Zotero Keyboard Shortcuts
Note that the Shortcuts pane of the Preferences allows you to change some of those keyboard shortcuts.
Adding Items to your Zotero Library
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Save to Zotero | Ctrl +Shift +S | Cmd +Shift +S |
Create a New Item by Hand | Ctrl +Shift +N | Cmd +Shift +N |
Create a New Note | Ctrl +Shift +O | Cmd +Shift +O |
Import | Ctrl +Shift +I | Cmd +Shift +I |
Import from Clipboard | Ctrl +Shift +Alt +I | Cmd +Option +Shift +I |
Editing Items (Info Tab)
Add Another Author/Creator when Editing Creator | Shift +Enter | Shift +Enter |
Save Abstract or Extra field | Shift +Enter | Shift +Enter |
Removing or Deleting Items and Collections
Function | from My Library | from a Collection |
Move to Trash | Del | Shift +Del |
Move to Trash without Confirmation Dialog | Shift +Del | Not Available |
Remove from Collection | Not Applicable | Del (Only for top-level items) |
Function | Key |
Delete Collection (and Keep Items in Library and Others Collections, if any) | Del |
Delete Collection and Move Items to Trash | Shift +Del |
Creating Citations and Bibliographies (Quick Copy)
Function | Windows/Linux Defaults | Mac OS Defaults |
Copy Selected Item Citations to Clipboard | Ctrl +Shift +A | Cmd +Shift +A |
Copy Selected Items to Clipboard | Ctrl +Shift +C | Cmd +Shift +C |
Navigating between Zotero Panes
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Focus Libraries (Left) Pane | Ctrl +Shift +L | Cmd +Shift +L |
Move through Panes and Fields | Tab /Shift +Tab | Tab |
Move through Info/Notes/Tags/Related Tabs | → and ← (or Ctrl +Tab /Ctrl +Shift +Tab or Ctrl +PgUp /Ctrl +PgDn ) | Ctrl +PgUp /Ctrl +PgDn 1) |
Quick Search | Ctrl +Shift +K | Cmd +Shift +K |
Quick Search | Ctrl +F | Cmd +F |
Moving Between Tabs
Zotero supports most standard shortcuts for switching between tabs:
Ctrl
+PageDown
/PageUp
(Control
+Fn
+Up
/Down
on most Mac keyboards)
Ctrl
+Tab
/ Ctrl
+Shift
-Tab
Cmd
+Shift
+[
/]
(macOS only)
Cmd
+Option
+←
/→
(macOS only)
Cmd
/Ctrl
+1
through 9
Searching
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Quick Search | Ctrl +Shift +K | Cmd +Shift +K |
Quick Search | Ctrl +F | Cmd +F |
Find/Highlight Collection(s) an Item belongs to | Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Alt (Linux) | Hold down Option |
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Toggle Tag Selector | Ctrl +Shift +T | Cmd +Shift +T |
Assign Colored Tag to an Item | 1 to 6 keys | 1 to 6 keys |
Feeds
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Mark All Feed Items as Read/Unread | Ctrl +Shift +R | Cmd +Shift +R |
Mark Feed as Read/Unread | Ctrl +Shift +` | Cmd +Shift +` |
Other Shortcuts
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Expand/Collapse Collections or Items List | + /- | + /- |
Highlight All Collections an Item is in | Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Alt (Linux) | Hold down Option |
Count Items (Result Appears in Right-Hand Pane) | Ctrl +A | Cmd +A |
Edit Collection Names (Left Pane) | F2 | Not available |
PDF Reader
This section is incomplete.
Function | Windows/Linux | macOS |
Back (in-PDF link) | Alt +Left , Ctrl +[ (Linux) | Cmd +Left , Cmd +[ |
Forward (in-PDF link) | Alt +Right , Ctrl +] (Linux) | Cmd +Right , Cmd +] |
Notes
This section hasn't been fully updated for the new note editor in Zotero 6.
Function | Windows/Linux | Mac OS |
Bold | Ctrl +B | Cmd +B |
Italic | Ctrl +I | Cmd +I |
Underline | Ctrl +U | Cmd +U |
Select All | Ctrl +A | Cmd +A |
Undo | Ctrl +Z | Cmd +Z |
Redo | Ctrl +Y or Ctrl +Shift +Z | Cmd +Y or Cmd +Shift +Z |
Cut | Ctrl +X | Cmd +X |
Copy | Ctrl +C | Cmd +C |
Paste | Ctrl +V | Cmd +V |
Paste without formatting | Ctrl +Shift +V | Cmd +Shift +V |
Format Heading 1 to 6 | Shift +Alt +1/6 | Ctrl +Alt +1/6 |
Format as Paragraph | Shift +Alt +7 | Ctrl +Alt +7 |
Format as Div | Shift +Alt +8 | Ctrl +Alt +8 |
Format as Address | Shift +Alt +9 | Ctrl +Alt +9 |
Find and Replace | Ctrl +F | Cmd +F |
Insert Link | Ctrl +K | Cmd +K |
Focus/jump to toolbar | Alt +F10 | Alt +F10 |
Word Processor Plugin
Customize your Shortcuts
The third-party Zutilo plugin adds various functions not available in Zotero itself through extra menu items and keyboard shortcuts.