I am working with two libraries from two different projects, one of my libraries is synced to my Endnote web account and I would like to sync the second one to another account I have created for the project group.
However, when I try to sync the second library to this new account (Tools, Sync), I get the message “You are about to sync a library that is different than the last library you synced. This will merge the libraries”. Is there any way of synching different libraries to different Endnote web accounts from the same computer? The library I already synched is in my computer files, the other one is in a shared drive.
I am having a related yet different problem. A colleague shares a library with me; I want to share a different library with a different colleague. How do I do that without automatically mergining both libraries into one? She is the ‘owner’ of the first library, I am the ‘owner’ of the second.
…A colleague shares a library with me; I want to share a different library with a different colleague. How do I do that without automatically mergining both libraries into one?..
Only one library can be synced to your Endnote online account at a time. Since you are already using your Endnote online account to access/share the library from colleague “A” it appears problematic to share a different library with colleague “B” without merging the 2 libraries or setting up a second Endnote online account. (Seems to me that syncing a different library to the second Endnote online account is going to be troublesome as you will need to reset the sync/account settings to use library “A” or “B” each time when you want to access one library or the other.)
Have you considered sharing the second library by using the “Compressed Library” feature (go to the Endnote toolbar and select File > Compressed Library)? The Compressed Library is another method which doesn’t require syncing to share libraries. Compressed libraries can be emailed to colleague “B” and contains the .enl library file and corresponding .DATA folder (containing the PDFs). There’s a 4-gigabyte size limit (on the library to be compressed) and the compressed library file can be restored by the recipient through the Endnote desktop program.
I thought if someone shares their library with you, that is in addition to your own library (and doen’t update “your desktop” library). Then you can share part or all of your library with someone else? no? Syncing and Sharing are two different things.
How many libraries can I share?
You can share one library from your Mac or Windows desktop. The library that you share will also be the library that you can access online at my.endnote.com or on your iPad using the EndNote for iPad app. There is no limit to the number of libraries that can be shared with you by others."
But I am afraid emailing a compressed library back and forth is precisely something that we we want to do avoid. It seems to me that, once again, this new EndNote feature sounds much more powerful than it actually is then. Very, very disappointing. Had I not been using Endnote for years, I would have long switched to a different program.
Another idea/question: Has anyone here tried to share a library by storing it on a commonly accessed Dropbox folder so that each person can access it there? Of course not ideal – but does that work?
Many thanks for your help, Crazy Gecko; much appreciated.
But I am afraid emailing a compressed library back and forth is precisely something that we we want to do avoid. It seems to me that, once again, this new EndNote feature sounds much more powerful than it actually is then. Very, very disappointing. Had I not been using Endnote for years, I would have long switched to a different program.
Another idea/question: Has anyone here tried to share a library by storing it on a commonly accessed Dropbox folder so that each person can access it there? Of course not ideal – but does that work?
And thanks to you as well, Leanne. Where did you find that? And if so, how would I have to change my settings? This is precisely the point: one of the libraries is ‘mine’, the other not. Hence no limitations after all? That would be great. But how?
I haven’t actually done it, but there are instructions at that link on how to share your library with others. It sounds like you are already accessing a library a friend has shared with you? – I am assuming it doesn’t update/sync with your desktop library?
So now you can share yours with someone else. I don’t have anyone to test this with right now, so am not sure what it will look like.
Dropbox is NOT a good solution, because it doesn’t keep track of the various database files accurately that are changing all the time. So if two people have it open, it isn’t locked correctly and you end up with a corrupted library.
You have your own, primary library that you can share with up to 14 other people. When someone shares a library to YOU, that’s a completely separate thing from the primary library that is YOURs. You can share your own primary library with any other 14 people you’d like, and other people can share THEIR libraries to YOU, as many as you’d accept, they’re totally separate things from each other and from your own primary library. Separate from all that, you can share any of the Groups in your primary library with other people as well. When sharing Groups, you don’t share the PDFs stored in the references in those groups, but when sharing Libraries those PDFs and other attachments ARE shared. I know, it’s a compilcated set of options available and easy to confuse, hopefully this post helps clear things up and doesn’t make them muddier.
It would be great if all these were explained in one place though as a part of the “how to” – maybe a new chapter in Gillian’s and Donna’s Little Endnote book – or will that make it too big?
Thank you! That was helpful indeed, and now I seem to have figured out how to ‘subscribe’ to somebody else’s library and to ‘own’ one myself. That said, I can still only share _one_ of my various libraries with others, correct? And thanks as well for the reference to myendnoteweb.com – but I do prefer to use the desktop version rather than an online variant only.
Thank you! That was helpful indeed, and now I seem to have figured out how to ‘subscribe’ to somebody else’s library and to ‘own’ one myself which I can share with others. That said, the number is still limited to a single one, that is I can only share _one_ of my various libraries with others, correct? And: any plans to change this in the future?
And thanks as well for the reference to myendnoteweb.com – but I do prefer to use the desktop version rather than its online variant only.
You have your own, primary library that you can share with up to 14 other people. When someone shares a library to YOU, that’s a completely separate thing from the primary library that is YOURs. You can share your own primary library with any other 14 people you’d like, and other people can share THEIR libraries to YOU, as many as you’d accept, they’re totally separate things from each other and from your own primary library. Separate from all that, you can share any of the Groups in your primary library with other people as well. When sharing Groups, you don’t share the PDFs stored in the references in those groups, but when sharing Libraries those PDFs and other attachments ARE shared. I know, it’s a compilcated set of options available and easy to confuse, hopefully this post helps clear things up and doesn’t make them muddier.
Thanks for the clarification. This was a fuzzy issue for me and unfortunately I missed your posting before running a trial using 2 separate accounts and a couple of libraries and found, as you noted, that “shared” libraries aren’t co-mingled with the synced library but saved independently in a separate section within the Endnote online account. With this issue resolved it’s clear that users can share multiple libraries which in turn remain independent from each library.
Some years have passed since you did this, though I am doing the same thing now. However when I go to edit - preferences - sync - and change the details to my second endnote web account - then hit sync the prompt 'this library is different to your last sync, do you want to merge libraries ’ still comes up. When you changed your details and then hit sync did this also happen to you?
Do others have problems syncing seperate libraries to seperate online accounts? To make clear I have two online accounts in an attempt to get around the problem of not being able to sync two libraies to one account. Cheers!
Some years have passed since you did this, though I am doing the same thing now. However when I go to edit - preferences - sync - and change the details to my second endnote web account - then hit sync the prompt 'this library is different to your last sync, do you want to merge libraries ’ still comes up. When you changed your details and then hit sync did this also happen to you?
Do others have problems syncing seperate libraries to seperate online accounts? To make clear I have two online accounts in an attempt to get around the problem of not being able to sync two libraies to one account. Cheers!
