EndNote Software: Beginner's Guide

Organization as Author

Many times you need to cite a report, white paper, or document written by a government department, a corporation, or a non-profit.  When you create the reference in EndNote you need to enter it in a specific manner.

Example: Say you have a report written by the City of Albuquerque.  You need to add a comma at the end of the name in the Author field. For example: City of Albuquerque,

If you do not add the comma, the author is displayed in one of the manners below for the citation

  • Albuquerque, C. o   [wrong]
  • Albuquerque, City of  [wrong]
  • City of Albuquerque, [correct]

Output Styles

  • What is an Output Style?
    • Templates that control appearance of in-text citations, footnotes and bibliographies (all Output Styles)
    • Styles defined by journal, such as Nature, or association, such as American Psychological Association (APA).
    • EndNote has thousands of Output Styles installed.  Additional Output Styles can be downloaded.
    • You may request EndNote to create an output style that does not already exist (support).
  • Style Manager
    • Style Manager is used to add an Output Style to the Styles menu that appears in the toolbar along the top of the EndNote library window and in the EndNote menu in Microsoft Word.
    • Style Manager is used to edit an Output Style.  For example, you can change how an author's name is displayed in a bibliography.
    • To open Style Manager, select Edit > Output Styles > Open Style Manager... from the menu bar in the EndNote library window.
    • The Style Manager window will open.

Open Style Manager

Open Style Manager

  • Adding to the Styles Menu
    • The Styles menu is a list of 'favorite' styles that appears in the toolbar at the top of the EndNote library window and in the EndNote menu in Microsoft Word, providing easy access to the styles that you use commonly.

Styles Menu in EndNote


Styles Menu

    • To add an Output Style to the Styles menu, open Style Manager.
    • Find the style(s) that you want.  To quickly locate a style:
      • Start typing the name of the style that you want to find.
      • Click on the Find by button to browse styles by subject category.
    • Click the box to the left of the style's name to select it as one of your favorites. 
    • Close the Style Manager by clicking the close button in the upper right corner of window or selecting File > Close Style Manager from the menu bar.
    • The styles that you have selected will now appear in the Styles menu.

Style Manager with Ann Rev Neuroscience Selected

Style Manager

  • Edit an Output Style
    • Open Style Manager.
    • Click on the style that you wish to edit.
    • Click the Edit button.  The Style window will open.

Style Window

Style Window

    • The left column of the window displays information about the style. 
    • The top four items in the column: About this Style; Anonymous Works; Page Numbers and Journal Names, contain information that apply throughout the style, in citations, footnotes and bibliographies.
      • Click on each of these items to view the available formatting options.
      • Make the desired changes.
    • The rest of the options in the left column are arranged under four headings: Citations; Bibliography; Footnotes or Figures & Images. Click the + sign next to the heading to view the available options.
      • Click on the element (Author Name, Numbering, etc.) that you want to edit. 
      • Make the desired changes to the element.
      • Note: Before you make any changes, we strongly recommend that you read about formatting Output Styles.  In your EndNote library, click on the Help button in the toolbar along the top of the window.  In the EndNote X6 Help box, click on the search tab and enter 'Output Styles' into the search box.  In the list of topics that appears, select 'Basic Components of a Style' to view information about how Output Styles work.

Style Window: Changing How Author Name Appears in Bibliography

Style Window

    • Once you have made your changes, select File > Save As from the menu bar.  Save a copy of the revised style.  Do NOT overwrite the original template.
    • Close the Style window by clicking the close button in the upper right corner of window or selecting File > Close Style from the menu bar.

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Term List - Journal Abbreviation

Term List
Some databases (e.g. PubMed) abbreviate the journal title when a citation is imported into EndNote.  In EndNote X, program files are pre-set term lists that fixes this so the full title is used in your EndNote library.  Follow the steps from the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) site http://bit.ly/ZgXOR3

  1. Delete any current term lists
  2. Import List…
  3. Local Disk (C:)
  4. Program Files 
  5. EndNote X6 or X7
  6. Term Lists

Working with PDFs

  • In EndNote, you can open and annotate a PDF file using the PDF Viewer Panel.
  • Opening the PDF Viewer Panel
    • Double click on a reference with an attached PDF file (indicated by the presence of a paperclip symbol).  This will open the reference window. 
    • Click on the PDF tab above the toolbar.  The PDF Viewer Panel will open.
  • Using the PDF Viewer Panel
    • The toolbar at the top of the PDF Viewer Panel has several options that allow you to add notes, highlight text and find words and phrases within the PDF document. 
    • Hover your cursor over an icon to view text explaining its function.
  • Add Notes
    • Use your cursor to highlight the text in the PDF document where you wish to add a note.
    • Click on the Sticky Note button in the toolbar at the top of the PDF Viewer Panel.  A Sticky Note icon will appear next to the highlighted text.
    • Double-click on the Sticky Note icon to display a text box.  Type your notes in the text box.
    • Click the Save PDF button in the toolbar to save your changes.
    • To delete a note, click on the Sticky Note that you wish to remove and press the Delete button on your keyboard.
    • Note: You cannot move notes within a PDF document.
  • Highlight Text
    • Use your cursor to highlight the text in the PDF document that you wish to highlight.
    • Click on the Highlight Text button in the toolbar at the top of the PDF Viewer Panel.  The selected text will be highlighted in yellow.
    • Click the Save PDF button in the toolbar to save your changes.
  • Using the Find Feature
    • Enter words or phrases in the search box in the toolbar at the top of the PDF Viewer Panel.  The Find feature searches within the PDF document that is currently open.
    • Click on the Next and Previous buttons to navigate to the next or previous instance of your search word or phrase.

PDF Viewer Panel

PDF Viewer Panel

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Create Bibliography

Create Bibliography from a Group

1. On the top EndNote toolbar select the drop-down menu and choose your preferred style. You may need to select Select another style from this menu to find it

2. Now select a group on the left bar to display all citations in the group

  • If you want all citations in this group, in the center panel use keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) to highlight them
  • If you only want some and not all use CTRL+mouse to select individual ones to highlight.

3. With the citations highlighted, right click to display menu

4. Select Copy Formatted from menu

5. Paste into a document.

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Export Bibliography

Export a Bibliography

  • Before You Export Your Bibliography
    • Open the EndNote library with the references from which you wish to create a bibliography. 
    • Prior to creating a bibliography, we recommend that you find duplicate references within your EndNote library.  To find duplicate references:
      • In the Groups panel in the left column, click on All References to display all the references in your library.
      • From the menu bar, select References > Find Duplicates.
      • If you have duplicate references in your library, the Find Duplicates dialog box will appear.  For each set of duplicates, you have the following options:
        • Click Keep This Record to save the preferred reference and discard the other in the trash.
        • Click Skip to leave both references in the library. The references will be placed in a temporary Duplicate References group for later review.

Find Duplicates Dialog Box

Find Duplicates

  • Creating a Bibliography using the Copy Formatted Method
    • Select the Output Style in which you wish your bibliography to appear from the Styles menu in the toolbar.  The Output Style that you select determines how your references are sorted and formatted in the bibliography. 
    • A standard font is used for bibligraphies created using the Copy Formatted command.  To choose a different font for your bibliography, select Edit > Preferences from the menu bar.  The EndNote Preferences dialog box will open.
      • In the left column, click on Display Fonts.
      • In the window that appears, click on the General tab.
      • Click on the Change Font button.  The Font dialog box will open.
      • Select the font and size that you desire.  Click OK to close the Font dialog box.
      • Click the Apply button.  Then, click OK to close the dialog box.

EndNote Preferences Dialog Box with Display Font Window

EndNote Preferences

    • Select the references that you wish to include in your bibliography.  To select multiple references:
      • Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on individual references OR
      • Select a range of references by clicking the first reference, then press the Shift key and click the last reference in the range.
    • Select Edit > Copy Formatted from the menu bar OR right-click on the selected references and choose Copy Formatted from the menu that appears.
    • Open a Microsoft Word document.  Place your cursor where you want your bibliography to appear.  Click on the Paste button in the Word toolbar or select Ctrl + V on your keyboard.  Your bibliography will appear in the Word document.

Sync with EndNote Web

  • What is EndNote Web?
    • The online version of EndNote. 
    • Synchronizes with your desktop library, allowing you to access your references from any computer.  Note: Sync works with only one library and one web account.
    • An EndNote Web account is required to enable synchronization between EndNote desktop and the EndNote iPad app.
  • Setting up an EndNote Web Account
    • Open your EndNote library.  Click on the Sync Library button Sync Library in the toolbar along the top.  The EndNote Web Login dialog box will open.  If you:
      • Do NOT already have an EndNote Web account: Click the Sign Up button to open the User Registration dialog box.  Enter the required information and click the I Agree button to complete the registration process.  
      • Do already have an EndNote Web account: Enter the email address and password for your EndNote Web account.  Click OK.

EndNote Web Login

Web Login

  • Syncing
    • The Sync process is always initiated from EndNote desktop.  To manually sync your EndNote library with your EndNote Web account, click on the Sync Library button Sync Library in the toolbar.  The Sync process synchronizes both sets of references (those in your desktop library and those in your Web account), including file attachments.
    • Note: We recommend that you create a compressed library backup the first time that you initiate the Sync process.  Learn how to Save a Compressed Library.
  • Sync Preferences
    • Set your Sync Preferences so that you do not have to enter your EndNote Web account credentials each time you sync manually and to enable automatic synchronization.
    • Select Edit > Preferences from the menu bar.  The EndNote Preferences dialog box will open.
    • Select Sync from the box in the left column.
    • Enter the email address and password for your EndNote Web account.
    • Select your desired Sync Automatically settings.  Sync Automatically eliminates the need to manually synchronize your library.  Click Apply, then click OK.

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Merging Libraries

There are two ways to merge libraries:

  • Method 1: Import EndNote Library
    • Open the EndNote library into which you will be importing.
    • From the File menu, select Import.
    • Select Choose file to locate the EndNote library that you wish to import
    • Select EndNote Library from the Import Option drop down list.
    • Select Discard Duplicates.
    • Select Import.
  • Method 2: Copy and Paste
    •  Select the references that you wish to move to another library.  To select multiple references:
      • Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on individual references OR
      • Select a range of references by clicking the first reference, then press the Shift key and click the last reference in the range.
    • Select Edit > Copy OR Ctrl + C on your keyboard.
    • Open the library to which you wish to add the references and select Edit > Paste OR Ctrl + V on your keyboard.

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EndNote for iPad

An EndNote iPad App is available for download from the Apple Store. This is best used for reviewing references or reading the PDFs.  To read files you need Internet access (download).EndNote iPad App

To learn more, check out FAQs for the EndNote iPad app.