EndNote allows you to set up preferences for handling PDF files in your library.
You can choose to set either one or both preferences. They don’t have to be set at the same time. These functions work best for resources that have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). If the article doesn’t have a DOI, EndNote will still import it, but you'll need to do a bit more work to get the record populated.
PDFs that are imported from Databases and Google Scholar often have file names that bear no relation to the article, e.g. Content Server(2).pdf or download.pdf. You can tell EndNote to rename the copies that you attach to your records so that they are identifiable.
You can create a folder and set EndNote to automatically create a record and attach the file for any PDF you add to that folder. If it has a DOI, it will also populate the record with the reference details. This folder needs to be fairly close to the surface, e.g. Documents\EndNote\Articles for library. If the full name of the pdf including the file path is more than 248 characters long (including spaces) the pdf will not open.
Once you've set your file naming preferences and created your auto import folder, you can add PDF files to that folder for EndNote to import automatically. Like Find Full Text, this function works best with articles with a DOI.
Articles that don’t have a DOI will have a title that appears as the name of the PDF in pointy brackets, e.g. <document.pdf>. For these, there is a little more work to do.
If EndNote can’t automatically populate the record for you, you’ll have to add the details in manually.
NOTES:
This video is for EndNote 20
What you export from databases to EndNote are item records containing citation details and sometimes the abstract and other notes. Files need to be attached separately.
Only PDF files will display as attachments with the paperclip icon in EndNote, but a number of other formats can also be attached.
There are 3 ways to attach files to individual references.
You can manually import PDF files to create records in your EndNote library. If they have a (Digital Object Identifier) DOI, the record should be automatically populated with the field data for the reference. If there is no DOI, you will need to manually enter the data yourself. Many PDFs will allow you to copy and paste text, so if you have the PDF open in a separate window, you can try that.
EndNote Click , formerly known as Kopernio, is the official browser extension for EndNote. It's a plugin that allows you to access PDFs in our subscription databases as well as Open Access content.
This plugin works with Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
You need to set up an account for EndNote Click. If you use EndNote Online, you can use that account for this.
Note: If you are also using LibKey Nomad, you will need to close the EndNote Click pop up to proceed with LibKey Nomad.
The Find Full Text function will only work with articles available from certain large online electronic journal collections. The EndNote software has to be individually coded for each of these databases, so not all articles that are available online will be retrieved by the Find Full Text function. If you highlight some references and select Find Full Text, EndNote will try to locate a PDF of the article. Normally only journal articles can be retrieved in full text. If EndNote is able to find the PDF, it will download it and attach it to the reference as a File Attachment. The PDF will be stored in the DATA folder associated with your EndNote library.
It is best to work with small batches of 5 to 10 references. If you search for too many at a time EndNote slows down and the Find Full Text function looks like it’s not working.
A Find Full Text group set is located at the bottom of the Groups Pane (left-hand side of the library window). In this group set you can see auto-groups which allow you to monitor progress of the search.
If EndNote is unable to download the full text of the article, it may be able to find a URL link and insert it into the URL field of the reference. It may be possible to download the PDF using this link and attach it to the reference yourself.