Reference Types

Your EndNote library can contain references from a variety of different sources, such as books, journal articles, and newspaper articles. We call these different sources reference types. EndNote provides built-in forms for these and other common reference types.

The reference type table shows which fields are used in each of the 57 different reference types (plus a Generic reference type) and what the fields are called. The Generic reference type is repeated several times so that you can easily compare an individual field to its Generic field name. For descriptions of special fields, see Special Fields.

See Reference Types and Fields for a list of the reference types and links to a detailed list of fields for each reference type.

Important Points About Reference Types

• You can assign a particular reference type to each reference entered into your library.
• The Reference Types preference, accessible through EndNote’s Preferences, determines which fields are available for each of the different reference types.
• The Reference Types preference allows up to 58 different types of references (including a Generic reference type), each capable of supporting up to 54 fields (including the name of the reference type). Of these, 52 fields can be edited. The Added to Library and Last Updated fields can be shown in the Reference List, but cannot be changed by the user.
• Of the 58 reference types, all but the Generic type can be modified.
• Use the Reference Types preference to add, delete, or rename fields. You can also add or hide complete reference types.
• The layout of the Generic reference type should be used as a guide when modifying or creating reference types. Rows reserved for Authors should be used only for names, the Year field should be used only for the year of publication, etc.
• Changes made to the Reference Types preference apply to all libraries opened under the current user account.
• If you move your library to a different computer, your references will follow the layout of the Reference Types preference for the current user account on that computer, unless you also transfer a copy of your reference type table. See Backing Up or Sharing Your Reference Types Table.
• Do not enter reference data into the Reference Types preference. This dialog is designed to store just the names of the reference fields.
• When you use Cite While You Write to insert figures in Microsoft Word, figures found in the Chart or Table reference type are inserted as tables. Figures found in any other reference type in EndNote will format as figures in Word.