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Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Click the Update Citations & Bibliography button in the EndNote 21 tab in Word. If changes you have made to references in your EndNote library are still not showing in your document, try unformatting and reformatting the document:
  • Make a back-up of your document by saving it with a new name.
  • Unformat references by selecting ''Convert Citations and Bibliography'' from Word's EndNote 21 tab.
  • Choose ''Convert to Unformatted Citations''.
  • Reformat by clicking ''Update Citations and Bibliography''.
Manually typed changes will be lost when you close out of your document. Never manually edit citations or your reference list - it can cause complications with your library and document. To edit in-text citations you must follow the steps below:
  • Right-click on the item and choose ''Edit Citation'' from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, access the same command from the EndNote 21 tab in Word and choose ''Edit & Manage Citation(s)''.
  • You may need to click the ''Edit Citation'' button next to the reference.
  • If you are entering a prefix or suffix, you will need to include any spaces or punctuation. EndNote only displays text (or spaces) entered in these boxes. If you are adding page numbers, enter numerical values only (no 'p' or commas).
If the edits you need to make are not possible through the 'Edit Citations' command or by modifying the output style, you may need to remove the field codes (format as 'plain text'). The citations and the bibliography will become independent from your library, allowing you to make amendments manually. This should only be attempted when you are finished working with EndNote. Removing the field codes cuts the link between EndNote and Word, so subsequent adding or removing citations will not update your bibliography. Make a backup of the document to be safe, then do the following:
  • From Word's EndNote tab choose ''Convert Citations and Bibliography'' > ''Convert to Plain Text''.
''Insert Selected Citation(s)'' inserts the highlighted citations in the foremost library window. To insert sources from a second library, bring it to the 'front' and highlight the references. Alternatively, you can use ‘'Find Citation(s)'’, which will search all open libraries.
To ensure spacing of your in-text citation is correct, you must manually input a space after the content in the prefix box and before the content in the suffix box. When adding page numbers ensure only numerical values are entered. Do not type: 'p' or use commas within numbers.
The output style set in EndNote will always be overwritten by the style set in the document. This means that while you may have changed your output style within EndNote desktop, the style in your document may revert to Annotated (or another style you did not choose). This occurs because EndNote assumes you may be working on more than one paper and each may require different styles. To change a document's style you need to change it within the document:
  • From the EndNote tab in your document select the output style you want to use from the Style drop-down menu.
  • Click the "Update Citations and Bibliography" to format the document using your selected style.
From Word's Endnote tab, select the small box in the bottom right-hand corner to open the Configure Bibliography panel. Select the 'Layout' tab and make the desired changes.
You can choose to:
  • create a complete bibliography at the end of each document (the default setting for almost all of the supplied output styles).
  • create a bibliography for each section in the document (as defined in the styles APA 7th edition and Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition [see 15.10 Function and placement of reference lists]).
  • create a bibliography for each section and also a complete bibliography at the end of the document.
If you need to change the setting in the style you are using, click on Tools > Output Styles > Edit 'Style' (where Style is the name of the Output Style you are using). Select the Sections option on the left pane to choose the appropriate settings for your style. When you are finished editing, 'Save and Close' the Style from the File menu.
For chapter bibliographies to appear, ensure the document is divided into sections. For example, make each chapter its own section:
  • position your cursor at the end of the chapter. From the Page Layout tab in Word, choose the 'Breaks' dropdown menu, and select one of the four options under 'Section Breaks' : Next Page, Continuous, Even Page, or Odd Page.
EndNote automatically saves changes to your library, so there is no Save or Save As command for the Library. You can back up your library by using the 'Save a Copy' command to create an exact copy of your library. To create a copy of your library:
  • With a library open, select 'Save a Copy' from the File menu.
  • Name the new library and choose where to save it.
  • Click Save
The new library is saved to the location yuo choose, where you can then open it with EndNote. This command creates a .ENL file as well as a DATA folder for the new library, and copies all necessary files and figures to it.

You can also create a compressed copy of a library and later restore the compressed library with EndNote. To create a compressed copy of your library:
  • Open the library in EndNote.
  • From the File menu, select 'Compressed Library (.enlx)' to display a Compressed Library dialog.
  • Use the radio buttons to select whether you want to Create a compressed library or to Create & Email the library, save file attachments, save all or selected references, etc.
  • Click 'OK' and save the compressed library to a folder on your hard drive.
We recommend that you have only one library for your thesis, research project/s and/or course work and that you use groups and group sets to organise your references. This approach:
  • simplifies file management and version control as you only need to back up one EndNote library
  • eliminates any confusion when inserting citations from multiple libraries
  • is best practice for EndNote online users as only one desktop library can be synced to EndNote Online. If you attempt to synchronise more than one desktop library, EndNote will merge them.
You can archive a compressed EndNote library to a cloud storage service. If you need to use this archived file in the future you should move it to your hard drive before decompressing it. You should not store your working library to any online synchronisation service as this may result in corruption of your library.
There are two methods to identify and remove duplicate references. You can:
  • use the Find Duplicates command from the Library menu. This command displays a Find Duplicates dialog where you can compare duplicates and decide which reference to keep and which to delete. Before deleting any record, make sure it is not cited in a paper.
  • set up your EndNote preferences so that duplicates are automatically discarded during the download process. (Edit >Preferences>Duplicates)
No. Endnote has not been designed or tested to use with any third party back up software programs. Using an automatic backup software may lead to corrupt or damaged Endnote libraries.