Help inside the app
- WindowsSettings › Help › What the icons mean shows the main icons with their names.
- In menus, each icon has its name next to it.
- Icons for the same feature can differ between systems. See Same feature, different icon at the end.
Library Mac · iPad
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| Sidebar (a rectangle with a left column) | Top left | Shows or hides the sidebar |
| Stacked cards with a number | Top left | Goes back to your open papers |
| Magnifier over lines of text | Top right | Opens the Across papers tab |
| Up and down arrows | Top right | Sorts the list |
| Three dots in a circle | Top right | More: select, add or open a PDF, export, figures and tables, compare sections, research theme, sync |
| Page with a plus | In "…" | Adds a PDF to Mendeley or Zotero |
| Light bulb | In "…" | Opens your research theme |
| Two circling arrows | In "…" › Sync | Syncs the library |
| Down arrow in a circle | In "…", selection, banner | Downloads PDFs for offline reading |
| Person in a circle | Bottom of the sidebar | Your accounts |
| Gear | Bottom of the sidebar | Settings |
| Star (outline / filled) | Left of a paper | Stars or unstars the paper (the Favorites view lists them) |
| Envelope with a dot / open book / open envelope | On a paper | Unread / in progress / read |
| Check in a circle / cloud / clock | On a paper | The PDF is on this device / not downloaded yet / waiting to download |
| Cloud with a slash | On a paper | "File not synced": the PDF isn't in Zotero storage. See Downloading PDFs |
| Gift / clock / lock | Trial banner | Start the trial / days left / trial ended |
| Shield with a lock | Banner | Sync paused to protect your data. See Troubleshooting |
| Warning sign on circling arrows | Banner | Some annotations could not be sent. See Annotation sync |
Reader Mac · iPad
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| Back arrow | Top left | Back to the library |
| Picture on a frame | Top left | Figure panel |
| Light bulb | Top left | Opens the research theme beside the paper |
| Rectangle split in two / single rectangle | Top left | 2 screens / 1 screen. See Two panes |
| Stacked cards with a number | Top left | Open papers |
| Gear | Top left | The reader's settings |
| Curved arrows left / right | Top right | Undo / redo |
| Three dots in a circle | Top right | More tools and actions |
| Magnifier | Tools | Find in the paper |
| Highlighter (or "HL" on a wide screen) | Tools | Highlight |
| Underlined letter | Tools | Underline |
| Dashed rectangle | Tools | Area highlight: box a figure or equation |
| Squiggle | Tools | HL Pen: trace text to highlight it |
| Note | Tools | Sticky note |
| Palette, or a dot in the current color | Tools | Color |
| Photo / letters "Aa" | Tools | Image annotation / text annotation. See Zotero annotations |
| List in a box / indented list | Tools | Annotation list / outline |
| Page with lines | Tools, round button at the bottom right | Reading Mode |
| Two circling arrows | Tools, status bar | Sync this paper's annotations |
| Bookmark ribbon | In "…" | Bookmarks |
| Clock with a circling arrow | In "…" | Change history. See Undo and change history |
| Square with an up arrow | In "…" | Export |
| Sliders | In "…" | Customize the toolbar |
| Question mark in a circle | In "…" | Help |
| Eye / crossed-out eye | Status bar | Annotations shown / hidden |
| Pen tip in a circle (outline / filled) | Status bar | Handwriting off / on (Ink ON) |
| Eraser | Handwriting tools | Eraser |
| Pin | Figure list, figure mentions | Show the figure beside the text |
| Arrow turning down and right | Figure panel | Jump to the figure's page |
| × in a circle / plus | Open papers cards | Close the paper / open another paper |
Reading Mode Mac · iPad
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| Pen tip in a circle | Right edge, a little below the middle | Shows or hides the menus |
| Page with lines | Round button at the bottom right | Leaves Reading Mode; long-press to show the PDF beside it |
| Bookmark ribbon | Floating button | Adds or removes a bookmark; long-press for the list |
| "Aa" with minus / plus | Top | Text size |
| Photo / table | In the text | A figure or table card; press it to see it large |
Top bar and library Windows
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| Sidebar (left third filled while it shows) | Top left | Hides or shows the library (Ctrl+B) |
| Stacked pages with a number | Top bar | Open papers (Ctrl+Shift+A) |
| Light bulb with a small arrow | Top bar | Research theme and the list of themes |
| Keyboard | Top right | Keyboard shortcuts (F1) |
| Gear | Top right | Settings |
| Two circling arrows | Above the library | Syncs the library |
| Three vertical dots | Above the library | More: add a PDF, export figures and tables, compare sections |
| Tag (filled with a number while filtering) | Above the library | Filter by tag or keyword |
| Page / PDF page | Start of a row | A paper from Mendeley or Zotero / a PDF on this PC |
| Dark dot / light dot | On a paper | Unread / in progress |
| Green check | On a paper | Downloaded |
| Filled star | On a paper | Favorite |
| Plus | Last card in Open papers | Opens another paper |
Reader Windows
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| PDF | Reading | Above the paper | Switches between the PDF and Reading Mode |
| Rectangle split in two | Above the paper | 2 screens / 1 screen (Ctrl+Shift+D) |
| Side by side / stacked | Above the paper | How two panes are arranged: automatic, side by side or stacked |
| × | Above the paper | Closes the paper |
| Minus / plus | Toolbar | Zoom out / in |
| Note | Toolbar | Sticky note |
| Dashed box with a pointer | Toolbar | Area highlight |
| Pen | Toolbar | Pen (P) |
| Eraser | Toolbar | Eraser (E) |
| Curved arrows | Toolbar | Undo / redo |
| Magnifier | Toolbar | Find in the paper (Ctrl+F) |
| Bookmark ribbon (outline / filled) | Toolbar | Bookmark this page / remove the bookmark |
| Eye / crossed-out eye | Toolbar | Hide / show annotations |
| Three dots | Toolbar | More tools |
| Two circling arrows | Toolbar | Syncs this paper's annotations |
| Box with an arrow out | Toolbar | Export: annotated PDF, Markdown notes, figures and tables, archive, BibTeX, citation key, send notes |
| Page with an arrow in | Toolbar | Import: open a file, add a PDF, new note, new theme, import an archive |
| Stack of pictures | Toolbar | Figure panel (Ctrl+Shift+F) |
| Sidebar | Toolbar | Side panel with tabs: pages, annotations, outline, bookmarks, history, similar passages |
| Small down arrow next to Send to theme | Selection bar | Choose the heading in the theme to send to |
WindowsWhen you select text, a bar appears with the eight colors, Highlight, Underline, Copy with page, Send to theme and more.
Reading Mode and figure panel Windows
| Icon | Where | What it does |
|---|
| Magnifier | Top | Find in Reading Mode |
| Bookmark ribbon | Top, and beside a paragraph when you hover | Bookmarks list / bookmark this paragraph |
| Half-filled circle | Top | Reading Mode appearance (light or dark) |
| Small / large "T" | Top | Smaller / larger text |
| Rectangle split in two | Top | Show the PDF beside it |
| PDF page | Beside a paragraph | Show this place in the PDF |
| Pin (outline / filled) | Figure cards | Show the figure beside the text |
| Left / right arrows | Figure panel | Previous / next figure |
| Down arrow | Figure panel | Choose a figure |
| Arrow turning down and right | Figure panel | Jump to the figure's page |
| Six dots | A block in a note | Drag to move the block |
| Lock | A block in a note | Text Rectoly writes; edit it in the text view |
Same feature, different icon
| Feature | iPad and Mac | Windows |
|---|
| Reading Mode | Page with lines | The words PDF | Reading |
| Bookmarks | Bookmark ribbon | Bookmark ribbon |
| Open papers | Stacked cards | Stacked pages |
| Highlight | Highlighter or "HL" | Color dots in the selection bar |
| Handwriting | Pen tip in a circle (Ink ON) | Pen |
| Export | Square with an up arrow | Box with an arrow out |
| Figure panel | Picture on a frame | Stack of pictures |
| Research theme | Light bulb | Light bulb |
| 2 screens | Rectangle split in two | Rectangle split in two |
Updated September 20, 2026