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EndNote: Cite While you Write: CWYW FAQs

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Inserting multiple references

Occasionally you may need to reference several sources within the one citation. You can achieve this by placing the cursor just prior to the closing bracket of the first citation and adding the next reference. Word will merge this into the same reference.

You can change the order using the up and down arrows next to the citations when you click on Edit & Manage Citations.

Adding a figure

Insert Citation > Insert Figure

You can then search by caption keyword or title.

Adding footnotes

It's possible to add a text footnote to your document if you are using a numbered citation style.

Insert Citation > Insert Note

Using a footnote style

If you have been using a referencing style which uses in-text citations and change to a footnote style (e.g. from Harvard Strathclyde to OSCOLA) you will find that your citations disappear. This is because footnotes cannot be automatically generated by EndNote - they have to be inserted within Word.

You can do this manually one-by-one in Word by clicking on References > Insert Footnote and then going to the EndNote tab and inserting a citation in the normal way.

EndNote online and Word

The EndNote online account login box keeps appearing when I try to use EndNote online with Word

Do you have a %, $, £, or # symbol in your EndNote online password?

  • Change your password to a password that doesn't contain these symbols. Login to your EndNote online account. Choose Options then Password.

Have you logged in to your Endnote online account?

  • Login to your EndNote online account before you open Word

Which browser are you using to login to your EndNote online account?

  • Try logging in to your EndNote online account using your default browser.

I see a 'Cannot edit range' error message in Word when I try to insert a citation.

Do you also use Mendeley?

  • Turn off the Add-in for Mendeley. Word -> File menu -> Options -> Add-Ins -> scroll to the foot of the page and choose Word Add-Ins from the Manage drop-down menu. Uncheck the box next to Mendeley.
  • If temporarily disabling the add-in doesn't work, then you will need to uninstall the Word plug-in from Mendeley. In Mendeley, go to Tools -> Uninstall MS Word plug-in.

I see a 'class not registered' message when using Cite While You Write in Word.

  • Ensure you have linked your  EndNote Online account to Word. In Word choose Preferences -> Application then EndNote online and OK. 

The EndNote tab doesn't appear in Word 2016

Have you downloaded the Cite While You Write plugin?

  • If you have downloaded the plugin, see if the Ribbon tab is also unchecked. Click on the File menu and select Options. Click on Customize Ribbon and Check EndNote if it is unchecked. Click OK to display the EndNote tab in the Word Ribbon.
  • If this doesn't work, enable EndNote tools in COM Add-Ins: 
  •  Word 2010/2013/2016: Click on the File ribbon and select "Options."
  •  Open Word and click on the File ribbon and select "Options." 
  •  Click on "Add-ins." 
  •  At the bottom of the page, next to "Manage:" set the Drop down to "COM Add-ins" 
  •  Click Go. 
  •  Select EndNote Cite While You Write (If it is unchecked). 
  •  Click OK. 

Author names

Multiple authors

Multiple authors need to be entered on separate lines within the Author field in your EndNote library. For example:

Emery, L.
Anderson, J.

Multiple authors on the same line will be treated as one author name and display incorrectly in Word. Separate them using the Enter/Return key.

Organisations or official bodies as authors

To make sure EndNote displays these properly, make sure you enter a comma after the organisation/official body in the Author field:

University of Strathclyde,

Without a comma, EndNote will try and display this in the author, initial format:

Strathclyde, U. o.

EndNote references replaced by blocks of code

If you open a Word document and your references have been replaced by blocks of code (as image below) don't panic!

Word has defaulted to showing you the field codes (computer coding behind each EndNote reference) instead of your formatted references.

To switch back click:

  • File > Options > Advanced
  • Under the Show Document Content heading untick the box Show field codes instead of their values
  • Click on OK

Your document should return to normal.

Visible codes

Encountering errors in Word when using EndNote

If you are working on a Word document and encountering persistent errors such as Word crashing, bibliographies appearing multiple times and/or deleted items reappearing then you may have residual EndNote field codes in your document. Residual field codes can affect your document if you do not delete EndNote citations/references properly (using Edit and Manage Citations > Remove Citation instead of the delete key) when working with Word.

To remove residual EndNote field codes and 'clean up' your Word document, firstly, make a back-up copy of your document for safe-keeping, then:

  • In Word, in the EndNote tab, click on Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Unformatted Citations
  • Press [Ctrl]+A on the keyboard to highlight everything
  • Press [Ctrl]+6 (above the "T" and "Y" key) to remove any additional hidden field codes
  • Press [Ctrl]+C to copy the highlighted text
  • Open a new document and press [Ctrl]+V to paste
  • Now, ensuring that your EndNote library is open, in your new Word document, in the EndNote tab, click on Update Citations and Bibliography

This will reformat your document in your chosen style.

To ensure residual field codes do not cause problems again in future remember to delete EndNote citations/references properly if you need to (Highlight > Edit and Manage Citations > Remove Citation) instead of using the delete key.

Creating an annotated bibliography

If you've been asked to create an annotated bibliography, you can use EndNote to insert a full reference list into a Word document without the in-text citations.

In EndNote, first ensure you have the correct referencing style selected at the top of the screen. Now highlight the references you wish to appear in your bibliography (use the Control and/or Shift keys to highlight multiple references). Right-click on the highlighted area and select Copy Formatted. Open a blank Word document and paste the references into it.

Now simply type in your annotations between the references as necessary.

You can also drag the references into a Word document using your mouse and selecting the Ctrl key at the same time.

Creating an EndNote library from a Word document

It is possible to create a new EndNote library from a Word document if the references in the document were originally inserted from EndNote. This feature will not work with plain text. It is useful if you have worked on a document using several EndNote libraries and you now wish to have a library which includes every reference you have used in your document and no others. You can easily create a separate final bibliography from such a library.

  • In Word, on the EndNote tab, click on Export to EndNote > Export Travelling Library
  • You get the option to export to an existing library or to a new EndNote library. Choose New and click OK
  • Give your new library a name and save it in a suitable location within your personal filespace (H drive)
  • You will be notified on screen that the Export is complete and your new library will show your exported references

List of styles in Word

I can't see the Harvard Strathclyde style/ I can only see a short list of styles in Word

Have you selected favourite styles in EndNote online?

  • Login to EndNote online
  • Choose Format -> Bibliography
  • Click on Select Favorites and either add the style you want or clear your favourites (Remove from Favorites) to see all styles.

Did you register off-campus/ some time ago?

  • Login through Web of Science to tie up your account details to the University of Strathclyde.
  • Go to SUPrimo and search for Web of Science. Login with your DS username and password. Go to Products at the top right of the screen and choose Login to your EndNote account. Go back in to Word and you should now see the full list of styles. You may need to restart your computer.
  • You need to login through this route at least once a year. You can see when you need to do this by going to your EndNote online account and choosing Options then Subscription. Check the Web of Science account expiration date.

Problems with track changes in Word

Using Track Changes in Word can causes problems with EndNote. If your document crashes or you see error messages such as "Unknown error" , then you should turn off Track Changes. The following support article from Clarivate Analytics should help: https://support.clarivate.com/Endnote/s/article/EndNote-Issues-with-Track-Changes?language=en_US

EndNote trying to format content in brackets

If you are using brackets regularly in your Word documents (e.g. for mathematical of scientific formulas) you may find that EndNote tries to format the content within them as references, as it understands brackets to signify in-text citations. You may be prompted by persistent messages asking you to choose a reference to add in these brackets.

If this happens, we recommend that you change the symbols (known in the program as temporary citation delimiters) which EndNote understands to signify in-text citations. To do this open EndNote and go to Edit > Preferences > Temporary Citations (a box will open as below).

Preferences 

Change the temporary citation delimiters from curly brackets (or other brackets) to two different symbols which you are unlikely to use in your document (e.g. £ and $). Click on Apply > OK. You should find that this stops EndNote from trying to format content in brackets incorrectly. Your in-text citations will continue to display in the brackets as dictated by your chosen referencing style as normal.

Word is slow when using EndNote

If you are working on a particularly large Word document (such as a dissertation or thesis) then Word can become slow when inserting/editing EndNote citations. To speed up the process of working with the two programs together try:

  • Unformatting citations (in Word > EndNote tab > Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Unformatted Citations)
  • Turning Instant Formatting off (in Word > EndNote tab > Instant Formatting is off)

EndNote citations will be unformatted (in temporary delimiters such as {author#number}) and no reference list will appear. New EndNote citations will be inserted in this unformatted state but will insert much more quickly. When you have finished work on a document or section reformat your document:

  • Ensure you have your EndNote library open and the correct style chosen in Word
  • Click on Update Citations and Bibliography

Your in-text citations will be reformatted and your reference list will appear at the end of your document.

Writing for publication

If you're submitting a document for publication, you should remove the field codes which may be incompatible with a publisher's design software: Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Plain Text.
 
NOTE: This strips your document of EndNote coding so is only advisable when you have completely finished editing the document.
 
Manuscript templates

See the EndNote website for downloadable templates.
 

Harvard Strathclyde style

There are many variations of Harvard available and there is no right or wrong version. You may wish download the Harvard Strathclyde style to use with EndNote. If you are using EndNote Online (web) then you can select this style in Word.

  • After downloading the style, double click on it and it should open in EndNote
  • In EndNote, choose File > Save As
  • Remove the word 'copy' so the style name is Harvard Strathclyde
  • Click on File and choose Close Style.

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Reference list and citations in Word

There is incorrect/missing information in my reference list

Is the infomation in your EndNote online library?

  • EndNote online willl create the reference in Word from the information in EndNote online. If the information is missing (e.g. author's name) or is in the incorrect field, then the reference will be incorrect in Word.
  • Always check references that you capture from databases or websites to make sure that the correct information goes into your EndNote library. 
  • In some cases it might be easier to enter a reference manually than to try and find it on a database and then change it.

Which style are you using?

  • It may be that the style you have chosen doesn't use information in a particular field (e.g. URL). Try a different style.

I need to insert the citation without the Author's name

  • You can insert citations and exclude the Author or the Year. It depends on how you have introduced the citation. If you have written, for example, 'Brown says' then you'd want to Insert & Exclude Author.

Insert and exclude in Word

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