EndNote 20/21 Citation Manager (Desktop)

EndNote is a citation management software developed by Clarivate and site-licensed through Drexel University IT. With EndNote you can...

• Save references from databases and websites
• Organize items with tags and folders
• Attach notes, links, and files
• Create in-text citations and bibliographies from within Microsoft Word

Endnote version 21 is now available for the Drexel community for installation on University-owned computers; EndNote version 20 is still available for download on to personally-owned computers from software.drexel.edu .  A comparison of the features of EndNote X9, EndNote X20 and EndNote 21 can be found at https://clarivate.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=72491317.

If you are upgrading to EndNote 21 from an earlier version, please make sure to back up your EndNote library by saving a compressed copy before upgrading to EndNote 21.

Download EndNote 20 or 21

For student computers, and personally-owned staff and faculty computers:

Download the EndNote 20 install files from the Drexel IT Secure Software Server (Drexel ID/PW required). Note: Install files for EndNote 21 are not available yet in the Secure Software server but EndNote 20 is fully compatible with EndNote 21 with a similar user interface. First, read the Read Me files, which contain instructions as well as the program license keys. Then open EndNote and install any new updates. The video below walks you through this process. 

Do *not* download trial version directly from endnote.com

For university-owned computers:

EndNote Version 21 is available through the Software Center for Windows and the Self-Service for macOS portals 
Follow the download instructions in the Software Center and Self-Service portals.  Then open EndNote and install any new updates.

You have several options:   EndNote Desktop   OR    EndNote Online  OR    BOTH! 

If you have never used a citation management solution before, Drexel Libraries recommends using EndNote Online to get started.

Users prepared to install the EndNote desktop software will enjoy addtional features of the desktop software, such as automatic downloading of full-text and more collaborative options. A few additional setup steps are required to get the most out of the desktop version, as described elsewhere on this page.

The option to have both an EndNote Online account and an EndNote desktop installation permits the widest number of options for users who want to synchronize their citations between versions.  

1. Open the EndNote Library you want to Sync (you can only set up one Library to sync with your online account)
2. Open "Preferences" from the Edit menu (Windows) or the EndNote 20 menu (Mac)
3. From the pop-up window, select the option for "Sync"
4. Enter your EndNote Online username and password
5. Choose whether you would like to Sync automatically or manually

1. From the Edit menu (Windows) or the EndNote 20 menu (Mac):  select "Preferences"
2. In the Preferences window:  select "Find Full Text"
3. Copy/ paste the following url's:
   1. Into "OpenURL Path"
      https://drexel.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/openurl?institution=01DRXU_INST&vid=01DRXU_INST:Services&
   2. Into "Authenticate with URL"
      http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login

To use the Find Full Text feature, highlight within EndNote the citations you would like pdfs for, then choose Find Full Text from the References menu.
Any pdfs that are found will be attached to your citations in EndNote. Keep in mind that the Find Full Text tool may not find every journal article that Drexel Libraries' subscribes to.

When you use EndNote to insert citations into your paper, you see the text of the citations and the reference list – if you print the paper out, that’s exactly what you get.  But those citations actually include coding that links to your EndNote library. If you send someone a digital copy of your paper (such as when you submit it via TurnItIn), that coding is going to make your citations appear as gibberish.

 So there’s another step that you need to take when you’ve finished your paper –

1. Save your file (you’re doing this every 10 minutes or so anyway, right?  RIGHT??)
2. In the EndNote toolbar, look for the “Convert Citations and Bibliography” pulldown, and select “Convert to Plain Text”  (no, it isn’t going to remove all the lovely formatting from your paper – just the coding for those citation links).
3. Save the file with a new name – this is now the file that you want to submit online.
4. Make sure that you keep (and backup) BOTH files – if you need to go back and revise your paper you want to open the UNCONVERTED version, so that the citations can be updated as needed.