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EndNote: Information and User Guide

Inserting references into a Word document

There are three GOLDEN RULES to remember using Cite While You Write as citations and references cannot be treated the same as the text in your Word document.

  1. Use the Insert Citation function to add references to Word, do not copy and paste from EndNote. 
  2. Use the Edit & Manage Citation(s) function to change or remove unwanted references.
  3. If a reference has incorrect data do not change this in Word. Make the amendments in the original EndNote reference and update the reference in Word. 

To insert a reference into a Word document:

  1. In EndNote, find the reference you wish to use and select it by clicking on it
  2. To select multiple citations, hold the Crtrl key and click on each required reference
  3. Return to Word and go to the EndNote 21 tab
  4. Click on Insert Citation, then select Insert Selected Citation(s) from the drop down

Once a citation has been added, a full reference will also be added to the bibliography or reference list at the end of your document.

To insert a reference into a Word document using EndNote Online or EndNote Web:

  1. In Word, click on the EndNote 21 tab.
  2. Select Preferences > Application > EndNote Online
  3. Choose Insert Citations, search for the reference you wish to use and select Insert

EndNote can also be used to insert footnotes.

  1. From your Word Document place your cursor where you would like the footnote to be inserted
  2. Go to Reference > Insert Footnote a numbered footnote will appear at the bottom of the page
  3. With the cursor beside the footnote, go to your Endnote Library and select the correct reference
  4. Click on the quotation mark symbol or Tools > CWYW > Insert Selected Citation(s)
  5. The citation will be added as a footnote, and a full reference will also be added to the bibliography or reference list at the end of your document.
  6. From the Endnote 21 tab you can change the referencing style if required

Citations that have been imported from EndNote, and the reference list or bibliography generated from these references, are comprised of EndNote coded text and cannot be edited directly by making changes to the text in Word.

Instead, you must use the Edit & Manage Citation(s) functionality in the EndNote 21 tab.

To edit a citation:

  1. Click on the EndNote 21 tab
  2. Click on Edit & Manage Citation(s).
  3. Click on the required citation
  4. On the Edit Citations tab, choose the format you want and add prefixes/suffixes/page numbers as required (see below)
  5.  Click on OK

If you need to edit a reference in your bibliography, you must make the changes in your EndNote library first (i.e. edit the actual reference) and then return to your Word document to complete the update (detailed steps below)

  1. Go to your EndNote library
  2. View the reference in the Edit tab
  3. Click in the field(s) that you wish to edit
  4. Type the edits
  5. Click on Save
  6. Go to your Word document
  7. Click on Update Citations and Bibliography