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Reference managers

An introductory guide to three common Reference managers - EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.

EndNote Online introduction

 

About EndNote Online

An online, free version of EndNote Desktop. We recommend it for syncing EndNote Desktop and for anyone, who needs to use a small number of references in their assignments.

EndNote Online can collect, manage, store and share references, and make them available online. You can use it together with the EndNote Desktop version, or as a stand-alone tool. EndNote Online does not contain some of the features of the Desktop version; for example, you cannot edit reference types, or edit or download other styles, filters and connection files.

Access EndNote Online

EndNote Online library guide

EndNote Online training

Setting up EndNote sync for collaboration (Windows & Mac)

About syncing

EndNote 21 gives you the ability to automatically sync your EndNote library across two or more computers via EndNote Online.

You can then share the entire library via EndNote 21 or just a group (or selected groups) via EndNote Online with fellow researchers.  

You can sync one library with unlimited references and attachments and up to 5,000 groups.  

Please only do this on your own computer.

Note: You can only link one library to an EndNote Online account. This online account will then "lock" to that computer's copy of the EndNote software. You will NOT be able to work with more than one synced account per personal computer or per login on RMIT computers.

Sync to a new EndNote Online account

  1. Open your library in EndNote 21.
  2. Go to Edit > Preferences > Sync. Note: If using a Mac go to EndNote 21 > Settings > Sync.
  3. Click on Enable Sync button.
  4. If you don’t already have an EndNote Online account, click on the Sign Up button.
  5. Enter your email address twice - you do not have to use your RMIT email account. This email address will become your login.
  6. Click Submit.
  7. Fill in all of the required fields that have a red asterisk [*]
  8. Click I agree.
  9. Your registration is complete. Click Done.
  10. The Sync process will authorise your new account and automatically add any references to your EndNote 21 library.
  11. If you have references in the library, you will be asked to make a compressed backup. Follow the instructions to do so.

The first time you sync it may take a while for the sync process to complete (especially if you have many references with full text). Note that future syncing will be quicker. EndNote 21 and EndNote Online will now sync automatically.

Want to check how much space you have left on EndNote Online? Click Sync Status on the top left of screen in EndNote 21.

Sync to an existing EndNote Online account

  1. Open your library in EndNote 21.
  2. Go to Edit > Preferences > Sync. Note: If using a Mac go to EndNote 21 > Settings > Sync.
  3. Type your existing EndNote Online login and password into the EndNote Account Credentials fields.
  4. Click OK.
  5. You may be asked to register the computer for your EndNote Online account. Fill in all of the required fields that have a red asterisk [*]
  6. Click I agree.
  7. Your registration is complete. Click Sync.
  8. Click OK to save the settings.

Want to check how much space you have left on EndNote Online? Click Sync Status on the top left of screen in EndNote 21.

Sync an existing account to a second computer

  1. If you have already created and synced an EndNote library on a first computer, make sure to note the name of the library.
  2. Open EndNote 21 on a second computer (Windows or Mac).
  3. Click File > New.
  4. Create a new library with the same name as the original synced library.
  5. Go to Edit > Preferences > Sync. Note: If using a Mac go to EndNote 21 > Settings > Sync.
  6. Type your existing EndNote Online login and password into the EndNote Account Credentials fields.
  7. Click OK.

The first time you sync it may take a while for the sync process to complete (especially if you have many references with full text). Note that future syncing will be quicker. The synced library's references, attachments and groups will be added to the library on your second machine. Your computers will now sync to EndNote Online and update automatically. Note: Remember to regularly back up your Word documents.

 

Sharing a library via EndNote 21

It's very easy to share an EndNote library or a Group(s) with up to 100 colleagues. The full record, including attached full text or images will also be shared.

  1. Follow the instructions in Setting up EndNote sync for collaboration
  2. If you wish to share your entire EndNote 21 library, click File > Share.
  3. Or, if you only want to share a specific Group(s): from the GROUPS section to the left of screen, select a Group and click the Share this group icon on the toolbar.
  4. After selecting either option, a Sharing screen will appear. Enter each email address, separated by commas.
    Sharing options pop up page from Endnote 21
    Image: Copyright © Clarivate. Used under licence.
     
  5. Change the Permission setting, so that recipients have either Read & Write or Read Only access.
  6. Type a message in the Add a message box (if applicable).
  7. When finished, click Invite. Your colleagues will receive an email asking them to accept your invitation. They will only be able to do so if they are using a more recent version of EndNote e.g. X7.1 or later.

Note: Older versions of EndNote (prior to X7.1) do NOT have share functionality. Once your colleagues click Accept they will be redirected to their EndNote Online account, where they need to login and Accept.

Please be aware of copyright considerations when sharing your EndNote library.  

  • Most RMIT Library subscription databases licence terms allow for personal use only and do not allow you to share full text of articles, book chapters and other content including PDFs. 
  • Documents from the web may only be available for personal use and are not intended to be further distributed and shared.  Check the website terms of use to see what use is permitted. 
  • Creative Commons licenced material can be distributed and shared provided you adhere to the Creative Commons Licence terms. 
  • You can safely link to content in Library licenced databases and non-infringing material on the web.  

Managing shared groups

When you sync an existing EndNote Online account with EndNote 21, you may duplicate group names or references, or introduce new groups into the EndNote 21 library.

Any new EndNote Online groups are automatically added to your MY GROUPS list.

When new groups are added, it’s recommended that you check for any duplicates that may now appear in your library:

  1. Select Library > Find Duplicates to identify and remove any duplicated references. Note: Before deleting duplicates, you will need to check your Word document to verify what duplicate number(s) are listed so you don’t delete the wrong reference.
  2. Once any changes have been made to your shared library, you can then refresh the sync status. To do this select Sync Status from the top left of screen and click on the Sync now button. Note: You should also refresh your EndNote Online library to reflect the new changes.
  3. Please remember to regularly back up your Word document, and also your EndNote library by using the File > Compress Library (.enlx) option