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EndNote

A comprehensive guide to the reference management software EndNote.

Cite While You Write (CWYW)

EndNote tab in Word

  • Endnote has Cite While You Write (CWYW) functionality that enables you to simultaneously add in-text citations and create bibliography entries when working in Word
  • CWYW commands are on an EndNote tab automatically added to the Word ribbon when you download Endnote

Windows/PC

Mac​​​​​
         

  • The EndNote CWYW tab in Word should be labelled version number.
    • If it just says EndNote then it may be set to using EndNote Online, rather than your local EndNote library
    • Check Preferences > Application tab, the application should be set to EndNote rather than EndNote Online
  • Citations and references added into a word document by using CWYW have embedded (hidden) field codes
    • These link to the EndNote library
    • They also contain a truncated copy of the reference (the Travelling Library)
  • A key advantage of CWYW is that if you discover you have incorrectly referenced a source cited multiple times in a document, correcting it once in your library will automatically correct all instances of the citation linked to it in Word 

Inserting an in-text citation

Open your EndNote Library first, and then switch to your Word document

  • Position the cursor where you want the in-text citation to appear in your word document
  • Select the EndNote tab on the Word ribbon, and then either:
    • Select Go to Endnote and highlight the required reference(s) in your EndNote Library, and then click the EndNote Insert Citation icon insert citation graphic
    • Alternatively, in the Word EndNote CWYW toolbar, select the Word Insert Citation button  search for the reference you want to insert, highlight the correct search result and choose Insert       
  • EndNote returns you to Word, the citation appears where your cursor was, and the full reference appears at the end of the document

Deleting an in-text citation

Windows/PC

Mac

  • In Word click on the citation you want to remove, it should turn grey
  • From the EndNote CWYW tab options select Edit and Manage Citations
  • Windows/PC: A pop-up appears with the citation highlighted, click the Edit Reference drop-down and select Remove Citation, then OK
  • Mac:  A pop-up appears with the citation highlighted, click the Cog drop-down icon and select Remove Citation, then OK
  • Note: If this is the only time the citation occurs, deleting this citation will also remove the reference from the reference list.

Editing in-text citations

CWYW's embedded field codes negate Word commands. If you want to edit in-text citations, you must use the Edit and Manage Citation function in the Word EndNote CWYW tab.

  • Double-check that the Reference Style selected in CWYW is the style you wish to use
  • For APA the default style for in-text citations is (Author, Year)
  • For alterations, click Edit and Manage Citation(s) on the EndNote tab in Word
  • Options for common editing tasks are shown belowEdit and Manage Citations in EndNote X8

Video tutorial

You may like to watch this Use EndNote with Word video to find out how to insert in-text citations and how to edit both in-text citations and the reference list.  

Enter a secondary citation in Word

secondary citation requires using the Edit & Manage Citation function to correctly insert in-text.

  • Position your cursor on where you need to insert a secondary citation on your document
  • Insert the citation of the source you read (the primary source), for example an article by Amit and Bar-Liv
  • Select the EndNote ribbon, click Edit & Manage Citation(s)
  • In the Prefix field, enter the secondary citation, e.g. "Sigmon et al, 2002, as cited in ", with a space after "as cited in", click OK

     undefined

  • The in-text citation should now display like this: (Sigmon et al., 2002, as cited in Amit & Bar-Liv, 2015) on your document
  • Only the reference for the article by Amit & Bar-Liv will be listed in the reference list (APA 7th style)

Format & unformatted citations

Citations inserted into Word by CWYW have two states - formatted or unformatted.

Formatted citations

  • Commonly EndNote CWYW has the Instant Formatting option turned on. This means that when an unformatted citation is inserted it will immediately be converted to a formatted citation
  • The option to turn instant formatting on/off is in the EndNote CWYW tab in Word:

           instant formatting option

  • A formatted citation displays in-text according to the Reference style selected, for APA: (Smith, 2017)
  • A formatted in-text citation generates a matching complete reference in the reference list at the end of the document
  • A formatted in-text citation has hidden field codes (the Travelling Library)
  • If you wish to modify how an in-text citation is displayed (Editing in-text citations above), the citation MUST be formatted

 

Unformatted citations

  • Unformatted (temporary) citations are enclosed in curly brackets and include an EndNote library record number 

     {Smith, 2017 #2}

  • Unformatted citations do not have a matching reference in the reference list at end of the document
  • The hash number – in this case #2 – is its unique number in the Endnote library. If the record is deleted from the library the number will not be re-used
  • The option for turning instant formatting off is on the EndNote X9 tab: 
    • turn off instant formatting in the EndNote CWYW tab in Word (as above), or
    • change individual in-text citations, or ALL in-text citations, to unformatted:
    • (Windows/PC): select Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Unformatted Citations
    •       

    • (Mac): select Tools > Convert to Unformatted Citations
    •       

     

    When to use unformatted citations

    • You prefer not to automatically compile the reference list while writing
    • You are using the same Endnote library but on different computers with different versions of Word or EndNote (be sure to use the same EndNote library)
    • You are creating separate Word documents for different chapters or sections of your document (as above, be sure to use the same EndNote library)

Edit a reference list

  • Endnote's CWYW function automatically creates a reference list of all in-text citations at the end of the document, arranged according to the selected reference style
  • As with in-text citations the CWYW field codes mean the list cannot be edited using Word
  • If you need to change a Reference list entry make the changes to the record inside your EndNote library and then use the Update Citations and Bibliography function in the Word EndNote CWYW toolbar

 

Change reference list layout

  • Open the Word EndNote CWYW tab, check output style is set correctly, e.g., APA 7th
  • (Windows/PC): Click the bottom corner arrow of the Bibliography group, then select the Layout tab in the Configure Bibliography pop-up

  • (Mac): Click Configure Bibliography (EN20) or Bibliography > Configure Bibliography (ENX9), then select the Layout tab in the Configure Bibliography pop-up
  • Add a title, change the point size and line spacing etc
  • Click OK

You may like to watch this online tutorial: Configure the bibliography.

Create a standalone list

You can also create a standalone reference list that does not have embedded field codes.

  • Open your Endnote Library, check the toolbar is showing your preferred reference style
  • Hold down the <Ctrl> key (Windows/PC) or the <Cmd> key (Mac) and select the individual references to include in your list (or Edit > Select All for the entire library)
  • Endnote X9:   Edit > Copy Formatted
  • Endnote 20:   References > Copy Formatted Reference
  • Open a Word document, then Edit > Paste to create a standalone plain-text reference list
  • This list can be edited as usual in Word

Convert references to plain text

Sometimes a Word document linked with an EndNote Library is not needed, for example, sending your writing to your lecturer or submitting an article to a journal.

EndNote allows you to create a plain text copy of your document which is not connected to EndNote in any way.

Its is highly recommended that you BACKUP your Word document BEFORE you do this.

  • Click the Word EndNote tab,
  • Windows/PC: click Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Plain Text
  • Mac: click Tools > Convert to Plain Text

  • A notification window will pop up, click OK
  • A copy of the document without field codes appears in a new document window
  • Save this document with a new filename. You now have the previous Word version with field codes and the new version with citations and references editable in Word 

Note: The new document is no longer linked to your EndNote library. Any changes to EndNote records will not carry through to this plain text version.

Working with a long document

If you are working on a large document such as a thesis you may prefer to create separate Word documents for each section or chapter. When all chapters are completed, you can merge all chapters into one long document. 

Note: Citations in individual documents must all come from the same EndNote library for this process to work.

 

Step 1. Unformat chapter citations

  • First make a backup of all documents you intend to merge
  • For each document, open the Word EndNote tab,
  • Windows/PC: click Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Unformatted Citations

  • Mac: click Tools > Convert to Unformatted Citations
  • The in-text citations will be reverted to temporary citations denoted by a hash number and curly brackets, and The reference list will disappear

 

Combine chapters into one document

  • Paste all individual Word documents (chapters) together in the correct order into a new document, and save this document
  • Insert page breaks for the chapters if necessary
  • Click Update Citations and Bibliography on the EndNote tab.
  •  The in-text citations will be converted to the selected reference style and a single comprehensive reference list will appear at the end of the merged document
  • If the reference style you are using requires Appendices appearing after the reference list. You can then add any Appendices onto the end of the new document
  • If a pop-up appears asking you to choose a style, select your preferred referencing style (for instance, APA 7th)

Show Me

EndNote tab - troubleshooting

EndNote tab doesn't install properly 

If you have downloaded Endnote but the EndNote CWYW tab is not visible when you open Word, try these options.

Check ribbon customization
  • Click File > Options > Customize Ribbon
  • If EndNote is unchecked, click the check box
  • Click OK

Word options - Customise ribbon

 
Check configuration (Windows/PC)
  • Browse to C:\Program Files (x86)\EndNote X9
  • Run Configure EndNote.exe
  • Ensure Configure EndNote components is selected, click Next
  • Select Cite While You Write add-in for Microsoft Office, click Next
  • Click Finish

Open Word to check if the EndNote tab is now visible.  

 

Check configuration (Mac)
  • Open the EndNote program
  • Select EndNote version number > Customizer
  • Select Cite While You Write add-in for Microsoft Word, click Next
  • Click Finish

Open Word and see if the EndNote CWYW tab is now visible.

The Word EndNote tab has disappeared 

Occasionally the EndNote X9 tab initially installs correctly but sometime later disappears.

  • Open Word
  • Go to File > Options (for Word 2013, 2016 or late versions) 
  • Select Add-ins 
  • In the Manage dropdown, look in either COM Add-InsWord Add-Ins, or Disabled Add-Ins, and Go
  • Look for EndNote Cite While You Write appears in those locations, select it and enable it as appropriate
  • Highlight and click OK
  • CWYW should now appear under Active Applications Add-Ins and on your Word ribbon

         

Mac CWYW loading issues

Mac users may get the following error message that the EndNote CWYW add-in cannot be loaded into Microsoft Word:

  

 

Cause:

Apple’s new M1 chip (used in the new Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Mac Mini) and some apps (including Word) need updates as a result.

Work-around

Set Word to open with Rosetta. Follow these steps:

  1.   Quit both EndNote and Word
  2.   Open Finder
  3.   Go to the Applications folder
  4.   Select (highlight) Word (do NOT open it, just select it)
  5.   Go to the File menu at the top of the screen and select “Get Info
  6.   Under General, check the option for “Open using Rosetta

  

  1.   Open EndNote and Microsoft Word and verify that you can now insert a reference from EndNote into Word