Importing Reference Data into EndNote

Retrieving References Directly from Online Databases

If you have access to a library catalog or bibliographic database that supports the Z39.50 protocol, you can use EndNote as a tool to search and retrieve references directly from that database into EndNote. You do not need to use EndNote’s Import command. You can use the Online Search command instead. This is the easiest way to get data into EndNote because it involves no intermediate steps. For more information about the direct retrieval of references, see Searching Online Databases.

Importing Bibliographic Data to EndNote

There are many sources of bibliographic data that can be used to help you create your EndNote library. To avoid retyping this data into EndNote, we have provided several means by which you can get references into EndNote:

• Import PDF files.
• Import references saved or downloaded from online data services (for example, PubMed or Clarivate).
• Import text files that conform to a particular format (such as the Tab-Delimited or EndNote Import format). These files can be created by you or generated from other databases.
• Import text files exported from other bibliographic software programs.

For all of these options except importing PDF files, you need to get your data files in the right format (see Getting Data in the Right Format), and then determine the correct Import Options.

Once you have a file in the proper format and you know which import option or filter to use, the import instructions are the same for all of these types of data. See Importing Text Files.

Note: Although we try to provide many flexible ways to get data from other sources into EndNote, we do not claim that EndNote can import data from all sources. In some cases, you may have to write your own import filter (see Creating a New Filter), or you may need to manipulate the data in a word processor before it can be imported. If none of these tools helps you to import your data, tips on how to quickly copy and paste data into EndNote are described in Copying and Pasting References from a Document into EndNote.

Note: When importing records, we recommend that you import into a temporary new library, determine which ones you want to keep, and then move those records into your permanent library.

Before you download references from an online source, consider copyright issues.