Zotero Keyboard Shortcuts#

Zotero Desktop App#

Note that the Shortcuts pane of the Zotero preferences allows you to change some of these 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` / `Cmd`+`Delete`
Move to Trash without Confirmation Dialog	`Shift`+`Del` / `Cmd`+`Delete`	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` / `Cmd`+`Delete`

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`

Tags#

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`	`Return`

PDF Reader#

This section is incomplete. See this GitHub comment for other available shortcuts.

Function	Windows/Linux	macOS
Switch between annotation tools	`Alt`-`1`/`2`/`3`/`4`	`Option`-`1`/`2`/`3`/`4`
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`

Zotero Connector#

Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all provide a way to assign a keyboard shortcut to the Save to Zotero button. Consult your browser documentation for more information.

Word Processor Plugins#

Customize your Shortcuts#

The third-party Zutilo plugin adds various functions not available in Zotero itself through extra menu items and keyboard shortcuts.

[1] MacBooks and the Apple Wireless Keyboard don’t have dedicated Page-Up/Page-Down keys, so you have to use Fn+Up/Down-arrow on those to simulate the Page-Up/Page-Down keys.