EndNote: FAQs

EndNote 21 can recover your library from the EndNote Cloud and get you back where you belong


* Protect Your Work With Data Restoration Function

The single reference restoration feature introduces the ability to compare and restore previous versions of individual references to correct any accidental mishaps. And, if the unthinkable should happen and your library files get deleted or damaged, you can restore your library with our new data restoration function, ensuring your research is not lost.



* Stay Organized with Tags

Tags are customizable labels that let you organize your references however you'd like. You can add tags to references and customize the colour and name of the tags. You can add multiple tags to a reference and anyone who you share your library with can view a tag, making tags a great way to quickly and intuitively organize your references.

  

Note: Now Tags are available in EndNote Web (Refer below about the new interface) i.e. we will be able to create, edit, and manage the Tags on EndNote Web, just like a Desktop version. In addition, Tags that we have created on the Web will sync to the EndNote 21 Desktop, and vice-versa. 

                        EndNote Web                              EndNote 21 Desktop  
          


* New Exclusive EndNote Web Interface

With the newly redesigned EndNote Web, you can sync seamlessly between online, desktop, and iOS devices. The brand-new EndNote Web is available only to EndNote 21 customers for 3 years from the activation date.



* EndNote: Word Online CWYW

Our best-in-class Cite While You Write tool makes it easy to insert your EndNote references into Word Online. Cite While You Write automatically creates, formats, and reformats in-text citations and reference lists. EndNote 21 Cite While You Write for Word Online add-in now has a native integration with Word Online and is the perfect tool for collaboration with your research colleagues. It allows you to pool your references with your collaborators' references. Cite While You Write requires an EndNote Web account activated with EndNote 21. Cite Wile You Write has a direct integration with your EndNote 21 Web account. Refer here for more information. 



* Cite While You Write in Google Docs™

CWYW is available for EndNote 21 customers in Google Docs™ via Google Workspace Marketplace, making it easier to write your next paper and to collaborate on documents with colleagues. Refer here for more information. 

Cite While You Write Add-in Guide

Click here to learn how to install the Desktop (EndNote 21/20...) Add-in to Word app



Click here for Office Add-in



Click here for Google Add-in




Click here for EndNote Online Add-in



Click here for Apple Pages



Click here for Windows LibreOffice 



Click here for Windows OpenOffice


 
Click here for Windows WPS

1. Why references with more than one author do not show properly when formatted?

If you have multiple authors in your reference in the EndNote library, make sure you have placed each author's name on its own line. If you have not done so, be sure to enter a carriage return after each name.
There should be no punctuation between each author as the Output Style will include this information.

Example:
Argus, Michele V.
Matthews, Edward K.

2.  How can I create a standalone/independent bibliography?

EndNote allows you to build a structured bibliography in a variety of ways. Refer here for instructions.

 

3. Author initials keep showing in my in-text citations: APA style. Any fix?

APA style does require author initials to display when you have an author with the same last name and different initials. However, if you still want to remove the author's initials then refer here for more information and instructions.

 

4. How do I type in a corporate author or institution name?

Corporate authors should be entered with a comma at the end of their names. The comma prevents EndNote from interpreting the entry as a person's name and inverting it automatically. The comma is removed when the reference is formatted for use.


Example:  
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Apple Computer Inc.,


5. How do I enter complex author names? 

For multiple-word last names, like Charles de Gaulle, enter the name with the last name first, such as:

de Gaulle, Charles

Entering a name this way ensures that both words "de" and "Gaulle will format as the last name.

Enter authors with titles, such as "Jr. or III, as Last, First, Title. For example, Alfred Smith

Smith, Alfred, Jr.

The text after the second comma will print exactly as entered.

Reference Style

1. How can I find an Output Style that is not included with EndNote?

   If you do not see the style you want in the list of styles in EndNote Style Manager, check our website here first. Suppose the style is not listed on our website, then we do not have the output style you seek.
   You might consider checking the EndNote Forum to see if anyone else has created the style you seek, or you can add a suggestion for the style to be created. Periodically we create newly requested styles and 
   post them on our website.

   If you need a new style right away, you can create a new one or you can identify a similar style and modify it. The style editing guide can be found here: EndNote Windows and Mac: Style Editing Guide.


2. How can I add style to the EndNote Website?

   To add style to our website, you would need to request the journal editor or librarian to submit a request here.

   Note: Requests from individuals will not be processed here. The form needs to be submitted by journal editorial staff and professional staff supporting EndNote only.


3. Can I add more styles to my EndNote programme?

    EndNote has over 6,000 bibliographic styles, however, the application only provides the most often-used output types. If you want to add additional styles, then refer here for more information and instructions.


4. Can I share a customized output style with a colleague?

   EndNote allows us to modify any style and share it with others via email. You can refer here for instructions.


5. Why are the references automatically bulleted and misaligned?

    Mostly it might be due to Word's Style setting rather than EndNote. Correcting the style settings should resolve this issue. For the steps, you can refer here.


6. Can I add or modify the style in the EndNote Online?

    No. You cannot add or modify the style in the EndNote Online. If you have Basic EndNote Online, you have 21 styles to utilise and you can check the list here. However, if you are affiliated with any organization 
    via Web of Science, you can reach out to your EndNote Online admin to upload the style. You can find more information here.


7. Why are my Journal Names not abbreviated correctly?

     You will need to check the term list of the Journals if the Abbreviation 1 or 2 is listed correctly. For the steps and instructions, you can refer here.

Term Lists

Groups

I have 500+ references on various topics. How can I categorise them?

You can use Smart Groups that help arrange the references by keywords, author, journal, and so on. When you add new references to the library, they will be filed automatically to the Smart Group based on the
     settings. You can refer to this here for more information.


How can I move references to a folder/group in the EndNote library?

     Groups make it easy to break a large library into subsets for later viewing. A group simply points to a subset of references that already exist in the library. There are various methods for transferring references to
     certain groups. For the steps and more information, please click here.


How can I identify which groups the references belong to?

    In EndNote, you can use the “Reference Summary” whereas the version before EndNote 20 is called "Record Summary". option to find the groups to which the references belong. To check this,

    1. Highlight any reference in your EndNote library
    2. In EndNote 20, go to the References tab then choose Reference Summary. In previous versions, you can also right-click on it to choose “Reference Summary”.
    3. The information will display in the “Reference Summary” as the following:

• Web of Science Times Cited:
• Date Added:
• Last Updated:
• Fields Used:
• Custom and Smart Groups:

How can I restore references from the Trash folder/group?

     The references moved to the Trash folder can be restored to your EndNote library. The steps are outlined below:
 

1. Click on the Trash folder in the Groups Panel.
2. Highlight the references shown on the right side.
3. From the "References" menu, choose "Restore to Library".

    Alternatively, you can drag and drop the references from Trash to a specific group or the All References group.

    NOTE: References can be restored to the "All References" group only and not to Custom Groups.


Can I add references to the Group Sets?

     You cannot add references to the Group Sets. Group  Set helps to break down or combine more than one topic in a library. For instance, in a library name Master Library, there are groups divided by Fruits,
     Animals and Plants. In each group set, you can create custom groups to help with your research.


How can I share a group with my colleague?

     To share a group, your colleague and you need to have an EndNote Online account. Then, create a group that you would like to share and add references.  For the instructions, please refer here.

Sync and Share

Full Text & PDF

1. Can I export my references to Excel?

EndNote library data can be exported to a tab-delimited file and then imported into Excel. Refer here for instructions.

2. Can I import a CSV file into my library?

EndNote does not have an import filter for CSV files but you can open a CSV file with Excel and then use the steps from the Knowledge Base article to turn the file into a tab-delimited file which can be imported into EndNote.

3. Can I download the references from the Google Scholar site?

We must configure Google Scholar to save references in an EndNote-compatible format. Refer here for instructions.

4. Can I export the references from the PubMed online database to my EndNote program?

You can follow the instructions from here for exporting the references from PubMed to the EndNote program. 

5. Is there an issue with exporting to EndNote on a Mac?

There are known problems using Direct Export with Chrome and current Safari browsers on a macOS system. In most cases, instead of importing directly into EndNote™, the browser will instead save a file onto the Desktop. This is due to the way these browsers handle MIME types; they interfere with the ability to directly export from certain websites into EndNote.

Try accessing the website and exporting using a Mozilla-based browser instead (see http://www.firefox.com/). Mozilla-based browsers like Firefox allow you to specify how to handle the data when you initiate a direct export, permitting you to select the EndNote application.

NOTE:  If you minimize your library before you try to export from Firefox it will not get imported. You need to leave the library open and not minimized for it to directly import into the open library.

6. Is it possible to export references from a document to my EndNote Library?

We can use the Export Travel Library command as long as the references (with active field codes) are cited from the EndNote (both desktop & online versions).

1. Open Word and go to the EndNote tab in the Ribbon then Export to EndNote and select Export Traveling Library (On Mac: EndNote tab > Tools > Export Traveling Library).
2. EndNote will ask whether you want to import to a new library or an existing library.
3. Click OK to import the references into the specified EndNote Library.

7. Can I export references from JabRef into EndNote?

You can follow the instructions from here for exporting the references from JabRef to the EndNote.

Open Zotero.

1. Click the File menu and select Export Library.
2. Select RIS format from the drop-down menu.
3. Click OK.
4. Save the file to your computer in a location you can find.
5. Close Zotero.
6. Open your EndNote™ library (or create a new one.
7. Click the File menu and select Import File.
8. Click Choose.
9. Browse to and Select the file you saved from Zotero to Open.
10. From the "Import Options" dropdown, select Reference Manager (RIS).
11. Click Import.

The steps above will only transfer the references from Zotero to EndNote and not the PDF attachments. To transfer the references along with PDFs to EndNote, please follow the steps below:

1. Open Zotero. 
2. Click on the File menu and select Export Library. 
3. Under Format select EndNote XML (Check Export Notes and Export Files) 
4. Click OK. 
5. Save the file to your computer in the preferred location. The exported file would be saved in a folder named 'Exported Items' 
6. Close Zotero. 
7. Open EndNote. In this instance, we recommend that you create a new library (Click on File>New and give a name to your library and click on Save). 
8. Click on the File menu and select Import File. 
9. For Import File, select the file you have exported from Zotero and click Open. 
10. For Import options, choose EndNote Generated XML from the drop-down list. 
11. Click on Import. 
12. Click on File menu>Exit. 

Now open the Exported Items folder (created when you export from Zotero). You will see a PDF folder within the Exported Items folder. Open the PDF folder. Here, you can see subfolders created with numbers randomly. Copy all the subfolders. 

Now go the location where your EndNote library is saved. Here you will see the .enl file and .Data folder. For example, if your EndNote library name is My EndNote Library, then you will see My EndNote Library.enl file and associate My EndNote Library.Data folder. 

Open the .Data folder (My EndNote Library.Data) and create a PDF folder within the .Data folder. Once you create the PDF folder, open the PDF folder, and paste the subfolders you copied from the Exported Items folder. 

Now open the EndNote library. It will index the PDFs. Once it is done. You should be able to see the PDFs attached to the library. 

Document Conversion:
In order to convert a document created using Zotero tools, it needs to be formatted in a custom style. You will find a copy of the custom style in the Attachments section at the bottom of this article. Download the "Zotero-to-Endnote-Title.csl" file. Now add the custom style to the Zotero program.

Adding the custom style to the Zotero program: 

1. Open Zotero and click Edit > Preferences. 
2. Click Cite tab and click the + button to add the custom style. 

In Word follow the steps below: 

1. Open Word, click the Zotero tab, and select Document Preferences. 
2. Select Zotero-to-Endnote-Title and click OK. Now references will display only the title in the open and close curly braces:{Title}. 
3. Open the EndNote library and the document formatted using the "custom" style.
4. Save the modified document with a new name.
5. Windows: Press [Ctrl]+A on the keyboard to highlight everything.
6. macOS: Press [Command]+A on the keyboard to highlight everything.
7. Windows: Press [Ctrl]+6 (above the "T" and "Y" key) to remove any field codes.
8. macOS: Press [Command]+6 (above the "T" and "Y" key) to remove any field codes.
9. Remove any Bibliography present in the document.
10. Update the document with the appropriate style using the EndNote tools. See EndNote: Changing Output Styles Within a Document for more information.

Please note that you may get the "EndNote Select Matching Reference" dialog box when formatting the bibliography, please click at EndNote: Select Matching Reference for information on how to resolve this.

Click on the links below for EndNote guides on the various support tools:

• EndNote Online 
• EndNote Click  
• Word Online CWYW
• Google Docs CWYW

Below are useful links with a variety of instructional material to get you started with EndNote:

• Video Library
• EndNote Training