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EndNote: Adding References to Your Library

An online guide for obtaining and using EndNote.

Opening EndNote and Creating a Library

In EndNote, the term "Library" is used to describe a collection of bibliographic records. The default library, My EndNote Library will be saved onto your desktop -- includes two files (.enl and .data) which are interdependent. It is important to keep these two files in the same folder!
Your EndNote Library may contain citations to journal articles, books, websites, etc.
  1. To open and create an EndNote Library, launch EndNote.
  2. Choose Create a new EndNote library (or click on File and select New).
  3. Specify a location for your library on your computer (e.g. My Documents).
    • It is recommended that you use the default library filename, My EndNote Library, and use the Groups feature to organize the references in your library by subject, assignment, project, etc. Groups are discussed elsewhere in this guide.
    • Alternatively, you can create a separate library for each project, assignment, or course and name each library accordingly. Keep in mind that this can cause complications if you wish to create an Endnote Web account later, as you can only sync one library with Endnote Web. 

Importing Instructions

While EndNote makes it easy to import references from a database (e.g., PubMed), there are times you will need to manually create one. For example, if you are citing a webpage or website, you will need to manually create the reference in EndNote.

To manually add a reference, click the New Reference icon (or click References tab and select New Reference). From the “New Reference” box follow the steps below:

  1. Select the appropriate Reference Type (e.g., Webpage). The default is Journal Article.
  2. Complete the fields required by your output style (e.g., APA 7th). 
    • Not all fields need to be filled. For example, to add a Webpage, APA 7th requires an Author, Title, Year, Last Update Date, and URL. Adding a Series Title is optional.

  3. To save, click the X (upper right corner) of the Reference window (or • button on upper left corner for Mac).

    • Note: Be careful not to close the entire library by mistake! If you do this, you will have to re-launch your library and re-enter a new reference.

Entering Author Names & Corporate Names

Enter one author name per line, using the following format:

  • Smith, John
  • Smith, J.B.

For organizations (corporate names), enter the full title and place the comma AFTER the full name:

  • Centers for Disease Control,
  • Centers for Disease Control,, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
    • For an organization including department or division, place two commas,, after the organization title followed by department.
Read First: Important Notes About Importing PDFs
PDFs with DOIs

EndNote is able to create citations for some PDFs stored on your computer. This feature works by identifying a DOI (digital object identifier) that publishers embed in the PDF.

  • PDF Import requires an Internet connection to look up the full citation from an online database.
  • PDFs not encoded with a DOI or scanned from paper copies will not have reference information. EndNote will import the file but you will need to manually edit the reference to enter the correct information.

Import a Single File or Folder

To import a single PDF or a folder of PDFs, make sure you know where the file or folder is located on your computer (e.g., Desktop, My Documents), and follow the steps below:

  1. From EndNote, click File and then Import
  2. Select the File (or Folder) you wish to import.
  3. From the Import File box, click Import Options, select PDF File or Folder and click Import. Note: If you do not select the appropriate option, your file(s) will not import.
  4. Click Import.
Set PDF Handling Preferences

Naming Feature

You can have EndNote rename PDFs files using Author, Year and Title combination, or create a custom naming option. To set these preferences, follow the steps below:

  1. Click Edit (or EndNote 21 for Mac), select Preferences and then PDF Handling.
  2. Select the renaming option you want, e.g., Author+Year+Title.
  3. Click Save.

PDF Auto Import Filter

You may select to have EndNote automatically import downloaded PDF files each time you launch EndNote -- this works best if you are using only one Library to manage all of your references. Each time you open EndNote, newly added files are imported and then moved to the created "Imported" subfolder. To set this preference,

  1. Designate (or create) a folder that will contain only the PDFs to be imported into EndNote.
  2. Click EndNote (or EndNote 21 for Mac), select Preferences and then PDF Handling.
  3. Check the "Enable automatic importing" box.
  4. Click Select Folder to select the folder you want to use (e.g., EndNote PDF Imports).
  5. Click Save. 
Click Apply to set the preferences. You can always click EndNote Defaults to reset.

 

  1. From the PowER Search results page, select the citations you want to export to EndNote using the checkboxes to the left of the citations.
  2. When you are ready to export the selected references, open the EndNote Library you want to use to import.
  3. In the PowER Search window, select "Export RIS. PowER Search will automatically download a .RIS file (e.g., export-endnote-14068133337.ris). Make note of where your browser saves the downloaded file (e.g., Downloads).
  4. If you are prompted by your web browser to Open file, click Open. Specify EndNote 21 as the program (or application) to open and import the file to EndNote.
    • Alternatively, you can right-click on the downloaded file, select Open with and select EndNote.
  5. Switch from your browser to EndNote and your references should appear in the Imported References group.

From the PubMed results page, you can use the checkboxes to select specific citations to export. Otherwise, if you don't check any citations, PubMed assumes you want all of the search results. Note, you may also store references on the Clipboard and follow the steps below.

  1. When you are ready to export, open the EndNote Library you want to use to import.
  2. From PubMed, click Send to and select Citation Manager.
    • Use the drop-down menu to select "All results on this page," "All results," or "Selection" as appropriate. Selection refers to those references you have selected with the checkbox. 
    • Click Create File. The downloaded filename will be citations.nbib. Note where your browser saves these downloaded files (e.g., Downloads).
  3. If you are prompted by your web browser to Open file, click Open. Specify EndNote 21 as the program (or application on a Mac) to open and import file to EndNote.
    • Alternatively, you can right-click on the downloaded file, select Open with and select EndNote.
  4. Switch from your browser to EndNote and your references should appear in the Imported References group.
  1. From the database search results page, use the Add to Folder icon to select specific citations you wish to import.
    • You may also click the Share icon and select to send the current page (e.g., 1-10) to the Folder.
  2. Once you have gathered your selected items, click Folder View (right side of screen) to view the selected items.
  3. Next, click Export and select Direct Export to EndNote, ProCite...
  4. Click Save. The downloaded file will be named delivery.ris.
  5. At this point, open the EndNote Library you wish to import.
  6. If you are prompted by your web browser to Open file, click Open. Specify EndNote 21 as the program (or application on a Mac) to open and import file to EndNote.
    • Alternatively, you can right-click on the downloaded file, select Open with and select EndNote.
  7. Switch from your browser to EndNote and your references should appear in the Imported References group.

Downloading All Search Results:

  1. Click Share and select E-mail a link to download exported results...
  2. On the next screen
    • Enter your email address in the Email to: box.
    • Enter a subject and comments.
    • Very important! Under "E-mail a link to a file with citations in," click on RIS Format (e.g., CITAVI, EasyBib, EndNote...)
    • Click Send.
  3. Check your email to download the file and follow steps above, starting at #5.

The LRC subscribes to the following Ovid databases: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, HaPI, EBM Reviews and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

  1. From the Ovid search results screen, you can click All, Select a Range or checkmark the items you want to export and click Export.
  2. From the "Export Citation List" box, make the following selections:
    • Export To: EndNote
    • Select Fields to Display: Complete Reference
    • Include Link to External Resolver and Include URL boxes should be checked.
  3. Click Export Citation(s). Ovid will automatically download a file, ovidweb.cgi.
  4. At this point, open the EndNote Library you want to import references into.
  5. To open and import the file, click on the downloaded file and select Open and select EndNote 21.
    • If you are prompted to select a Program (or Application), click Other and select EndNote 21.
  1. From the Embase results page, use the check boxes to select specific citations you want to export. If you want to export all references from your search, click the top check box.
    • Alternatively, you can place items on the Clipboard as you continue to search. To export items from your Clipboard, click Tools and follow the steps below.
  2. When you are ready to export, open EndNote and select a specified Library or open a new Library.
  3. From Embase, click Export and select RIS format (Reference Manager, ProCite, EndNote).
  4. Click Export and at the next prompt, click Download. Embase will download the file, records.ris.
  5. If you are prompted by your web browser to Open file, click Open. Specify EndNote 21 as the program (or application on a Mac) to open and import file to EndNote.
    • Alternatively, you can right-click on the downloaded file, select Open with and select EndNote.
  6. Switch from your browser to EndNote and your references should appear in the Imported References group.

In Google Scholar you can import individual citations (not groups of citations) into EndNote. You must first configure Google Scholar.

  1. Go to Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com).
    • At the top of the Google Scholar page, click Settings.
    • Under Bibliography manager, click the button next to Show links to import citations into and select EndNote. The default is BibText.
  2. Click Save. You will be returned to the Google Scholar home page.
  3. Run a search in Google Scholar. You should now see Import into Endnote as one of the options beneath each citation. Click this link to download the single reference. The file will be labeled scholar.enw.
  4. At this point, open the EndNote Library you wish to import references into.
  5. Locate the scholar.enw files to import. Highlight one of the files and right-click to Open with and select EndNote.
  6. Switch from your browser to EndNote and your references should appear in the Imported References group.

EndNote Technical Support

The LRC Reference staff will be happy to assist you with your EndNote questions.

You may also contact EndNote Technical Support:

Rhonda Allard

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Chris Heckman
Contact:
301 319-4038
James A. Zimble Learning Resource Center • 4301 Jones Bridge Rd. Bethesda, MD 20814 • Main Number: 301-295-3189 • AMI Helpdesk: 301-295-3358

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