EndNote: Cite While you Write: Introduction to Cite While You Write

Cite While you Write (CWYW) is a tool which connects your EndNote account (Desktop or Online) to Word. You can use CWYW to add in-text citations to essays, assignments and reports. The in-text citations added using CWYW link to references in your EndNote account. As you add in-text citations with CWYW a reference list will be automatically created. 

In-text citations can be created in many different styles including Harvard Strathclyde, IEEE and APA 7. 

The different tabs on this guide describe how to install CWYW; how to add in-text citations to a document; how to edit CWYW citations and provide answers to some frequently asked questions.  

EndNote Desktop

There is no requirement to install CWYW if you are using EndNote Desktop. When you download EndNote Desktop, CWYW will automatically be installed. 

EndNote Online

Once you have created an EndNote Online account, please follow these steps to install CWYW.

1. Log into your EndNote account
2. Select "Format"
3. Select "Cite while you Write plug-in"
4. Read the installation instructions and the system requirements
5. Select the Windows or Mac version.

If you are using a computer in an PC lab on campus CWYW will have already be installed. The default setting on the lab computers is to link to EndNote Desktop. To switch to use CWYW with EndNote Online, see our guide here. 

When it comes to writing up your research, EndNote is really useful in helping you cite references properly in the body of your text, and creating a bibliography for you.

Open Word and you should see an EndNote tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen. The default on lab PCs is EndNote desktop.

To switch from EndNote 21 (desktop) to EndNote online (above), choose Preferences then Application. Use the pull down menu to switch. In Word enter your email address and password for EndNote online and tick the box to remember your address and password. Select OK.

The Cite while You Write plug-in has already been installed in Library PCs that have the desktop version of EndNote.  To download it for your own PC, choose Format > Cite While You Write Plug-In. You can also find it under Downloads.

To add a reference, place your cursor where you wish to insert your citation then on the EndNote tab select Go to Endnote. This takes you to your EndNote library. Select the citation then Tools > Cite While You Write (CWYW) -> Insert Selected Citation(s). You can also use ALT 2.

From the EndNote tab in Word, you can also use Insert Citation > Insert Selected Citation to insert the last reference that you have highlighted in EndNote or  Insert Citation > Find Citation. The latter opens up a dialogue box where you can search for a reference by author, title or keyword. Highlight the desired reference and click on Insert.

From the EndNote tab in Word, choose Insert Citation > Find Citation. This opens up a dialogue box where you can search for a reference by author, title or keyword. Highlight the desired reference and click on Insert.

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.

CWYW makes it easy to insert citations and create reference lists in your Word document. If you need to amend, edit or delete these citations and/or references, it is important you follow the guidance below to ensure you don't run into any issues or problems. There are some small differences depending on whether you have EndNote Online or EndNote Desktop selected within your Word document - see further information under the switching EndNote accounts section - and these are detailed in the guidance below.

To change the referencing style you can select an alternative from the drop down Style box under the EndNote tab in Word. This is the same whether using EndNote Online (as in the image below) or EndNote Desktop.

The change will be instant.

If you can't find the style you want in the Style drop down, check our FAQs section

You may need to edit a citation once it's been inserted in your document, for example to add page numbers for a direct quote or to remove the author's surname or the year published if you have already mentioned these in the body of your text. To make these changes you must use the 'Edit Citation(s)' option under the EndNote tab  - if you try to make the changes manually in your text the changes will be over written by EndNote the next time you open your document.

There are slight differences in how you do this depending on whether you have your EndNote preference in Word set to Online or Desktop.

To exclude the Year or Author from your citation:

1. Click on 'Edit & Manage Citation(s)' under the EndNote tab
2. Select the citation you want to amend
3. At the bottom of the pop up screen, select one of the options under the Formatting drop down box
4. Click OK

To exclude the Year or Author from your citation:

1. Click on 'Edit Citation(s)' under the EndNote tab
2. Select the citation you want to amend
3. At the bottom of the pop up screen, check either the Year or Author option to exclude from your citation
4. Click OK

You can add information in the Prefix or Suffix fields, for instance 'See' in the prefix or page numbers in the suffix fields.

To add a page number:

1. Click on the Edit Citation(s) icon under the EndNote tab in you Word document. If you are using EndNote Desktop within Word, this icon is called Edit & Manage Citation(s)
2. Select the citation where you want to add a page number
3. Insert the page number (plus space beforehand if required, e.g. p.22) in the Suffix field and click on OK

Please note: do not use the Pages field for page numbers unless you know that your style (e.g. APA 7) uses this field. If you are unsure use the Suffix field.

If you make a mistake in your Word document and wish to delete an in-text citation or reference do not use the delete key in Word as normal. When you insert citations from EndNote you create a link between EndNote and Word which contains lots of computer coding. If you use the delete key some of this coding can be left behind and corrupt your document.

To delete an in-text citation and/or reference in Word properly:

1. Click on the Edit Citation(s) icon under the EndNote tab in your Word document. If you are using EndNote Desktop within Word, this icon is called 'Edit & Manage Citation(s)'
2. Select the citation you want to delete
3. Click on the arrow next to 'Edit reference' and select 'Remove citation'
4. Click OK

If you have both an EndNote Online account and EndNote Desktop installed, you can switch between them when using the Cite While You Write plug-in in Word. 

Why might you want to do this?

• You only have either an EndNote Online OR an EndNote Desktop account so you need to ensure Word is using the correct version
• You are using a PC in the Library (these will default to EndNote Desktop within Word) and you need to access your Online account references
• If you have different libraries in your EndNote Online and Desktop accounts
• You are using a device that does not have access to your Desktop account

In Word, you will see EndNote on the ribbon at the top of the screen. Here it is defaulting to EndNote Desktop (the latest version is EndNote 21)

To switch to your EndNote Online account, select Preferences and then Application

In the Application tab, use the drop down menu to switch between EndNote (Desktop) and EndNote Online. Enter your email address and password for EndNote online and tick the box to remember your details. Select OK.

You will now see that the ribbon in Word has changed from 'EndNote 21' to 'EndNote' showing that it is now set to your EndNote Online account.

You can use references that have been shared with you in your Word document. Choose Insert Citation and use the drop down menu to change the selection from Search: Libraries to Search: Shared Groups. You can then search for the shared reference.. 

You can use references that have been shared with you in your Word document. In your EndNote Online account, choose Organize -> Others' Groups. Check the box next to Use for Cite While You Write.

A list of frequently asked questions is provided below. If you need help or advice with an EndNote issue please contact us at:

• Email: help@strath.ac.uk
• Telephone: 0141 548 4444

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Insert Citation > Insert Figure

You can then search by caption keyword or title.

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.

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

Insert Citation > Insert Note

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. 

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.

Log in to EndNote Online via Web of Science to ensure that roaming access is active and to ensure that you see all of the available styles. We must login via this process at least once every year.

Go to SUPrimo and search for Web of Science, click on View It and then click on the link to the database. 

Login to Web of Science, using your University DS username and password and then click on Products> EndNote from the top (black) banner.

Login to EndNote with your Strathclyde email address and EndNote password at the next prompt, these are the details you registered with EndNote.

Select Format> Bibliography and click on Select favourites.

Scroll through the list, find Harvard Strathclyde and click Copy to Favourites. Click ‘Hide’. Next time you check your list of Bibliographic style, you will see Harvard Strathclyde style is listed.

Next time you restart Word, you will see Harvard Strathclyde there. If it is not there, just click on Style and choose 'Select Another Style', you will see Harvard Strathclyde in the pop up box.

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.

.

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.

Email help@strath.ac.uk

Telephone: 0141 548 4444