Zotero Accessibility

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This page gathers the IT Subcommittee's resources and reviews of the accessibility of Zotero. This page will be updated as new information is available or further reviews are conducted.

Accessibility Overview

Due to the complexity of use cases, we've split up the review by the Desktop App 5.x and 6.x, Desktop App 7.x, the Browser version for PC and Mac, and the Web Plug-in/Zotero Connectors. Zotero does have an accessibility page, and have made major strides forward in accessibility of their Desktop app with Zotero 7 (Oct 2024). Any accessibility issues are reported through the Zotero Forums. This page has been updated with information about Zotero 7, but will retain the older information around Zotero 5.x and 6.x.

It is highly suggested that any university or library who relies on Zotero as a citation manager for their researchers should also purchase increased storage for their users. This money goes to supporting the open source software, and offers users more space to store their PDFs.

Due to cognitive issues, we were unable to fully test Zutilo, which is a 3rd-party plug-in that allows you to create other keyboard shortcuts. There is also a cognitive issue with using and understanding the interface; some users may require more help from an experienced or sighted Zotero user in order to fully use Zotero.

Zotero Desktop App 5.x or 6.x

The Zotero desktop app versions 5.x and 6.x is not accessible. There are several unlabeled buttons, a general lack of headers, and it's impossible to reach the toolbar using just a keyboard. There are several operations that are only available to mouse users, and do not have a corresponding keyboard shortcut. However, the Zotero desktop app is required to use any web plug-ins/Zotero Connectors. Once the Zotero app is installed and set up, screen reader users and keyboard-only users can simply leave the software running in the background without interacting with it again. The deduplication folder, unfiled folder, and pulling metadata from a PDF are only available through the desktop app.

Zotero Desktop App 7.x

The Zotero desktop app version 7.x (as of October 2024) is generally accessible, with some issues. Overall, the 7.x version can be used with a screen reader and/or keyboard only. The PDF reader and annotation tools are accessible to a screen reader user as long as the PDF itself is accessible; however, the toolbar buttons are especially verbose and the workflow for PDF annotation may be of limited use to screen reader and keyboard users. Notably, Zotero is one of the first annotation software programs to create a workflow for screen reader users and keyboard users. Zotero should be commended on making such a massive improvement to their main product, the desktop app. Zotero 7 is also, finally, responsive to your computer settings, so if you have font adjustment or size/magnification adjustments, the app will reflect it correctly. The deduplication folder, unfiled folder, and pulling metadata from a PDF are only available through the desktop app. It is possible to attach a PDF to an item using only the screen reader and keyboard.

Browser version on Chrome or Firefox (PC)

Using Zotero in the browser on Chrome or Firefox on a PC is generally accessible, with some issues. In order to use the web plug-ins to import articles to your Zotero library, you need to have the Desktop App installed and running; however, once it’s installed and configured, you do not have to actually use the desktop app and can rely on the browser for most workflows. With Chrome and Firefox, it seems that if you get lost/have problem/get stuck, you can return to the collection folder you were originally working in and open it again to reset the page and fix most issues. Zotero is unusable once you get above 200x magnification.

Browser version on Chrome or Firefox (Mac)

Using Zotero in the browser on Chrome or Firefox on a Mac is generally accessible, with some issues. In order to use the web plug-ins to import articles to your Zotero library, you need to have the Desktop App installed and running; however, once it's installed and configured, you do not have to actually use the desktop app and can rely on the browser for most workflows. Issues with using the plug-ins/Zotero Connectors with Safari are reportedly fixed by Zotero 6.

General Information

Known Accessibility Issues

We've organized the accessibility issues by workflows and then by browser (PC and Mac) and desktop app (version 5.x or 6.x versus version 7), to make the page easier to understand for users and librarians. These workflows were tested with screen readers (NVDA and VoiceOver) and keyboard.

Workflow #1: Use the browser plug-ins/Zotero Connectors to import items into your Zotero library

Make sure you've create the collection folder first, before trying to use the plug-in to save an item to Zotero. There is no way to make it on the fly while using the plug-in with your browser. There are also no audio notifications that an item has been successfully saved to Zotero. You MUST have the Zotero desktop app installed, configured, and running in order to use the plug-ins (see the Quick Start Guide for more information about the desktop app). We do not suggest using the option to "Enable Saving to Online Library" as this caused many errors in our testing with a screen reader. Zotero and the Plug-in had to be uninstalled to remove the errors. We were unable to get the saving to Online Library to work on any browser, or with any operating system. If you activate the plug-in but don't immediately use it, it will eventually disappear without any audio notification. There were some reports of problems using the Zotero connector/plug-in with Firefox. Not all testers had the same issues.

  • Use Ctrl-Shift-S to activate the plug-in. This only works if you don't have Ctrl-shift-S mapped to another action or application.
  • By default, it'll bring up whatever folder you last saved materials in. Just hit enter to save to the default folder.
  • Tab to the extend button for the Folders in order to select a different collection folder. Arrow through to find the correct folder, then tab to the Done button.

Workflow #2: Move items from a folder or My Library into collections

Browser Version, PC or Mac

For Chrome and Firefox:

  • Tab until you are highlighting the article you want to add to another collection. NOTE: adding to a collection does not remove it from the current collection if it is in one. To do so, you will need to add the article to a new collection folder first, and then remove that item from the old collection folder.
  • Shift-tab to get to the toolbar, then use the arrow keys to navigate over to "Add to a collection" button, and press enter.
  • A popup box will appear. Tab over to the My Library dropdown button, and use the left-right arrow keys to select the folder/collection you want the item to be added to. Press enter to select the folder, then tab to the ADD button. There is no audio confirmation that the item has been added to the collection folder.
  • If you’re having some troubles doing this, you may need to refresh the page, or you can back-shift to the Collection Folder you were working in and open it again to refresh. (Example of a usual issue, is that when you select an item and then shift-tab, it takes you to the tags section instead of the toolbar. If that happens, you need to go back to the original folder you were working in, enter to open it again, and then tab forward to the item. It should then allow you to shift-tab back to the toolbar to add the item to another collection.)

Desktop App 5.x or 6.x

There is no way to use a screen reader and mouse to move an item from one collection to another while using the desktop app.

Desktop App 7.x

  • Tab to highlight or select the article you want to add to another collection. NOTE: adding to a collection does not remove it from the current collection if it is in one. To do so, you will need to add the article to a new collection folder first, and then remove that item from the old collection folder.
  • Tab once to get to the information pane about that particular article (it will take you to the editing box for the title of the article).
  • Tab 3 times to get to the expand/collapse button for the Info section. It's easiest to collapse the Info section rather than try to tab through every piece of information available about that article.
  • Tab down to the Libraries and Collections section, and then tab to the Add Button. Press enter to open the dialog box. The box will list all of your collections within My Library (or a group library if you are using those).
  • Use the arrow keys to navigate through the dialog box to find the collection/folder you want to add the article to, and press enter to select it. You cannot select several collections at one time.
  • You can add the article to more collections by selecting the Add button again.
  • To remove the article from the original collection, make sure the Libraries and Collections section is expanded, then tab down to the collection you want to remove the article from, then tab again to get to the remove button for that collection. Press enter. A dialog box will ask if you are sure you want to remove the article from that collection.

Workflow #3: Adding tags to articles

Browser (PC and Mac) and Desktop App 5.x and 6.x

Select the item you want to edit, and then Tab to INFO, and then Arrow over to TAGS. You can then tab to the list of tags (if they already exist) and delete or edit with the keyboard. To add tags, navigate to the Add Tag button.

Desktop App 7.x

  • Tab over to the Information page for the article and select the Info section. Then arrow down to the Tags section. Then Tab to the Add button and press enter to open the tag edit option. You can either type in a tag, or use the arrow up key to activate the list of existing tags and select one. After each tag is typed in or selected, press enter to add a new tag or to save the existing one.
  • To delete a tag, navigate to the tag and then tab once to bring up the delete button. Press enter to activate it. You will not have a dialog box to confirm, nor will you have an audio cue. The focus will switch to the My Library Collections pane, so you will need to tab back over to the Information pane in order to return to editing tags.

Workflow #4: Editing item information/Metadata

This workflow is the same for the browser version as well as the desktop app. Both options allow you to use a screen reader and keyboard.

Select the item you want to edit, and then Tab to Info. Info is easily navigated using Tab to go to different elements of the metadata. If you upload a file to your collection folder without first creating a blank new item manually, you will not have the option to pull the metadata from the PDF or edit the INFO box in the browser.

Workflow #5: Creating Bibliography

Browser Version, PC or Mac

You can create a bibliography in Chrome or Firefox using the keyboard and screen reader. You can select several items in a collection folder by using the shift key and arrowing down, but you can only select adjacent articles. (You can't use ctrl-A, as it will select everything on the page, not the articles themselves.) Once your items are highlighted, shift-tab to the toolbar and select the Create Bibliography button. Ctrl-Shift-C can't be used in the browser if it's mapped to another application.

  • Likely best practice: if you are trying to only get SOME items out of a collection folder into a bibliography rather than the whole folder, add those items to a new collection. Then go to that collection folder, select all those articles, and then create bibliography. There doesn’t seem to be any other way to select non-adjacent articles, or to skip one in the folder.
  • It’s difficult to navigate the pop up window for the Bibliography because the focus doesn’t always go to the right area. The options in the dropdown menu for Citation Style and Language are not labeled, so you only hear “blank” if you try to change it.
  • You can change the Citation Style, but you will need sight to know what style you’re selecting from the menu. You can also try to type in the style name, but there’s no audio letting you know when that option comes up in the dropdown menu. It requires that you type in the exact name (Modern Library Association rather than MLA). Once you select something, press enter and the box will reload.
  • By default, the action button on the bibliography page is "Copy to Clipboard." This is an unlabeled button. There is also a collapsed menu with it that just says "menu item 1." The menu item one is actually "Copy HTML." There is no audio cue that it has actually copied things to the clipboard after you activate the button.

Desktop App 5.x or 6.x

As you can't access the toolbar with just the keyboard, you must use the Ctrl-shift-C keyboard shortcut. Items need to be adjacent in order to select multiple items.

  • Highlight the items you want to put into the bibliography using shift-arrow to select them, and then use Ctrl-Shift-C to copy them to the clipboard in order to paste into a Word document.
  • The bibliography will be in whatever your default citation style is. There is no option to change the citation style using Ctrl-Shift-C.
  • You can use ctrl-A to select all items in a folder, then Ctrl-shift-C to copy into clipboard.

Desktop App 7.x

Zotero 7 doesn't have a citation button in the toolbar, but you can use Ctrl-Shift-C to copy a citation or Ctrl-Shift-A to create an in-text citation. Items need to be adjacent in order to select multiple items.

  • Highlight the items you want to put into the bibliography using shift-arrow to select more than one, and then use Ctrl-Shift-C to copy their citations to the clipboard in order to paste into a Word document.
  • The bibliography will be in whatever your default citation style is. There is no option to change the citation style using Ctrl-Shift-C.
  • You can use ctrl-a to select all items in a folder, then Ctrl-Shift-C to copy the citations to the clipboard.
  • If you only want to copy an in-text citation version of the articles, you can use Ctrl-Shift-A. It will be in whatever your default bibliographic style is.

Workflow #6: Creating a group library

Browser Version, PC or Mac

  • If you are zoomed in, the option to create a group library is hidden in a hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) titled "Banner landmark Button Toggle Navigation." Once you get that menu toggled on, you have to arrow up to get into the list. Listen for the "Title, Creator, Year" and then keep arrowing up after that, and it’ll be the 6 or 7th item (somewhere around there). The link is just GROUPS.
  • If you’re not zoomed in to the point it hides the menu, then you need to get to the "Title, Creator, Year" form element in the toolbar and then up-arrow to get to "Groups." The top of the menu is "Web Library" and the bottom is "Upgrade Storage."

Desktop App version 7.x

  • Press Alt-F to open the File menu.
  • Arrow down to the New Library, and then right arrow to find the New Group option.
  • Selecting New Group will open a window in your browser. You must log in and use the browser version to create a new group library.
  • If you are zoomed in, the option to create a group library is hidden in a hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) titled "Banner landmark Button Toggle Navigation." Once you get that menu toggled on, you have to arrow up to get into the list. Listen for the "Title, Creator, Year" and then keep arrowing up after that, and it’ll be the 6 or 7th item (somewhere around there). The link is just GROUPS.
  • If you’re not zoomed in to the point it hides the menu, then you need to get to the "Title, Creator, Year" form element in the toolbar and then up-arrow to get to "Groups." The top of the menu is "Web Library" and the bottom is "Upgrade Storage."

Workflow #7: Adding notes

Browser Version, PC or Mac

You can add notes in the browser version. Tab down to the Info section of the article, then arrow over to Notes. Arrow down to get to Add Notes. It’ll jump you immediately into the Rich Text editing area for adding the note, but you have to switch modes to start typing in Chrome (this doesn’t seem to happen with Firefox). Once done, tab out of it, and it’ll automatically save.

Desktop App version 5.x or 6.x

It’s a little more difficult to add a note with the desktop app, as it opens a new sidebar menu without a close button (at least it’s not available to the screen reader/keyboard). You have to switch modes to type, and then switch again to get out of the note and back to the item information.

Desktop App version 7.x

There are two ways to add a new note to an article. Make sure the correct item is highlight, then:

  1. Shift-tab up to the toolbar and arrow over to the Add New Note button, then select New Item Note. It will open a new Note and automatically save it as you type (or use the Esc key to ensure it is saved, then shift-tab to get back to the Article pane). If the option is not available, go back to the Article pane and select the item again. Notes show up as second level items under the main item.
  2. Tab over to the Information pane, tab to Info, then use the arrow keys to go to the notes section. Tab to the Add button, and it will instantly make a new note and start saving as you type. You can also use the Esc key to return to ensure it is saved, then shift-tab to get back to the Article pane.

Workflow #8: Manually adding a new item to your library

Browser Version, PC or Mac

Tab to the toolbar; the first option is "New Item Button," and then you select the type of item you are adding. It'll add a blank item that you can then edit. You are able to upload a file as an attachment. If you want to add it to a specific collection folder, you must select that folder first before adding the new item. Make sure you create a new item entry before uploading a file in the browser version, otherwise you might be locked out from editing or adding any information/metadata to the entry (there is no way in the browser to even drag-and-drop the file into an Item; this can only be done in the desktop app).

Desktop App versions 5.x, 6.x and 7.x

With the desktop app, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-N to add a new item manually.

Workflow #9: Deduplicating

Browser Version, PC or Mac

There is no Duplicates folder in the browser version of Zotero. You need to manually identify the items and delete them. Bear in mind that there is no audio alert when items are deleted.

Desktop App version 5.x and 6.x

There is no way to use the duplicates folder in the older versions of the desktop app.

Desktop App version 7.x

You can use the Duplicate Items folder for any collection in your My Library or a Group Library. The Duplicate Items folder is only available for major Libraries (Level 1) in your Zotero account, and not for individual folders (or collections, Level 2) within that Library. By using the Duplicate Items folder, you can merge multiple item records into a single item record, while retaining that item's place in multiple collections. It will not remove an item from a collection if you merge multiple item records.

  • Navigate to the Duplicate Items folder for My Library, Group Library, or any other Major Libraries (Level 1) you've created in Zotero.
  • Tab over to the Item pane. Because the folder groups duplicates (they are highlighted at the same time), the numbering is off for the entire folder. It does not tell you how many duplicates there are of an item until you tab over to the Information pane. NOTE: If you have several items of the same title, but they are categorized as different types of items (example: three items are categorized as documents but one item is categorized as a book, but they are all the same item with the same title), you will not be able to merge the items or edit them. The text stating "Merged items must all be of the same type" is not accessible to a screen reader. You will need to find the mis-categorized item and correct it, but there is nothing saying which folder each item is in. This may require a sighted assistant.
  • Select the item you want to merge. Tab to the Information pane. You will be taken to a button that says "Merge x items." You can select this button to automatically merge them, or you can choose to read more about the item. NOTE: There is no auditory cue that the items are merged once you select the merge x items button. You must shift-tab to return to the Item pane to select the next articles to merge.
  • Arrow down to hear when each item was created. Which ever is actively highlight will become the "Master Item", while the other item will be a copy of that item. There is no discernable difference between a "Master Item" and a copy. NOTE: There is some language to describe this function, but it is not accessible by screen reader (NVDA) in our testing.
  • Tab to go through the INFO section for the to-be-merged items. You can change any of these options for both items prior to merging.

Workflow #10: Unfiled items

There is no "unfiled items" folder on the Web browser version of Zotero. My Library brings up all materials that are in your collections, whether they have been filed into a folder or not.

Workflow #11: Attaching a PDF to an Item

There was no


Workflow #12: Reading and Annotating PDFs

This workflow is heavily used by sighted users of Zotero, but was completely inaccessible to those using a screen reader and/or keyboard prior to Zotero 7, so we had not reviewed it previously.

To Read a PDF with Zotero 7 Desktop App

  • If an item has a PDF attached to it, you can open it by pressing enter on that item. Zotero will open a new window in the software that will say the name of the article then "Zotero Reader Document."
  • Arrow down to find the PDF. The toolbar is especially verbose for screen readers, so we suggest skipping over them completely if you just want to read the document.
  • In our testing of several PDF documents, the Zotero Reader only reads one line at a time (not even a full sentence, just a single line on the page). This can be annoying for screen reader users. We suggest to use whatever your preferred PDF reader to using the Zotero Reader.

To Annotate a PDF with Zotero 7 Desktop App

The toolbar buttons contain the complete instructions on how to use the annotation tools with a screen reader. This is repeated for every button, every single time. Due to the complexity of the process, the visual basis of annotations may be of questionable use for Blind individuals. Read aloud apps that create bookmarks in the audio for marking important areas of the text is a much more useful way to annotate text, but you may not be able to share this type of annotation with another user. It was also difficult to try to navigate the document by annotations in order to (for example) read what others have annotated in the document. Even using the A/shift-A keyboard shortcut was hit or miss on whether it could find annotation on multi-page documents.

Short version

To annotate with a screen reader or keyboard, you must first search for the exact text you want to annotate using Ctrl-F. The text must be exactly as it was written in the PDF, down to the capitals and punctuation. There is no way to highlight text without using a mouse, so if you're screen reader dependent, you will have to memorize the entire sentence or section, then type it exactly into the Ctrl-F box. The Zotero Reader will then highlight that text (as long as it is exact). Then you can use the keyboard shortcuts to create different annotation types.

  • To create a highlight annotation, press Ctrl-Alt-1. This highlights the text in yellow by default.
  • To underline text, press Ctrl-Alt-2.
  • To add a note, make sure the focus is in the document and press Ctrl-Alt-3. You will hear "Add Comment" when the note appears, and then you can begin typing your note. Notes will appear on the first page of the PDF, regardless of where you were at while reading. You cannot move the note without using a mouse. Adding the note will take you to the first page of the document, so you will need to navigate back to where you were reading.
  • To add text to the document, make sure focus is in the document and press Ctrl-Alt-4. This will create a text box somewhere on the page of the document you are reading. You can start typing immediately to enter text; however, the placement of the textbox is arbitrary, and may be over the document text. In our texting, the text was also yellow by default, which made it too low contrast to be read.
  • We were unable to get the Select Area shortcut to function during our test (keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Alt-5).
  • The final annotation type, Draw, cannot be accessed via the keyboard.
Long Version



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