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PolyU Library

Reference Management Tools for Academic Writing

A Comprehensive Guide for EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero

Export to LaTeX and BibTeX

To import references from EndNote to LateX, you need to export the references in BibTeX format:

  1. Click on Format.
  2. Select Export References.
  3. Select the group of references to be exported.
  4. Select BibTex Export.
  5. Click on Save to download a .txt file.​
  6. Change the file extension to .bib.

Click to see steps in screenshots

You may refer to this guide for more information on using EndNote with LaTeX and BibTeX.

Export to Mendeley and Zotero

You can export and save your references in RIS format and then import it to Mendeley or Zotero. If you have created groups in your EndNote library, we advise you to export your references group by group so that you don't lose your groupings when exporting to Mendeley or Zotero. 

  1. Click on Format.
  2. Select Export References.
  3. Select the group of references to be exported.
  4. Select RefMan (RIS) Export.
  5. Click on Save to download a .txt file.
  6. A .txt file is downloaded.

Click to see steps in screenshots

You can import references into Mendeley with the steps below:

  1. Launch Mendeley and click on File.
  2. Select Import 
  3. Select RIS - Research Information System (*.ris).
  4. Select All supported formats.
  5. Browse the exportlist.txt file exported from EndNote Web.
  6. Click on Open to import the references.

Click to see steps in screenshots

You can import references into Zotero with the steps below:

  1. Launch Zotero and click on File.
  2. Select Import...
  3. Select A file (BibTeX, RIS, Zotero RDF, etc.) and click on Next.
  4. Browse the exportlist.txt file exported from EndNote Web and click on Open to import the references.

Click to see steps in screenshots

Mobile Apps

EndNote only provides mobile apps for iOS. For the basic features, please refer to the official guide.

For in-text citation, EndNote for iOS only allows inserting temporary citation in a Word document. You still need to complete the in-text citation and bibliography by Cite-While-You-Write in MS Word installed via EndNote desktop or EndNote Web.

You may learn more from the instructions here. 

Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, the content of this guide is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.