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EndNote 21 Guide: Troubleshooting

How to use EndNote 21 reference management software

Please consider the following general advice and troubleshooting tips when using EndNote:

  • Do you have Track Changes turned on? Track changes does not play well with live EndNote code. You can find instructions for managing this on the EndNote website here.
  • You may need to update your version to get bug fixes.
  • Recovery of a corrupted document and/or library may not always be possible and should be avoided at all costs. Back up your library regularly to avoid losing you references.

Issue: 

The in text reference appears as {Santhanam, 2015 #418}

Cause:

Text including EndNote reference links have been moved around or copied from another source.
If you copy and paste text containing EndNote formatted citations, your library will be corrupted and potentially lost.
Convert to unformatting before moving text around so that the links do not break within Word.
Unformatting can become a default when other Word tools are used, e.g., Track Changes.

Solution: 

To edit a Word document safely, the reference links need to be made temporarily inactive: 

 Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word. 

  1. Click on Convert Citations and Bibliography. 
  2. Select Convert to Unformatted Citations. The reference list will disappear, and your citations will appear in curly brackets, e.g. {Martin, 2018 #17}. 
  3. Edit document as needed. 
  4. Click Update Citations and Bibliography to convert back to formatted citations.
    The reference list will reappear, and your citations will return to their normal format.
    If you click on the references, they will be highlighted in grey because they are actively linked to your library once more.
  5. Save.

Issue:

No Endnote21 tab in Word document for inserting references as you write.

Solution:

This is an issue with Word settings.

Follow these steps in Word: 

  1.     Open Word, click on the File ribbon and select "Options".  
  2.     Click on "Add-ins."  
  3.     At the bottom of the page, next to "Manage:" set the Drop down to "COM  Add-ins".  
  4.     Click Go.  
  5.     Select EndNote Cite While You Write (if it is unchecked).  
  6.     Click OK.  

If the option to "Disable all Application Add-ins" is checked, tools will not appear. To turn off this setting: 

  1. Click on the File ribbon and select "Options". 
  2. Click on "Trust Center". 
  3. Click "Trust Center Settings". 
  4. Click "Add-ins". 
  5. Uncheck "Disable all Application Add-ins (may impair functionality)" and click OK. 
  6. Click OK. 
  7. Exit Word and then re-open it. 

 

EndNote tab missing from Word?

  • This can happen if you’ve installed (or sometimes updated) Microsoft Word after you have installed EndNote.
  • All possible fixes can be found on the EndNote website here.

​Lost access to a shared library or shared group?

  • Check with the library owner about your access

Error message: ‘This library is being used by someone else. Try opening it again later’

  • Most likely with shared libraries when they are in the process of being updated.
  • If you see this message with a library that is not shared, you may need to create a new local library on your computer (from the copy in EndNote Online) and then try to synchronise again.

Too many libraries? Merge libraries and make life easier

  • Save a back-up copy of each library
  • Choose which library to make the master working library (or create a new one) and Open this library
  • File > Import choose the EndNote library to import
  • Set EndNote Library as the selected file import option
  • Decide what to do with duplicates, click Import
  • Repeat with other libraries as necessary
  • Create a back-up copy of your new master library
  • Sync with EndNote online

Contact EndNote with your query.