EndNote 20.5: How can multiple citations be automatically rearranged by “publication year” as new citations are inserted?
For example, in the screenshot below, the last inserted citation is from 2024. How can this citation be automatically rearranged to appear as the second citation?
I’m aware that this can be done manually using the “Edit & Manage Citations” tool, but what I want is for the citations to be automatically ordered by year, which makes more sense.
In the sort order for Citations for the output style you are using. Then you need to save as (do not use the same name if the style was one of the installed styles) then change the document in word to use this newly edited style. The bibliography should still use Author +year in the sorting.
Thank you for your help.
However, how can I rearrange them in descending order instead of ascending order?
I think that most publications when they sort by year always get bigger (
accending), so I don’t see Endnote giving the opposite (descending from most recent to older citations) as an option. You would want to weight the paper that showed it first, first?
Both ascending and descending sort orders should be possible (have not tried it). Quoting from EndNote 21 Help (so maybe not possible in EN 20.5?) about output styles:
To sort references or multiple citations differently from the options in the Citation Sort Order or Bibliography Sort Order sections, select the option for Other, and then select from the drop-down field lists any combination of up to five fields, in ascending or descending order.
This dialog is identical to the one that appears when you select Sort Library from the Library menu. You do not need to use all five options. The button at the right of each box controls the direction of the sort, either ascending or descending order. Clicking these buttons toggles the sort order between ascending and descending order.
At the bottom of the dialog is a drop-down menu of languages. The [default](file:///Applications/EndNote%2021/EndNote%2021.app/Contents/Resources/EndNote.help/Contents/Resources/en.lproj/content/15styles/sort_order_bibsnmultplcites.htm#) will be the language used by your operating system, but you can change the language rules used for sorting here.
Once you have set up your sorting strategy, click OK to return to the main Sort Order panel for the style. The Other section will now display your custom sorting instructions.
This appears to work! (Although the displayed “other” information doesn’t indicate the sort order as ascending or descending order)
