4
Select a sentence and insert the footnote
Select a sentence that needs a source — it lands in the panel automatically. Add your thesis topic, click Find source, and in seconds you see a real publication with a printed page number and a quote. One click inserts a ready footnote at your cursor.
What people use it for
Bachelor's and master's theses
Write your chapter, select claims, and get footnotes with page numbers — without forty Google Scholar tabs on the side.
PhDs and journal articles
A quote from a specific printed page is what reviewers expect — and that is exactly what the panel returns.
Term papers and essays
The free pool covers a single paper: 100 resolved citations a month, no card.
Texts in English and Polish
The corpus covers English, Polish and German publications; search understands inflected languages.
What about Zotero or Mendeley?
They are great tools — for a different stage. A reference manager organizes and formats sources you have already collected. cytado works one step earlier: when you have the sentence but not the source. It finds a verified publication for the specific claim, gives you the printed page and the quote — the part that eats your evenings. Many people use both: cytado finds, the manager catalogues.
What it costs
The add-in and the account are free. The free pool is 100 resolved citations a month — no card required; usually enough for a single paper. Paid plans start at $19/month. You pay only for citations you actually received — “not found” is always free, and your bill can never surprise you by more than twice the plan.
Writing with AI assistance?
cytado also works as an MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT — your assistant grounds claims in real sources before writing them down. See the connector →
FAQ
Do I need a paid version of Word?
No. Word for the web (word.new) is free with any Microsoft account and the add-in fully works there. Desktop Word works too — inserting footnotes via add-ins requires Word from Microsoft 365 (perpetual 2016–2021 versions will show sources but cannot insert the footnote; the panel says so honestly).
How do I know the sources are real?
Every result is an existing publication with a link to the original, a printed page number and a quote from that page. We read the corpus page by page with the original numbering preserved — so “p. 82” really means page 82 of the edition. When nothing supports a claim, you get an honest “not found”.
How much does it cost?
The add-in is free, the account is free, and the free pool gives you 100 resolved citations a month with no card. Paid plans start at $19/month. You pay only for citations you actually received — a miss is always free.
How is this different from Zotero or Mendeley?
A reference manager formats sources you have ALREADY found. cytado works one step earlier: it finds and verifies a source for your specific sentence — with a printed page number — and only then inserts the footnote. The two tools combine well.
What will the add-in not do?
It will not write your thesis and it will never invent a source when none exists — instead it suggests harvesting the topic in the cytado panel (building the corpus for a new subject takes 5–30 minutes). It also will not put a footnote where no source supports the claim.
How do I revoke access?
In the cytado panel (Account → API) deactivate the “Word add-in” key — the add-in loses access immediately. You can also simply remove the add-in in Word.