Creating Structured Text Files that EndNote Can Import

What do you do if your data is not in a format that EndNote can automatically import? You can do one of several things (or even a combination these options):

  • Try searching for the references in another online database that might provide an importable format.
  • Rearrange the reference data using your word processor so that it is in a format that EndNote can import (one of the two options listed at the end of this topic).
  • Copy and paste each piece of data from its source into the proper fields in EndNote, as described in Copying and Pasting References from a Document into EndNote.
  • Enter the data manually by typing it into EndNote as described in Entering References.

Creating a file that EndNote can import can be a lot of work if your data is in an arbitrary or inconsistent format. If you only have a few references to import (less than 30 or 40), it might be faster and easier to retype them or copy and paste the references than to try to put them into a format that EndNote can import.

However, if you have many references to import, it might save time to first manipulate the data in a word processor as best you can, and then import the references into EndNote and clean up the references there. Even if the imported data does not come through perfectly, it can be rearranged with EndNote’s various commands, drag-and-drop, and copy and paste, or it might be possible to update the data using Find Reference Updates if it is fairly accurate.

These are two different formats that you can put your data into that will allow it to be imported into EndNote:

Note: To allow for the appropriate import of Unicode characters, save word-processing files as Unicode Text (UTF-8).