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EndNote: Organise

Organise your references into groups

In EndNote, 'groups' are folders into which you can organise your references.

You can create custom groups into which you can manually drag-and-drop references.

You can also create smart groups (including combination/combined groups) which are automatically updated as you add references to your EndNote library.
 

Watch the videos below to learn how to set up groups sets and organise your references into custom groups:

 Video Length: 0:33 (demonstration no audio)

 Video Length: 1:01 (demonstration no audio)

Create smart groups

  1. In the navigation pane, right-click on My Groups
  2. Select Create Smart Group
  3. Name your group, then use the fields to set up rules for your smart group, then select Create.

Create combination/combined groups

  1. In the navigation pane, right-click on My Groups
  2. Select Create From Groups...
  3. Name your group, then use the fields to select how you want to combine your groups.

To see a demonstration of these processes, watch the video below.

 Video Length: 1:06 (demonstration no audio)

 Video Length: 3:34

Find full text

You can attach PDFs to your references either automatically or manually:

Automatically

To get EndNote to find and attach PDFs to your references:

  1. Select the reference(s)
  2. Select the Find Full Text icon
  3. Found PDFs will be automatically attached to the relevant references.

Sometimes EndNote will not download a PDF, although one is available. Try to open the URL found, which may lead to find the PDF, download the PDF and then manually attach it.

Manually

Attach PDFs to your reference, by dragging and dropping the files onto the relevant references or by selecting file attachment from the References menu (or right click).


Watch the following demonstrations:

Note: To enable EndNote to search the full range of UniSA-licensed resources, ensure you've set up your UniSA preferences.

Import references from PDFs

Three ways to import references from PDFs:

To import a single PDF that you have already saved to your PC:

  1. Go to File > Import > File...
  2. Select Choose..., browse to the relevant PDF, then select Open
  3. From the Import Option drop-down menu, select PDF
  4. Select Import.

PDFs are stored in the .data file associated with your EndNote library.


NOTE: For references which EndNote does not find the details add some information e.g. author and title and use the Find Reference Update option (see below).

  1. Go to File > Import > Folder...
  2. Select Choose..., browse to the relevant folder, then select OK
  3. From the Import Option drop-down menu, select PDF
  4. Select Import.

PDFs are stored in the .data file associated with your EndNote library.


NOTE: For references which EndNote does not find the details add some information e.g. author and title and use the Find Reference Update option (see below).

To set up EndNote to automatically import references in this way:

  1. Go to Edit > Preferences > PDF Handling (for Mac, Preferences is in the EndNote X9 menu)
  2. Under the heading PDF Auto Import Folder, select Enable automatic importing
  3. Select the folder where you'll save PDFs
  4. Select Apply, then select OK (for Mac, just select Save).

When you save a PDF to the selected folder, the next time you open EndNote (if it isn't already open), the reference and the PDF will be automatically imported into your EndNote library, and the PDF will be moved to a subfolder (automatically created and named 'Imported').

PDFs are stored in the .data file associated with your EndNote library.


NOTE: For references which EndNote does not find the details add some information e.g. author and title and use the Find Reference Update option (see below).

NOTE: this will only work 100% with PDFs which include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), it will not work on scanned copies of PDFs.

Annotating PDF files

Once you've attached a PDF to a reference in your EndNote library, you can annotate the PDF by selecting Open from the PDF drop down menu in your Endnote Summary.

You can add notes and other markups to the PDF, including highlighting, underlining and strikeouting text.

 Video Length: 1:16 (demonstration no audio)

Removing duplicates

icon by phatplus from www.flaticon.comTo keep your library organised it is a good idea to regularly remove any duplicate records. You may have duplicate records from importing the same record from different databases or from doing similar searches in the same database.

Click on the Library tab> Find Duplicates. EndNote will present you with 2 records to compare, highlighting differences. Select the reference you would like to keep.

You can also set which fields to match (the less fields selected the more possible duplicates it will find) by setting preferences.

Labels and Notes

EndNote provides several extra fields that can be used to organise your references (they won't appear in the bibliography). These fields are searchable using the Search panel. Fields include:

  • Labels - can be used for many purposes including adding a keyword or a code
  • Research notes - useful for adding detailed notes
  • Notes - can also be used to add notes (be aware some imported references will come with info here)

Change reference type for many records

You can use the Find and Replace tool in EndNote to change all your references or a group of references.

NOTE: Create a backup of your library before you make a large change as there is no undo option if you make a mistake

Back ups and recovery

Every EndNote library is made up of an .enl file and an associated .data folder. To back up or move your library you need both of these files.

TIP: Store your back up in a different location than your main library just in case.  

Windows

Use the compressed library feature inside the EndNote program. This will allow you to save a single file under a new name which can be saved on to an external hard drive or in cloud services (do not use from there).The compressed package appears as an .enlx file.

Mac

Mac OS allows you to package both the .enl file and .data folder together so that it looks like a single file. When you save a copy select the 'Save as Package' option. The compressed package appears as an .enlx file.

 

Note: This video demonstrates compressing the library using Windows. For Mac users the instructions are the same but with a slightly different interface.

 Video Length: 1:00 (demonstration no audio)