Importing PDF Folders to Create New References

This feature allows you to convert existing collections of PDF files into EndNote records with minimal typing or copying by extracting Digital Object identifiers (DOI) from PDF files. The system matches DOI information with data available from CrossRef (https://www.crossref.org/), capturing bibliographic content and creating new EndNote records.

To import a PDF folder with PDF files:

  1. Open the EndNote library into which you want to import the references.
  2. From the File menu, select Import > Folder to open the Import Folder dialog.
  3. Click the Choose button. Navigate to the needed folder.
  4. Select the needed PDF folder, and then click OK.
  5. If the selected folder lists subfolders, click the Include files in subfolders checkbox to include PDF files in those subfolders in the import operation.
  6. If you would like EndNote to create a group set for the main folder and groups within it for the subfolders, mark the box Create a Group Set for this import.
  7. Select the PDF option from the Import Option list. (It will be the only option available.)
  8. Select an option from the Duplicates list:
  • Import All: Imports all references, including duplicates.
  • Discard Duplicates: Imports all references except duplicates.
  • Import into Duplicates Library: Duplicate references are imported into a library called File-Dupl.enl, where ”File" is the name of the library into which you are importing.

By default, a reference is considered a duplicate when the Author, Year, Title, and Reference Type match a reference already in the library. See Duplicates Preferences if you would like to change the duplicates criteria.

  1. Click the Import button to import the PDF files from the selected folder to your library.

Note: See Importing PDF Files to Create New References for instructions on how to import a single PDF file.

Note: When performing the import function, if there are two DOIs found in the first two pages of a PDF document, EndNote will put at least one DOI in the DOI field for data extraction. The PDF is then attached and the file name is put in the Title field.

When the import is complete, the new record is stored in the temporary Imported References group, and will include bibliographic information given for the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) mined from the PDF file metadata, such as title, author, volume, issue, page, year, and DOI. You may be able to find more information for the record using the Find Reference Updates command.

The Imported References group is a temporary group that is replaced each time you import another set of references. It is removed when you exit EndNote (although the references remain in the library).

To return all of your references to the library display (including the newly imported ones), click the All References group.