A Zotero 7/8 plugin for managing PDFs with external readers (tablets, e-readers, cloud storage).
ZotTablet is a successor to the abandoned ZotFile plugin, providing bidirectional PDF sync between Zotero and external folders, modification detection, and annotation extraction.
- Zotero 7.0+ or Zotero 8.0+
- Windows, macOS, or Linux
- Download the
.xpifile from the latest release - In Zotero: Tools > Add-ons
- Click the gear icon > Install Add-on From File...
- Select the downloaded
.xpifile - Restart Zotero
Send PDFs to an external folder (synced via Dropbox, Google Drive, or USB) and retrieve them with changes.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Background (Copy) | Copies PDF to external folder, keeps original in Zotero |
| Foreground (Move) | Moves PDF to external folder, creates linked attachment |
Automatically detects when files have been modified externally. Modified files are tagged with _tablet_modified.
Tag-based reading list management. Mark items with _reading_list tag for later reading.
Import annotations made with external PDF readers (Adobe Reader, Foxit, PDF Expert, etc.) into Zotero using native PDFWorker.
Right-click on items or PDF attachments:
- Send to Tablet / Get from Tablet
- Add/Remove from Reading List
- Extract Annotations
Tools > ZotTablet:
- Sync All Modified Files
- Check All Tablet Files
- Open Tablet Folder
- Create Saved Searches
- Preferences
Access via Tools > ZotTablet > ZotTablet Preferences...
- Tablet/External Folder: destination for synced PDFs
- Sync Mode: Background (copy) or Foreground (move)
- File renaming: Author_Year_Title format
- Subfolder organisation
- Tag customisation
- Annotation extraction settings
MIT License