Endnote for Beginners - IUPUI University Library

Getting Started with EndNote X3 PART 1 

VOCABULARY 

Library: a database or collection of bibliographic records/citations. 

Reference: Citation/item in your bibliography 

Reference Type: e.g. book, journal article, web page, dissertation, etc. 

Field: Names for categories of information contained in each Reference. e.g. 

Author, Title, Publisher, Year, etc. 

Output Style: Style convention e.g. Chicago, APA, MLA, etc. 

Import Filter: Used in conjunction with database such as ERIC, PsycInfo, MLA, 

etc. Allows EndNote to configure your imported references into your EndNote 

Library. 

Connection File: Used when directly searching a catalog (IUCAT, Library of 

Congress) or database (PubMed, Ovid). 

GETTING EndNote X3 FOR YOUR HOME COMPUTER 

Download for free from IUware Online website: 

http://iuware.iu.edu/title.aspx?id=1146 

FINDING HELP FOR EndNote 

Help screens within EndNote 

User Manual that comes with program (799-page PDF file) 

http://www.endnote.com/support/helpdocs/EndNoteX3WinManual.pdf 

IUPUI Libraries web site: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/libinfo/researchsoft/endnote 

EndNote Tech Support: http://www.endnote.com/support/ensupport.asp 

Creating a Library 

When you open the EndNote 

program, you will see the 

following display. 

1. Click the button to Create a 

new library. 

2. Give your new library a name. 

For today’s example, let’s save 

the library on the desktop. 

KLJ March 2005 

AH/JH March 2010 

WM February 2011 

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Manually Adding References to a Library 

There are no references in a brand new library, so to add one, click on this icon: 

You can also add a reference by going to References New Reference or 

using Ctrl+N. 

The default reference type is a Journal Article. Use your mouse or the tab key to 

move between fields to enter information. Click on the box with the X within the 

reference to close it and enter another. EndNote will ask if you want to save the 

changes you’ve just made. 

 

 

Author names can be entered either “First Middle Last” or “Last, First Middle” 

Use a carriage return/hit ‘Enter’ if entering multiple authors 

When you close your record, you will now see it displayed in your library. 

Editing References in a Library 




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1. Spell Check 

You can only spell check an individual reference, not the entire library at once. Doubleclick 

on the reference you’d like to spell check, then go to Tools Spell 

Check, use Ctrl + Y or click on the spell check icon: 

The first time you use the spell check, it might stop at every word. If this happens 

follow the steps below: 

In EndNote go to "Edit Preferences" and click on the "Spell Check" option. Then 

click on the "Options" button. Under "Main Dictionary Language" select "American 

English Medical." Click "OK." 

Then click on the "Dictionaries" button. Under "Files" you should have 

"ssceam.tlx" listed. If it is not, click on the "Add File" button and select 

"ssceam.tlx." Click "OK" to close the preferences window and then open a 

reference and perform the spell check again. 

2. Changing Citation Output Style 

To change the output style, click Edit 

Output Styles Open Style 

Manager for a list of available citation 

styles. 

TIP: The standard installation of 

EndNote X3 only loads 100 citation 

styles. Further styles can be 

downloaded by clicking the “Get More 

on the Web…” button circled to the 

right. This will take you online to 

EndNote’s library of more than 3600 

styles. When you find the style you 

want, you will need to download it and 

save it to the EndNote Styles folder. 

The location of the styles folder can be 

found within EndNote by going to Edit 

PreferencesFolder Locations. The Style Manger will need to be closed and 

opened again before you can choose your newly downloaded style. 

You can also create a custom style by going to Edit Output Styles New Style. 

After you choose a style and close the Style Manager, select the desired output style 

from the main page’s tool bar pull down menu. 




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Exporting and Importing Records from a Database 

1. Direct Export into EndNote 

While EndNote offers the ability to enter records manually, a more efficient means of 

adding items to your library is to import records directly from a database. Several 

databases support direct export. 

In this example, perform a search in an EbscoHost Database (such as Academic Search 

Premier). Click on a record to get to a screen like the one below. If you hover over the 

icon with the green arrow, it says, “Export to Bibliographic Manager.” 

From the screen below, simply click “Save.” You should be taken back to EndNote. 




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Your EndNote library will now display the imported reference(s). If you want to see all 

the items in your library, click on “All References” on the left. 

Other databases also offer direct export. In the 

WilsonWeb example to the right, the export option is 

also in the upper right hand corner of the record like 

EbscoHost. For this example though, you will have to 

select a filter after exporting to EndNote that 

corresponds to the database in order to get your 

references to import correctly. 

1a. Direct Import from Google Scholar 

Direct Export from Google Scholar: 

To allow direct export from Google Scholar to EndNote, you need to set up your Google 

Scholar Preferences: 

• In Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/ , click on Scholar Preferences 

• Scroll down to Bibliography Manager and select “Show links to import citations 

into.” 

• From the dropdown menu, select EndNote 

• Click Save Preferences. 

From now on, your Google Scholar search results will include an “Import into EndNote” 

option: 




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2. Importing Records into EndNote 

Some databases will require you to save a text file and import it into EndNote. For this 

example, conduct a search in the ERIC database available through CSA. Mark an item 

you want to put in your library and click the Save/Print/Email Records link. 

Select “full format,” then save this record in PC format. You will probably want to give 

this file a recognizable name and save it to the desktop so you can easily find it in a 

moment. Make sure the file extension is set to text document (.txt). 




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Before the next step in importing the citation, you will probably need to import the 

correct filter. The X3 default installation only includes about 100 import filters. Follow 

the same steps covered for importing styles except to use the Filter Manager instead of 

the Style Manager (bottom of page 3). Edit Import Filters Open Filter 

Manager. Any filters you download will need to be saved to EndNote’s Filters folder. 

The location of the Filters folder can be found within EndNote by going to 

PreferencesFolder Locations. 

Now you’re ready need to return to EndNote to import the citation. 

Either go to FileImport, or click the import icon 

In the dialog box, select the file you saved to the desktop. Next, choose the correct 

filter for the file you’re importing by selecting one from the dropdown list beside “import 

option.” It is very important that you select the correct filter for the database and the 

information provider/vendor of that database (in our example, that’s ERIC from CSA). 




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Whether you’re directly exporting or importing, it’s important to proofread your 

references. Some references will need to be corrected. One common problem is that 

the entire citation, including volume, issue number, year, and pages will be included 

with the journal title. 

3. Obtaining Instructions from EndNote on how to correctly save citations. 

EndNote contains tips on 

how to successfully 

download citations from a 

database. Because 

databases provide many 

options, this can be 

important so that your 

citations will import 

properly. 

Select EDIT Import 

Filters Open Filter 

Manager 

This is the Filter Manager Screen: 




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You can sort the list by database title, or the Information Provider (Vendor/company 

providing the database). 

Marking the box next to the databases that you search most often is a good 

idea…they will appear later in a list of frequently used filters. 

The Comments box gives instructions about downloading from this database. For 

example, these are the instructions for downloading citations from the above slide, the 

ERIC (CSA) database: 

Download instructions: 

From the CSA search results screen, click on 'Save/Print/Email'. On the 

"Save/Print/Email" screen, choose "Full Format" and none other. 

Click the 'Save' button. Your web browser will ask you where to save the file. If 

your web browser gives you the option to save in different file formats, be sure to 

save as a "Text Only (*.txt)" file. You may also click Print Preview, then copy and 

paste the data into a text file. 

Limitations: 

1. Older records may still use two-digit years (e.g. "'70") which are not recognized 

as such by EndNote; thus, they are imported into the Date field with the month, if 

present. 




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Finding Full Text 

Once you filled your library with references, you may need to review the articles again. 

EndNote’s Open Link feature provides swift access to the original source of the record. 

For example, records exported from Ebscohost return you to their database record and 

their options to full text access. This feature will not work for those records created 

manually. 

To take full advantage of this feature, first you should add the IUPUI Open URL Link to 

your EndNote Library. Select EDIT PREFERENCES. After the Preferences window 

opens, select FIND FULL TEXT. Enter http://ulib.iupui.edu/findit/openurl in the 

OpenURL Path box. Enter http://ulib.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url= in the 

Authenticate with URL box. 

To find the full-text of an entry, select the reference; click the Open Link icon at the top 

of the screen. You can also right-click the reference, select URL, then Open URL Link. 




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This will open an Internet window with the full-text of the reference or the IUPUI 

University Library FIND IT page which allows you to easily find the full-text of the item 

by selecting the FIND IT icon. You can also select the Find-Full Text icon to the left, and 

EndNote will attempt to download a copy of the PDF. 

TIP: If you are having trouble with this feature off-campus, use IUPUI VPN connection 

to ease access. www.vpn.iu.edu 

Attaching Full Text and Other Files 

You can attach up to 12 files of any type (PDF, JPG, MP3, etc) to any record in your 

EndNote Library. To attach a file select FILE ATTACHMENTS ATTACH FILE. 

Browse your computer to find the desired file and select OPEN. A paperclip icon appears 

next to the record to show that it has an attachment. EndNote saves attachments in the 

library’s data file (.DATA) 




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Using “Cite While You Write” with Microsoft Word 2007 

When EndNote is installed on your computer, it should automatically install a separate 

EndNote tab into Microsoft Word. Before we begin, verify that these tools are available 

1. Inserting Citations in a Document 

Move your cursor to the point in your document where you would like to insert a 

citation. You can search EndNote for a specific citation while inside Word (2007) 

by clicking the “Insert Citation” icon. 

A search box will open. Insert a search term (i.e. name of author, or a word in the title) 

and click Search. When you have located the desired reference, click on the reference 

to highlight, then click the Insert button. 

EndNote will then insert a citation and a references entry into your Word document in 

the following way: 




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The citations are linked to your EndNote library and you should NOT edit your citation 

within Word. If you have ever created a Merge file, it works in a similar way. 

2. Inserting previously marked citations 

You can also highlight the desired citation within EndNote and then insert it 

into your document. Click the “Insert Citation” icon. 

3. Changing Bibliography Format in Word 

To change your bibliography’s format, click the “Update Citations and 

Bibliography” icon. 

4. Editing Citations within Word 

If you would like to edit the 

appearance of the citation 

inserted into Word, (i.e. to 

remove the author’s name if 

you already mention it in a 

sentence), Either Right Click 

on the desired citation and 

select Edit Citation(s) or 

put your cursor on the 

citation and use the “edit 

citations” icon. 




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The following box will appear and allow you to alter certain attributes of your citation: 

When you’ve made the necessary changes, such as adding page numbers or checking 

the box to exclude author, click on the OK button. 

To send your document to a publisher or colleague: 

You may want to send an electronic copy of your paper to someone. It is recommended 

that you break the link between your EndNote library and your Word document 

(remember, your document links to your EndNote library much like a Mail Merge would). 

SAVE your linked document first. Then from the Endnote tab in Word select the 

Convert Citations and Bibliography dropdown, and select Convert to Plain Text. 

This will open a second copy of your document in a new window. Save this second copy 

as a regular Word document under a new name. 




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Endnote for Beginners - IUPUI University Library

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