I’ve seen a previous post related to this, but no one answered so I thought I’d give it another go.
I tried to open an EndNote library (my main thesis library!), but it gave me the following error message:
This library appears to be damaged. Please verify that no other user has this library open simultaneously with write access. If this error persists after restarting EndNote, please repair the library using the “Recover Library” command on the “Tools” menu.
Unfortunately this is not the first time, in fact it is the 4th time - I have had to restart my thesis library over 3 times and in the process have lost many important citations because it is never able to recover any of my citations.
Can anyone explain why this is occurring, so I can avoid it in the future; i.e…, is it because I have copied the library to another location (backed it up to 4 different USB drives. yes, I’m thorough!)?
Also, can anyone explain how to get my citations back without having to start yet another library?
How are you moving the library? Thru the compress file option or just moving the .enl file? You must use the compression or ensure you also move the .DATA folder too. Trying to open an isolated .enl file could be your problem.
I just moved the .enl file. I actually cannot find the compression file you’re referring to in any of my EndNote system files. Any idea where it would be so I can try to move them to the same location & see if that will fix my problem.
Okay. Actually the best thing to do at this point is to find the <filename>.DATA folder and contents. to recover the library as it was, go to the folder where the .DATA folder is (Not IN the .DATA folder), create an empty file (<filename>.enl (with a text program like Notepad) - ie, the name of the DATA folder with the enl suffix. Then open that file (in should open automatically with Endnote). It should be your library again. To move it somewhere else, use the File>compress and create a file which will be called <filename>.enlx – this is the compressed file that you can move to a new location, and when you open it with Endnote, it will uncompress to make the .enl library with the .DATA folder in the new location.
One of our staff had the same problem so I emailed tech support. Here is their reply:
Thank you for contacting Thomson Reuters Technical Support. We are happy to assist you.
You may want to make sure that the user is not opening the library by double-clicking on the .enl file. This may damage the contents of the library. The correct way to open the library is to open it through your EndNote program. Open the EndNote program and click on File>Open library and select the library they wish to open.
This issue could also happen if they are trying to open a library which is on a network drive with both Read and Write permissions. If the library is saved on a shared server or a locked volume, you can ask them to try moving the file to the desktop or documents folder to see if the library does not give the error message in a different location.
If the issue continues, we have step-by-step instructions in our website for recovering library to try if a regular recovery does not work. These instructions are available at:
If the above process does not help, please respond back with the library file. I will attempt to repair the library. I will need you to send the ENL file and the library’s DATA folder. You can highlight both the files, right-click and use Send To>Compressed Zipped Folders. This will zip your ENL file and DATA folder into a single file to send via email.
I’ve emailed the instructions to the staff member, but have not heard back yet as to what worked.
Ok, I can’t find the .data file anywhere either. Of the 3 libraries I have created (for each of my topics, just in case the main one failed like it has!), the other two have a .data file & they’re on the desktop where all of my other .enl files are, but there is a .enl file and no .data folder for the library I need! Is there a reason for that?
I have checked in the ‘Program Files’ and everywhere documents could be stored on my computer, but can’t seem to find anything in there. When I searched for it on the computer the file was found, however I cannot click on it, open it or view any of the information about it. When I moved the original .enl file there was no .data file to move with it, so I have no idea where it was initially stored. Is there anything I can do or should I just give up & start over?
Hello everyone - just wanted to post an update to let you know that I fixed the problem through my University’s IT department. They were able to restore the missing .Data folder to my desktop so my library works now. Thank you for the help - I will now know not to move things around & to compress my library to back it up (and I have passed that info on to my many colleagues who also use EndNote).
I have the same problem with damaged endnote library and I tried to follow everything that could help in these threads including the link suggested by the tech support but not successful.
I really need the library urgently and I wonder if you help me by fixing it. I can’t attach here the library and its data in a zipped folder for a valid extension issue. Can you provide me an email address for me to send it?
I haven’t solved the problem, but, I send my enl libirary and my data to the Tech support and they were able to repair and recover my enl library but haven’t recovered the data. I can use now my library and it’s just good that I have a coppy of all the pdf attached.
I have the same problem but have tried all the methods to recover the library and I have not been successful. The library is one of my students and I need to recover it. Can someone help
Sorry but that .DATA folder has no files to recover in it. Is the original DATA file is still somewhere? Did the student write a word document that you could recover the travelling library from?
Many years later I experience the same error message.
My situation is that I store my Endnote library on a Google drive that synchronizes automatically with the two computers I work on. When I obtained a new computer and simultaneously moved from Endnote 7 to Endnote 8, I had the message in Endnote 8 that my library was seemingly corrupted.
Going back to the previous computer and opening it in Endnote 7 worked fine as before.
So I sat back and had a coffee to ponder it over and guess what, it worked after I had finished the coffee.
What is astonishing is that people seem to not have backups and then get desperate if things fail.
Many years later I experience the same error message.
My situation is that I store my Endnote library on a Google drive that synchronizes automatically with the two computers I work on. When I obtained a new computer and simultaneously moved from Endnote 7 to Endnote 8, I had the message in Endnote 8 that my library was seemingly corrupted.
Going back to the previous computer and opening it in Endnote 7 worked fine as before.
So I sat back and had a coffee to ponder it over and guess what, it worked after I had finished the coffee.
What is astonishing is that people seem to not have backups and then get desperate if things fail.
Because of this, we recommend you keep your library in a local folder location that is not configured for cloud storage. If you have EndNote X8 (18), we would recommend you work with our Synchronization feature to work with the same library between computers. More information on the EndNote Sync feature can be found here:
