The File Attachments Field
Use the File Attachments field to store the path to PDF files (and other file types) on your hard drive.
Note: Use the Figure field to attach a graphic or file that you want to insert into a Word document with Cite While You Write.
To link a file to a reference in your EndNote library:
- Select a reference in the Reference List.
- From the References menu, select File Attachments > Attach File.
- On the file dialog, select the file to attach to your reference.
- Note the checkbox along the bottom titled, "Copy this file to the default file attachments folder and create a relative link." This gives you the option to:
- Select the checkbox to copy the original file and place the copy in the .Data\PDF folder that is part of your EndNote library. In this location, it will sync through EndNote Web/online.
- Deselect the checkbox to always have EndNote look in the original folder for the inserted file. If kept in the original location, the attachment will not sync through EndNote Web/online.
For more information about this option, see Selecting a Relative Path or an Absolute Path for File Attachments.
- Click Open.
EndNote will display an icon indicating the type of file inserted. You can insert up to 45 files into the same File Attachments field.
Note: Another way to link a file to the File Attachments field is to drag and drop the file onto the reference in either the Library window or the Reference Edit panel. Whether the file is saved with the database or is linked with an absolute path is determined by the default file attachment setting. See URLs and Links Preferences.
Note: In order to maintain cross-platform compatibility, any of the following characters in a filename will be replaced by an underscore when EndNote saves a copy of the file in the .Data\PDF folder with a relative path.
| These characters are replaced with an underscore |
|
|---|---|
| \ | back slash |
| / | forward slash |
| : | colon |
| * | asterisk |
| ? | question mark |
| " | quotation mark |
| < | less than |
| > | greater than |
| | | vertical bar |
For more information, see Linking a File to an EndNote Reference and Opening a Linked File or URL.
To automatically search online to locate and attach the full text of a referenced document, see Finding Full Text for a Reference.
Note: Never rename attached files within the DATA folder. EndNote assigns each file a unique name that helps link it to a specific reference.