The Galter Library teaches a related class called EndNote. See our Classes schedule for the next available offering. If this class is not on our upcoming schedule, it is still available to you or your group by request.

EndNote is bibliographic management software that allows users to manage citations in personal libraries and create bibliographies based on a number of available journal or writing styles. This guide will aid you in performing basic tasks using EndNote. The guide has been recently updated to reflect changes since the release of the most current version of EndNote (X2); however, most of the content is still applicable to older versions of EndNote.

In addition to this guide, you may want to consult the EndNote Support page for information on downloading the software and the EndNote FAQ page for (you guessed it) frequently asked questions.

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Creating a New Library

• Open EndNote by double-clicking on the EndNote icon OR by locating EndNote on the computer's hard drive.
• Depending on the program's preferences, you may see differing options here: the most recently-used library may open or you may see a blank EndNote application window. To create a new library, go to File > New.
• Name your library and pick a location on your computer where the library will be saved.
• Click Save.

Choosing Fields to Display as Column Headings in your Library

You can choose up to eight fields to display as column headings in your library.

• Go to Edit, Preferences.
• Choose Display Fields from the left-hand list.
• Choose your desired field for each column from the drop-down menus. Note: If you want to remove a column so that fewer than eight fields appear, you can choose "[Do not display]" from the drop-down menu.

Using Term Lists

• To ensure that your bibliographies will be formatted correctly, you should import a journal term list before you add any references to your library.
• Go to the Tools menu, Open Terms Lists, and then Journals Term List.
• A blank table will appear. Click the Lists tab, highlight Journals, then click Import List.
• Navigate to your EndNote folder (for Windows: C Drive>Program Files>EndNote; for Mac: Applications>EndNote) and choose the Terms Lists folder. Select the subject area for the type of references you will be working with (biosciences, chemical, medical, humanities, etc).
• The table will be filled with full journal titles and their official abbreviations.
• You can repeat these steps to include more than one journal list.

Opening an EndNote Library

• Open EndNote by double-clicking on the EndNote icon OR by locating EndNote on the computer's hard drive OR by double-clicking on the library file (it will be black and orange).
• Depending on the program's preferences, you may see differing options here: the most recently-used library may open or you may see a blank EndNote application window. Go to File > Open Library or you can select a recently-used library from the list.

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This is the most labor-intensive way to put references into EndNote, and the way that is most prone to errors. Use this method as a last resort, if you can't find your reference(s) in a database like MEDLINE, or in a library catalog like Northwestern University's NUcat for books or book chapters. (You would just need to get the record for the book and modify your EndNote record to reflect a chapter of that book).

• Go to the References menu and select New Reference.
• Select the appropriate Reference Type. Journal Article is the default.

• Enter data:
  • Author names must be entered one per line e.g. Smith, J.T.OR John Tom Smith
  • Put a period or space between initials. Try to be consistent with other references in your EndNote library.
  • Use ? for unknown dates
• Go to the File menu and select Save, or close the record and select "Yes" when prompted to save.

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EndNote allows direct connections to several databases using connection files that are included in your EndNote software package. To access NU-restricted resources (for example, Ovid databases and Web of Science) through EndNote, you will need to be on the Northwestern University network or connected via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If you are not connected, you can still use the Import method described in the next section.

Databases like PubMed or the NU library catalog (NUcat) should be ready to go, and access is not restricted.

Please Note: If you want to search MEDLINE, select PubMed. This option allows you to search the database regardless of your location.

Types of Searches

The EndNote search interface is very basic and does not support advanced searching options such as the ability to explode or focus in MEDLINE. The searching via EndNote method is good for retrieving "known items", i.e. articles you know already exist or all articles by a particular author. It is not as useful for subject searching (for this see Importing Search Results into EndNote).

With the release of EndNote X2, there are now two ways to search online databases using the EndNote search interface. Which method should you use?

1. The Integrated Library & Online Search Mode
   This feature is new with EndNote X2. This search mode connects to you to your chosen database and downloads the results of your searches directly to your EndNote library. If you download citations that you don't want, you will have to delete them from your library. This method is recommended only if you are confident that the results you find are the ones you want to keep. While you can always delete records you don't want, this is probably not the most efficient way to manage your search results.
   
   
   
   
   
   Note: this is the default search mode.

1. The Online Search Mode (Temporary Library) - Recommended
   If you have used EndNote prior to X2, this is the search mode that you will be familiar with. This search mode connects you to your chosen database and downloads the results of your searches to a temporary library, from which you can choose which citations you would like to copy to your library. This gives you greater control over how you handle search results.  We recommend this search method over the Integrated Library method. This is the only search option available with EndNote X1 and earlier versions.
   
   
   
   
   Note: if you have recently downloaded EndNote X2 and you are only able to conduct a search using the Integrated Library & Online Search Mode, you will need to install the EndNote X2 update so you can also search using the Online Search Mode (Temporary Library). While in EndNote, go to Help - EndNote Program Updates and follow the prompts.

  Performing Searches

• Choose either the The Integrated Library & Online Search Mode or the The Online Search Mode (Temporary Library) icon in the upper left-hand corner of your EndNote library window
• In the left-hand Groups pane, select one of the options under Online Search. If you don't see the option you want listed there, select "more" to see the complete list of potential connection files that came with EndNote
• If you are using a licensed database, such as Ovid MEDLINE or PsycINFO, and you are on the NU campus, you do not need to enter a User ID or password. If prompted for a password, just click OK to connect, without entering any information.

• At the top of the search window will be the name of the database you're searching. Verify that you are searching the proper database.

• Enter your search terms, select field(s) to search (e.g. Author, Title, etc.) and click on the Search button.
  Please Note:
  • For Journal Searching: Use the full journal name, not an abbreviation.
  • For Author searching: Type the last name first, followed by a comma and the first initial.
  
  
  
  

• Once references are retrieved, a screen appears listing search results. Select the number of results you wish to retrieve.
  Note: Retrieving a large number of citations can take some time. You may want to choose a manageable number of citations to retrieve or modify your search if your result set is too large. The citations most recently entered into the database you are searching will appear at the top of your retrieval set.
  

Download references

Integrated Library & OnlineSearch Mode: click OK to confirm that you wish to retrieve these references. They will be downloaded directly to your library, at which point, you can delete any references you do not want.

Online Search Mode (Temporary Library): click OK to confirm that you wish to retrieve these references. They will be downloaded to a temporary library, at which point you can decide which references to move into your personal library.

• Select (highlight) the citations you want to add to your library using your mouse and the CTRL or SHIFT keys. Go to References - Copy References To and then select either a new library or a previously created library to save citations to your library.
  
  
  
  

• It may not be immediately obvious that you have transferred references to your library. Click the Local Library Mode icon in the upper-left hand corner to return to your library. You should see the recently added references in your library. They will also be available as a temporary group called Copied References in the left-hand pane.

 

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This is the recommended way to put citations into your EndNote library. This method allows you to take advantage of the search features of the database you are using and will usually result in more precise search results. Before importing/exporting results, be sure you have the latest EndNote import filters for the databases you are searching installed on your computer.

Ovid Databases: Direct Export

• Perform your search in an Ovid database.
• Select the references that you want to save.
• Save your selected references using the Citation Manager at the left side of the screen.
  • Citations: choose Selected Citations
  • Fields: choose Complete Reference
  • Citation Format: choose Direct Export
  • Click on the Save button
• The EndNote program will open.
• Select the library you want the citations to go into. 
• To see your full library again, go to the References menu and select Show All References or click Show All References in the groups pane.

PubMed (MEDLINE): Saving Results

• Perform your search in PubMed.
• Select the references you want to save.
• Select MEDLINE as your Display type.
• From the Send to drop-down menu, choose File. Click the Send to button.
• Name your search. The .txt file extension is fine for importing into EndNote.
• Follow instructions for importing references (below).

Note: There is no direct export method for PubMed.

PubMed (MEDLINE): Importing Your References After Saving Search Results

• Open EndNote and the EndNote library in which you want to place your references.
• Click on the File menu and select Import.
  
  
  

• Choose the file you want to import. This is the file you saved from PubMed. See the PubMed (MEDLINE): Saving Results section above.
• Choose your Import Option based on which database you searched e.g. PubMed (NLM).
• If you don't see the correct import filter, choose Other Filters and check the full list of import filters.
• Choose what you prefer to do with duplicates:
  • Import All
  • Discard Duplicates, or
  • Import Into Duplicates Library
• Click on the Import button.
• To see your full library again, go to the References menu and select Show All References or click Show All References in the groups pane.

Web of Science (Science Citation Index): Direct Export

• Perform your search in Web of Science.
• Mark the references you want and Add to Marked List.
• Click on the Marked List link at the top of the page.
• In Step 1, select the fields you want to include (abstract, times cited, etc.)
• In Step 2, leave the default selection at "Field Tagged".
• Click on the Save to EndNote, RefMan, ProCite button.
• The EndNote program will open.
• Select the library you want the citations to go into.
• To see your full library again, go to the References menu and select Show All References or click Show All References in the groups pane.

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• Go to the References menu and select Search References.
• A search screen will appear.
• At the top of the search screen in the blue area will be the name of the EndNote library that you are searching. Verify that you're in the proper library.
• Enter your search terms
• You will see a list of references that meet your search criteria.
• To see your full library again, go to the References menu and select Show All References or click Show All References in the groups pane.

Editing References

• Double-click on the reference you want to edit.
• Change the appropriate field(s).
• Go to the File menu and select Save.

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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.

Some groups are automatically generated (All References, Trash, Copied References, Imported References and Search Results) and some are manually-created (Custom, Smart). This section is concerned with manually-created Custom Groups.

• Custom Groups are manually created by the user to help organize the library; you can drag-and-drop to copy individual references into a custom group. Custom Groups are listed alphabetically (click the Groups header to toggle between ascending and descending order).
• Smart Groups use search criteria to dynamically update groups as existing references are edited or new references are added to the library. For more on Smart Groups, see the EndNote Help section from within the EndNote program.

Creating a Custom Group

You have two options for creating a custom group. You can select references and then add them to a new group, or you can create an empty group and then add references to it.

Create a group in one of these ways:

• From the Groups menu, choose Create Group.
• Right click in the Groups pane of the Library window to display a contextual menu and select Create Group.
• Select references in a reference list, then go to the Groups menu and choose Add References To>Create Group.

Enter a group name that is anywhere from 1 to 255 characters in length. There are no restrictions on the characters you can use in a group name. It is possible to give two different groups the same name.

You are limited to 500 custom and smart groups per library. Once you reach that limit, you must delete a group before you can add a new one.

To add references to a group:

• First, select the references you want to add to the group. You can select several references at a time using the CTRL and/or SHIFT keys.
• Add the references to a group. You have several methods available:
  • Drag and drop the selected references onto an existing custom group name in the left pane of the Library window.
  • From the Groups menu, select Add References To and then select either the name of an existing custom group or Create Group.
  • Right click on the reference list to display a contextual menu, select Add References To, and then select either the name of an existing custom group or Create Group.

Click the name of the group in the Groups pane to see the references that appear in that group.

You can remove references from any of your custom groups or online search groups. The references will still be in your library and appear under All References, they just will not appear in that particular custom group.

For more on Custom Groups search the EndNote Help section from within the EndNote program.

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Inserting Citations into Your Paper

• Place the insertion cursor after the text you are citing.
• If you are using Microsoft Word, go to the Tools menu and select Go to EndNote.
• If you are using another word processor, switch to EndNote.
• Highlight the reference you want to cite from your EndNote library.
• Here are 5 ways to add a reference to your paper:
  • While still in EndNote, go to Tools, Show Toolbar, CWYW/Add-in, then use the Insert Citation button in that toolbar.
  • While still in EndNote, go to Tools, Cite While You Write, and Insert Selected Citation(s)
  • If you are using Word, go to the Tools menu and select Insert Citation(s).
  • Also with Word, you may choose Insert Citation(s) from the Add-in menu in EndNote.
  • You may copy/paste or drag/drop the reference into the spot in your document where you want to cite it. This works with any word processing software.
• The "Cite While You Write" feature in EndNote does two things as you insert citations in your document:
  
  • In-text citations will be formatted into the output style you last used (provided Instant Formatting is enabled -see Formatting Your Bibliography below).
  • An ongoing bibliography will be created in the same style.

Formatting Your Bibliography

• Once you have inserted citations into your paper, you may at any time format or re-format your bibliography, providing your EndNote library is open.
• If you are using Microsoft Word, go to Tools>>EndNote (version no.)>>Format Bibliography.
• If you do not see the style that you want to use in your list of options, follow the instructions below to change your list of bibliography styles.
• The Format Bibliography box also allows you to enable or disable Instant Formatting.

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Changing Your List of Bibliography Styles

• Go to the Edit menu, select Output Styles, then select Open Style Manager to pick from over 3000 potential bibliography styles.
• Select as many styles as you would like to be placed in your shortlist of styles.
• You can always add or remove styles later.
• Close the Style Manager window.

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• EndNote Support Page (Galter Library)
• EndNote Website
• EndNote Technical Support
• EndNote Tip Sheet
• EndNote FAQs
• NU Main Library EndNote Support
• Contact EndNote Customer Service

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This page last updated Apr 15, 2009.