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UCL LIBRARY SERVICES

EndNote 20

Guide to using EndNote reference management software

Sharing a Library

EndNote 20 allows you to share your library with anyone using EndNote X7.2 or above. With EndNote 20 you can share your library with up to 200 others. The sharing function enables sharing of and simultaneous access to your entire library including references, PDFs and annotations to PDFs. You can choose whether people with whom you share your library have full Read & Write access or Read Only access.

Note: if sharing an EndNote library, it is advisable for the library owner to make regular back-ups of the library. See Backing up your library.

Sharing relies on EndNote’s ‘Sync’ function to work correctly. You and any others with whom you want to share your library must all have an EndNote online account. Before you can share a library you must ensure it is fully synced with your EndNote online library See Synchronising your Library.

  • You can be the owner of only one shared library as each shared library is uniquely connected to an individual email address.

To set up sharing of your library:

  • Click on the File menu then select Share. If necessary log in with your EndNote Online credentials.
  • Enter the email addresses of the people with whom you would like to share your library. Select whether to give them Read & Write access or Read Only access. Click Invite.
  • Those you have invited to share your library will receive an email invitation and will need to log in to their own EndNote Online accounts to begin sharing. Once invites have been sent, you can monitor their acceptance by revisiting the share settings under the File menu and Share.
  • You can remove invites or send email reminders for invites from this screen by clicking on the cog for the relevant person.

To access a library shared by someone else:

  • You should receive an email inviting you to access the shared library.
  • You will be taken to a website and asked to sign in with your EndNote account credentials.
  • Sync your library, if necessary.
  • Open the shared library in EndNote Desktop by going to the File menu and selecting Open shared library. That user can then select which shared EndNote library they want to open.

It is possible for one user to be given access to multiple shared libraries.

Once a library has been successfully shared, an 'activity feed' will become available. All members of the group can monitor changes which any other group member makes to the library e.g. addition of new references to the library or annotations to PDFs stored in the library.

  • Click on Sync status just above your All references group.
  • Click on the drop-down arrow next to the bell (notification) icon (if viewing on a desktop this is found at the far right corner). The activities are shown in this feed, with the most recent appearing first.

Sharing groups

To share specific groups with other EndNote users, the process is similar to sharing libraries:

  • Select the Group you wish to share.
  • Go to the Groups menu, then select Share Group.
  • Alternatively, with a Group selected, right-click and select Share Group.

Note that if sharing Groups, the people you share your Group with will not see file attachments.