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EndNote X9 - a bibliographical management and documentation tool: How to add references to EndNote Desktop

Importing citations into EndNote

Before generating references of a specific citation style (APA, Chicago, Harvard, MPL, etc), you will have to import some references into your EndNote Library.
Adding references from LibrarySearch

To export an item from the LibrarySearch to EndNote:

  1. On the search results listing, click on the entry you would like to export;
  2. On the individual record page > "Send to" section, click on the "Export RIS" button;
  3. If you have to choose from multiple file format, please choose the RIS format. Some databases may also allow you to batch multiple citations for export;
  4. EndNote will usually recognize that your browser is sending citation data and open automatically to save it to your library.
  5. If you are prompted to save the RIS file in your hard drive, once the download is completed, please go to your EndNote Desktop, click on "File" > "Import" > "File", choose the file you have just downloaded and choose "Reference Manager (RIS)" from Import Option and press the "Import" button to start uploading.

To export a list of items from the LibrarySearch to EndNote:

  1. On the search results listing, select the checkboxes beside all the entries your would like to export;
  2. In the top right corner of the page on the purple stripe, press the "pin" icon to "Go to my favorite";
  3. Choose all the entries you need by selecting the checkboxes beside those entries;
  4. Click on the "..." push to actions button right below the search box and select the "Export RIS" button;
  5. If you have to choose from multiple file format, please choose the RIS format. Some databases may also allow you to batch multiple citations for export;
  6. EndNote will usually recognize that your browser is sending citation data and open automatically to save it to your library.
  7. If you are prompted to save the RIS file in your hard drive, once the download is completed, please go to your EndNote Desktop, click on "File" > "Import" > "File", choose the file you have just downloaded and choose "Reference Manager (RIS)" from Import Option and press the "Import" button to start uploading.
Adding references from online databases

Most academic databases can firectly export to EndNote:

  1. Select the citations you want to save with an "Add" button or check box;
  2. Look for a "Save" or "Export" link (usually located on the search results page);
  3. Choose "Export to EndNote" or "Export to a bibliographic management tool" or a similar option;
  4. If you have to choose from multiple file format, please choose the RIS format. Some databases may also allow you to batch multiple citations for export;
  5. EndNote will usually recognize that your browser is sending citation data and open automatically to save it to your library.
  6. If you are prompted to save the RIS file in your hard drive, once the download is completed, please go to your EndNote Desktop, click on "File" > "Import" > "File", choose the file you have just downloaded and choose "Reference Manager (RIS)" from Import Option and press the "Import" button to start uploading.

 

For databases that do NOT provide an "Export to EndNote" link, you may try the following steps:

  1. Save the results in a text file;
  2. Select EndNote's "File" menu, choose "Import";
  3. Choose the text file that contains your saved results;
  4. In the Import Options menu, select "Other Filters";
  5. Select the filter that corresponds to the originating database;
  6. Click the "Import" button.
Adding references by importing PDF files

Endnote provides an easy way to add reference by directly capturing the reference information from PDF files using optical character recognition (OCR).

  • This method only works for PDF with DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
  • For PDFs do not have a DOI, you will need to:
    1. manually type in reference details (title, author, year, etc.), or;
    2. use other methods listed on this page.

To import a PDF file to EndNote, please follow the steps below:

  1. In the EndNote Library, go to "File" and choose "Import";
  2. Select on "File" when importing a PDF file;
  3. Click on the "Choose" button and choose the PDF in your computer;
  4. In Import Option, select the PDF option
  5. In Duplicates, choose one the following options:
    • Import All: All references, including duplicates, are imported.
    • Discard Duplicates: No duplicates are imported.
    • Import into Duplicates Library: Duplicate references are imported into a library called [your library name]Dupl.enl.
  6. In Text Translation, choose No Translation
Adding references by manually input citations

To enter a references by hand:

  1. In the EndNote interface, select References > New Reference from the top command bar;
  2. Select the appropriate Reference Type, such as "Journal article", from the drop-down menu (Note: different Reference Type determines which fields will be shown in the input form);
  • Remember to enter multiple author names on separate lines;
  • Key in author names either last name first with a comma ("Smith, Jane") or first name first ("Jane Smith");
  • When entering a corporate or institutional author name like "Chinese University of Hong Kong" or "Hospital Authority", enter a comma after the name. This will prevent EndNote from inverting or abbreviating the name as it would for an individual author's.
  • When typing in the title field of an entry, do NOT use the "Enter" key to indicate a line break.  EndNote, by default, will wrap the text automatically.

All new records will be added in the All References group. You can put them into any group you want. The citation can be placed into multiple groups.