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EndNote Basics: Home

Last Updated: Feb 19, 2024 11:30 AM

What is EndNote?

EndNote is a citation manager that enables you to:

  • Keep all your references and reference-related materials in a searchable personal library.

  • Synchronize your references between up to three personal computers, an EndNote Web library and your iPad or iPhone through the EndNote Sync command. (You must be the owner and user of all three computers.)

  • Set up a sharing team to grant access to your designated synced library and effortlessly collaborate with up to 1,000 co-authors and colleagues.

  • Create formatted citations, bibliographies or independent reference lists in Word or Google Docs.

Downloading the Software

EndNote 20 logo

The University Libraries currently offers EndNote versions 21 and 20 for Windows and Macintosh. It is available for full-time faculty, staff, and students.

Go to UB's EndNote page to download links for the software and read installation instructions.

Creating a Library

Open the program, choose file and then new. Name your library, choose the location to store your library, and click save. 

How many libraries should you create?

Although you can create as many EndNote libraries as you want, you can only sync and share one of them. It is best to use only one library if you want all your references available on all your computers, online, and on your iPad, then use groups to organize the library into categories.

Where should you store your library/libraries? 

A good place to store your libraries is in your documents folder or somewhere else on your hard drive. Do not store your libraries to a network drive, on the cloud, or in cloud-syncing folders. If you have a Mac, do not set your Mac to store your documents in iCloud.

There are two components to your library, a .enl file and a .data folder. These items must be stored in the same place in order to function properly.

What will a library look like?

This is an example of a working EndNote library: