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EndNote Online Guide

Information to help you get started using EndNote via the web

Entering references manually

  • Click on the Collect tab
  • Click on New Reference.

screenshot of new reference window

  • Select the relevant reference type from the drop down list; the default is generic, but choose journal article, book, book section, web page etc as needed.  The fields available depend on the reference type chosen.  Remember to enter names in the format Last name, First name, or initials if only those are given in the source, and to put a comma at the end of a corporate author, eg Child Soldiers International,.
  • If you need to add letters with accents, paste from Word via the insert symbol function. Or access the Character Map directly by searching for it via the taskbar.  Copy the desired symbol to the clipboard, then paste it into your reference.
  • Enter the reference information.  The information is saved automatically through Autosave.  If you are not sure what information is needed for a particular reference, see the citing references guide

Connecting to online catalogues and databases

You can search online library catalogues and some databases through EndNote Online.

Click on Collect - Online Search.  The first time you do this you need to click on Select favorites.  Select the required database or library catalogue connection from the list and click Copy to favorites.  You could select the Lancaster University Library catalogue and the British Library catalogue to access book references; and Web of Science Core Collection to access a large journal article database.  Subscription databases like ABI Inform are not available via this method.  Access to Web of Science off campus is only available via the VPN.

Screenshot of online search favorites screen

Select the connection required from the drop down Select... list which displays your Favorites and click Connect.

Enter your search terms and click Search.  Search in a way which only brings up one or two responses, changing the field names as necessary.

Screenshot of online search

Check the box for the the required reference, select the destination group from the Add to group...drop down list (Unfiled is the easiest) and the search result will be added to your EndNote Online library.  See below for more information on groups.

screenshot of online search results screen

Exporting references directly from online databases

It is possible to export references directly from OneSearch and Web of Science to EndNote Online.  Other databases support export indirectly via a text file – see the box below - Importing references from online databases via text files.

OneSearch
  1. Search OneSearch.  For records you wish to save to EndNote Online click on the quotation marks citation symbol  then on EndNote Web.
  2. Screenshot of citation and EndNote Web symbols
  3. You will be prompted to sign in to your EndNote online account if necessary. 
Web of Science
  1. Search Web of Science as normal and mark the records you wish to save in EndNote Online.
  2. From the marked list, click on the Save to EndNote online button.screenshot of Web of Science save to EndNote online
  3. If you have EndNote Online open, the reference will be exported directly to your library of references; otherwise you will be prompted to sign in to your account.  It will be in the All My References and Unfiled groups (see below for more details of groups).

Importing references from online databases via text files

  1. Most databases allow you to save references in a text file in a format which can then be imported into EndNote Online.
  2. Search the database as normal and mark the records you wish to save in EndNote Online.
  3. From the marked list or folder, click on the Export or Save button, for example  Example of export button and save the references to a text file using, for example, Notepad.  If required to select the format, choose RIS or EndNote.
  4. In EndNote Online, click on Collect, then Import References. 
  5. Select the text file, choose the relevant import filter - the name of the originating database, RefMan RIS if the database name is not listed or EndNote import (Google Scholar), select the destination group (eg Unfiled) and click Import.  If you are using Google Scholar, go into Settings and Bibliography manager and edit the default setting to link with EndNote:screenshot of editing google scholar settingsscreenshot of EndNote links in google scholar

Using the Capture Reference tool

EndNote Online's Capture Reference tool gathers information from webpages and creates a reference.  First install the Capture tool:

  1. Click on downloads in your EndNote library
  2. Drag the Capture tool to your bookmarks/favourites toolbar

capture button

To use the tool,

  1. Find the relevant webpage
  2. Click on Capture Reference
  3. Edit the details in the reference; it is likely than you will need to enhance the record
  4. Click Save To - the default option will save the reference to your EndNote Online account

Captured reference window