LibGuides: Mendeley: Exporting from online resources

Exporting from online resources

Instructions for direct export from selected online resources:

Ebsco databases, including CINAHL, Business Source Elite.
Explore, UCL's library catalogue.
Google Scholar.
OvidSP databases, including Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO.
Proquest databases.
PubMed.
Web of Science.

Exporting from online resources: key information

Exporting references directly from online resources is generally the recommended way to get references into your library. Exporting references creates a file which can then be opened in Mendeley. In some cases you need to save the file before you can open it. Whether the file will open automatically in Mendeley or not depends on your browser configuration.

Default application

If you are using Desktop@UCL you may find that the default application that is set to open particular file types will cause files to open in other reference management packages, e.g. Zotero. There are a number of alternative ways to resolve this:

Change the default program in Windows. Search Windows for Default Apps, click on Choose default applications by file type, change the default program for the appropriate file type, e.g. change the default program for .ris, to Mendeley.
From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select open with… Then choose MendeleyDesktop from the list.
Use the Firefox Web browser, which allows you to choose the program to open the file.

Ebsco databases

To export multiple results add the results to your folder by clicking on the blue folder icon.
From a single result or from the Folder view (for multiple records) click Export.
Ensure Direct Export in RIS Format is selected and click Save.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

Ebsco databases include CINAHL Plus and Business Source Elite::

CINAHL Plus
This database can be accessed by no more than 4 users at a time. The authoritative source of information for the professional literature of nursing, allied health, biomedicine, and healthcare.
Business Source Complete (EBSCO)
Business Source Complete is a scholarly business database, providing a collection of bibliographic and full text content.

Explore, UCL's library catalogue

Explore, UCL's library catalogue, is a one-stop service solution for the discovery and delivery of our print and e-resources.

The quickest way to get references from Explore to Mendeley is to use the Mendeley icon button in Explore. This will import references to your Mendeley Web library:

Click on the title for any result, or click on the Show actions options menu (the three dots to the far right of any result).
Click the Mendeley button.
You'll be prompted to login to your Mendeley account.
A banner will appear at the top of Explore informing you that the export is proceeding.

This will import references to your Mendeley Web library. Check that references have imported correctly, with the data in the correct fields.

There is an alternative method to export rerferences to Mendeley Desktop:

For an individual search result:

From the search results screen click on the citation button, which is a quotation mark symbol, or go to the full details screen by clicking on the title.
Click on RIS (Endnote OR Refman).
From the Encoding menu, select US-ASCII and click on Download.
Save the RIS file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

To import multiple references:

Click on the pin icon to the right of all the references you want to send to Mendeley.
Click on your name (if signed in) or Guest in the top right corner of the screen and then click on Saved Items.
Select all the items again by checking the box at the top of the results list.
Click on the Push for actions button, an icon displaying 3 dots at the top of the screen.
Click on RIS (Endnote OR Refman).
From the Encoding menu, select US-ASCII and click on Download.
Save the RIS file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

Google Scholar

Before carrying out a search

Click on the menu icon, with three horizontal lines at the top left of the screen.
Click on Settings.
Under Bibliography Manager, select Show links to import citations into RefMan.
Click on Save.
From your Google Scholar search results you can now click on the Import into Refman link beneath any result.
Save the .ris file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

To export multiple records, you need a Google account:

Click the Star icon under each record you wish to export.
Log into your Google account, then go to My Library.
Select the relevant results, or check the box for all results, click on the Export icon and select RefMan.
Save the .ris file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

Google Scholar
UCL has activated findit@UCL links in Google Scholar. If you are using a UCL computer, you should see these links automatically. If you are outside the UCL network and want to display findit@UCL links, you will need to set UCL in 'Library Links' within the Settings menu.

OvidSP databases

Mark the references you wish to save.
At the top of the screen, click on Export.
Select RIS from the ‘Export to’ drop-down menu.
Choose which fields you want to export then click on Export citations and save the file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

OvidSP databases include MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO.

MEDLINE (Ovid version)
Index of journal articles from the National Library of Medicine. Covers medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. Includes EPub Ahead of Print citations.
EMBASE
Comprehensive pharmacological and biomedical database renowned for extensive indexing of drug information.
PsycINFO
Index of literature in psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines.
GEOBASE
This database can be accessed by no more than 4 users at a time. Index of literature in the fields of physical and human geography, geology, oceanography, geomechanics, mineralogy, ecology and development studies.
GeoRef
Index of literature in the geosciences. See GeoRef InProcess for provisional content.

PubMed

Select the references to export
Select Send to then choose the destination Citation manager and click on Create file.
Save the nbib file (it may save to your downloads folder).
In Mendeley desktop go to the File menu, select Import and then BibTex and navigate to where the PubMed nbib file was saved.
Change the file type limiter in the file browser from BibTex to All supported formats. This will allow you to locate the nbib file.
Open the nbib file.

PubMed
Please view the instructions on how to see findit@UCL links in PubMed when offsite. PubMed is an index of biomedical literature, including all data from the Medline database from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the US National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Proquest databases

Mark the relevant records.and click on Save.
Select RIS (works with EndNote, Citavi, etc.) and then click on Continue.
If prompted, choose to save the file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

Proquest databases include Arts Premium Collection, Humanities Index, Library & Information Science Collection, Proquest Central, Proquest News and Newspapers, Social Science Premium Collection and many more.

Humanities Index (ProQuest)
Previously called BHI: British Humanities Index. Index of published literature in the humanities, covering humanities journals and weekly magazines, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK and the United States.
ProQuest Central
ProQuest Central is the largest multidisciplinary database with over 11,000 titles, with over 8,000 titles in full-text. Over 160 subjects areas are covered including business and economics, health and medical, news and world affairs, technology, social sciences and more.
ProQuest News & Newspapers
Searches ProQuest Newsstream and Historical Newspapers databases

Web of Science

Ensure you are in Web of Science Core Collection (the other Web of Science databases cannot be directly exported into Mendeley).

Select the references you wish to export.
Click on Export and select Other File Formats.
Select the fields you wish to include, change the File Format to BibTeX and click Export.
Save the file.

Then either:

From Windows Explorer, locate the folder where the file has been downloaded. Right click and select Open with… Then choose Mendeley Desktop from the list.
or
From Mendeley Desktop, go to the File menu, and select Import and then RIS. Locate the file you have just downloaded and click Open.

References may also be added to the marked list and then exported. This will give you further options regarding which fields to export

Web of Science Core Collection
Cross searches Web of Science Core Collection. A core resource.

Tip

Mendeley is owned by Elsevier. If you find references in ScienceDirect or Scopus. (other Elsevier products) then you can use the built in Export function to easily save references directly to Mendeley.

Tip

Always check your references to make sure they have imported correctly, with information in the correct fields.

See checking reference details.

Law resources

Some hints and tips on using Mendeley for students working with law resources

Mendeley tips for law resources