EndNote Desktop

This tutorial will walk you through using the latest desktop version of EndNote.

1. Create a Library

  1. Open EndNote, or go to File > New to create a new library.  
  2. My EndNote Library.enl is the default name but you can rename your library.
  3. Save to your local computer, such as  Documents or Desktop.
  4. A corresponding folder with the same name is automatically created to contain the data for your library.
    1. Both the .enl file and the data folder must reside in same location.

Creating an EndNote Library in Windows

Creating an EndNote Library in macOS

2. Create an EndNote Account

Using online features- such as sync between EndNote Desktop and EndNote Web, sharing libraries, and using Cite While You Write on online word processing applications like Google Docs and Word Online- require an EndNote account. To create this account:

  1. Go to preferences
    1. Windows PC - Edit > Preferences > Sync
    2. Mac - EndNote > Preferences > Sync
      Screenshot of location of the "preferences" option on the Edit Menu of EndNote Windows version
  2. Click "Enable Sync"
    Screenshot showing the location of "Sync" in the "Preferences" window and the "Enable Sync" button.
  3. Click "Sign Up"
    Screenshot showing the location of the "sign up button on the "EndNote Login" window.
  4. Follow the instructions in the "EndNote Registration" window to register your account.
    1. You will receive an e-mail to verify your account.
  5. After completing account registration and verification, open your sync preferences and enter you account log in.

Now your account is associated with an EndNote Desktop license, and can access all your benefits!

3. Set Up Library

Import Journals Term Lists (for each new library)

Note: Journal Term Lists need to be defined for each (new) library. All other set up options are one-time tasks in your EndNote Desktop program.
EndNote 21/20 Support to Generate full or abbreviated journal names
New, unpopulated EndNote Library:
  1. Go to Library > Open Term Lists > Journals Term List
  2. In the Lists tab, select Journals and hit the Import List  button.
  3. Choose the Medical.txt file and the file should load.
    • For Macs, you may need to navigate to Applications > EndNote X9 > Terms > Medical.txt
    • For Windows: default folder is  C:\Program Files\EndNote (EndNote Version Number)\Terms Lists
    • For 64-bit Windows, default folder is C:\Program Files (X86)\EndNote (EndNote Version Number)\Terms Lists
Existing, populated EndNote Library:
  1. Backup your existing EndNote Library.
  2. Go to Tools > Open Term Lists > Journals Term List
  3. (If new library with no references, skip this step.) In the Terms tab, select all the existing terms (Windows: Ctrl+A; Mac: Cmd+A) and hit the Delete Term button to clear the list
  4. In the Lists tab, select Journals and hit the Import List... button.
  5. Choose the Medical.txt file and the file should load.
    • For Macs, you may need to navigate to Applications > EndNote X9 > Terms > Medical.txt
    • For Windows: default folder is  C:\Program Files\EndNote (EndNote Version Number)\Terms Lists
    • For 64-bit Windows, default folder is C:\Program Files (X86)\EndNote (EndNote Version Number)\Terms Lists
  6. Now hit the Update List... button to get the latest updates. This may take a few minutes.
  7. Go back to the Terms tab to make sure the list is correct. You can highlight a term and manually edit the entries if necessary.
  8. Next, to make sure the style is using the correct substitution, go to "Edit > Output Styles > Open Style Manager".
  9. In the list of styles, highlight the style you are using and click the "Edit" button.
  10. Click on "Journal Names" on the left.
  11. Make sure the style is using the Full Name or one of the Abbreviations as needed.

Set Up Find Full Text

Configure EndNote preferences to find full text available from campus libraries.

  1. Windows:  go to Edit > Preferences > Find Full Text
  2. Mac: go to EndNote > Settings> Find Full Text
  3. Copy & paste these URLs into the relevant boxes in Preferences:
  • Open URL Path
https://na04.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/uresolver/01UTAH_INST/openurl? 
  • Authenticate with 
https://login.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/  

Note: Older Open URL Path at http://bit.ly/uu-fulltext continues to work; but updating to current path is recommended.

Use Find Full Text found under References tab.

Set Up PDF Handling

  1. Windows:  go to Edit > Preferences > PDF Handling
    Mac: go to EndNote > Preferences > PDF Handling
  2. Select options for
    • Renaming PDFs  -  Author+Year+Title  or other choices

Auto Import Folder - If selected, imports publisher's PDF automatically into the EndNote Library when PDF is added to the Import Folder. 

  • Cautionary Notes:
    • Use Auto Import Folder cautiously:
    • The auto-imported PDF creates a new reference in the EndNote library rather than attaching PDF to an existing reference.
    • Only publisher PDFs with meta-data will populate the citation information in EndNote. 

Set Up Import Filters

To add import filters to your EndNote Library:

  1. Go to Tools > Import Filters > Open Filter Manager
  2. Select the databases you use and close box. Examples for two common filters:
    1. select generic filter >  RefMan RIS
    2. select PubMed filter >  PubMed(NLM)

*IMPORTANT*

An EndNote library consists of multiple files!

A library can be independently moved, copied, renamed or deleted using File Explorer; always move, copy, rename or delete both the name .ENL file and the .DATA folder. The .DATA folder is considered an extension of the library and must always be saved in the same directory.

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