Endnote X4 and Microsoft Word for Mac

I found a solution to my reference manager problem.

Step one: (Re-)Install Endnote

I had an older version—Endnote X2 installed on my computer from last year when I went to a seminar on reference management at the McGill library. When I installed it the first time, I did not have a copy of Word on my computer. It turns out that if you install Endnote before you install Word, it doesn’t work at all. This caused me some confusion. After upgrading to Endnote X4, it automatically configured itself to work with Word automatically.

Step two: Convert BibTeX reference library to Endnote

I was really afraid that this step would take a long time. And indeed, if I were to do it all manually, it would have taken a long time. That’s why I’m glad I found this: A BibTeX to Endnote converter. It worked really well. Suspiciously well. I’m half-afraid that something is going to go terribly, terribly wrong.

Step three: Insert references into Word document

View > Toolbars > Endnote X4

Then, click on the fourth icon in the toolbar. Away you go.

Step four: Making page numbers show up in in-text citations

This one took me a while to figure out, and if you do a Google search for help on this, you’ll only end up at this unhelpful FAQ.

Here is how I tried to do it: I’d right-click my in-text citation, click Edit Citation(s) > More …, then I’d try adding the page number there, and it wouldn’t show up in my citation. I’d try a million different ways of doing this, and none worked.

Then I tried right-clicking and then choosing “Toggle Field Codes.” This showed me that the page numbers were actually being inserted correctly, but because of the citation formatting choice, it wasn’t being displayed. All I had to do was go back to “Format Bibliography,” then choose a bibliography style that displayed page numbers in in-text citations. APA, for example, works wonderfully.

Things that make me worry about EndNote X4

Maybe this is shallow of me, but for a $300 piece of software, I’d expect the programme’s icon to look a little less ugly. (Don’t worry, I didn’t pay $300 for it. McGill students can download EndNote X4 for free from the Library website.) I mean, it’s an eyesore in my Dock.

Also, the paperclip in the “attachments” column has jagged edges and is not centred correctly.

This sort of thing worries me. It makes me think things like, If they couldn’t even be bothered to fix the paperclip, what else have they let slip through the cracks?

I mean, BibDesk had a nice-looking user interface by comparison. BibDesk’s icon, while it was not beautiful, wasn’t an eyesore. And it was free. The really expensive software looks terrible, and makes me wonder if there’s other things wrong with it.

That said, I’m willing to give it a solid try. It seems to do all the things I want it to, and it has a long list of bibliography formats, including the journal to which my prof wants to submit my 3rd chapter.