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Mississippi State University

EndNote Resources

EndNote is a bibliographic management program supported by the Mississippi State University Libraries. This guide provides information about the purchase and use of EndNote for both PC and Mac users.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I set up EndNote to access/download full text content from Mississippi State University Libraries?

Recent versions of EndNote allow users to access and download full text PDFs of open access and MSU-subscribed content, including off-campus access. To set up MSU preferences in EndNote:

  1. For Windows, open EndNote, and go to Edit > Preferences > Find Full Text. For Mac, EndNote X9 > Preferences > Find Full Text.
  2. Check all of the boxes to maximize the potential for EndNote to find full text PDFs, including Web of Knowledge Full Text Links, DOI (Digital Object Identifier), PubMed LinkOut (U.S. National Library of Medicine), and OpenURL. 
  3. In the space for "OpenURL Path," enter http://linksource.ebsco.com/linking.aspx
  4. In the space for "Authenticate with:URL," enter https://go.openathens.net/redirector/msstate.edu?url= 
  5. Click "OK."
  6. When you use the "Find Full Text" option from off-campus, you should first Authenticate with your Net ID and Net Password (if you have Two-Factor Authentication set, you will need to send a push or passcode to your Duo Mobile app or device).

What's the difference between Typical and Custom Installation? Which one do I use?

Typical Installation will only install the most popular import filters, connection files, and output styles, and may leave out those citation styles or database providers you use most often. To enable ALL filters, styles, etc., select Custom Installation and then enable all features. 

Corporate/institutional authors aren't formatting correctly when I preview a citation; EndNote treats them as if they were a first and last name. How can I fix this?

There's a very simple solution. Edit the reference by simply adding a comma to the end of the corporate author name, like this:

United States Department of Agriculture,

Mississippi State University,

Apple Inc.,

This "tricks" the program into interpreting the entire entity name as one last name without a first name. The comma will not appear in the actual citation, no matter which bibliographic output style is chosen.

Can I store my EndNote library in a cloud drive such as Dropbox?

EndNote currently does not recommend using Dropbox to store your libraries. If you are looking for a way to access your library remotely and/or from multiple devices, the recommended method is with an EndNote Basic account. This will sync up with EndNote on your desktop, laptop, and iPad app. Ideally, to ensure against losing your library, storing your library locally is still the best method.

Is EndNote available on any public computers on the MSU campus?

EndNote is not available on public computers.

Is there a version of EndNote that works with Linux/Ubunto?

Currently there is not a way for Linux users to use EndNote. Linux users may use alternate programs such as BibTeX and Mendeley.

Is there a way to transfer the references in a Word document to EndNote?

If you used the MS built-in Word Citation manager in the "References" tab to build your bibliography, you can import them into EndNote:

  1. Open the Word document that contains the bibliography.
  2. Click the "EndNote" tab in Word (if you do not see the tab, go to Options and Add Ins and be sure the CWYW feature is installed).
  3. Click "Export to EndNote," then "Export Word Citations."

If you manually created your citations in a Word document without using the Insert Citations tool, there is no easy way. You can either copy-and-paste or manually type the citation information into a New Reference, or you can use Online Search to search for the references in databases and import them into EndNote from there. 

How can I create bibliographies for separate sections in one document?

You can manage/edit citation styles to create bibliographies for each section.
  1. Open EndNote.
  2. Go to "Edit," then "Output Styles" and "Open Style Manager."
  3. Scroll down to the style you will be using and double-click on the name to open.
  4. In the menu on the left, click on "Sections." You have the option to create a complete bibliography at the end of the document, a bibliography for each section, or both. Save the file (Ctrl+S) and close the Style Manager (you may be prompted to save it as a copy of the style).
  5. In Microsoft Word, go to "Page Layout" and insert section breaks (NOT page breaks) to divide each section/chapter.

I'm using Firefox, and my references keep going to Zotero instead of EndNote.

In Firefox, go to the "Tools" menu or the orange "Firefox" menu in the top left corner. Click "Add-ons" (you may also have to click "Extensions") and under Zotero, click "Disable."

How do I transfer my EndNote library to an Excel spreadsheet?

  1. Export your EndNote library into a "Tab Delimited" file.
    • From EndNote Desktop: Go to "File," then "Export." Save the library as type ".txt" and output style "Tab Delimited."
    • From EndNote Web: Go to "Format," then "Export References." Select your reference group and the export style "Tab Delimited," then click Save.
  2. Open the resulting .txt file, then go to "Edit" and "Select All." Right-click and copy the highlighted text.
  3. Open a blank Excel workbook, and click inside the "A2" cell.
  4. Right-click "Paste Special" and change from "Unicode text" to just "Text." When it asks "The data you're pasting isn't the same size as your selection. Do you want to paste anyway?" click "OK."
  5. Your library content will fill the cells. Note: this will not include field headings. You can add your own in row A1.
Subjects: Research Skills