How to remove unused Ref IDs

Reference Manager Reference Manager How To
1

Hi,

I would like to remove unused Ref IDs from my databases… I am not concerned that the IDs will change. I appreciate that this is largely cosmetic but is it possible?

I guess I could do this by exporting in RIS format and then importing the data again but I do not want to do this as all character formatting is lost.

Many thanks,

Anthony

2

Hello Anthony,

You can do this by exporting your database in the RIS format and importing into a new database using the RIS.cap Import Filter.

  1. Open your database
  2. Click the File menu > Export
  3. Choose the RIS format and All references in list.
  4. Click the ellipses button under file name to select a name and location for the export file.
  5. Click OK
  6. Click Export

 This will create a text file in the RIS format. Now you can do the following:

  1. Close your database.
  2. Create a new database using the File > New Database command.
  3. Click the File menu > Import Text File.
  4. For “Filter” click the ellipses and select RIS.cap Note: Be sure not to select RISID.cap or your Ref IDs will be retained.
  5. For “Text File” click the ellipses and pick the text file you exported using the steps above.
  6. Click Import.
3

Hi Jason,

I could do this but as I mentioned in my original post “… I guess I could do this by exporting in RIS format and then importing the data again but I do not want to do this as all character formatting is lost. …”.

So, I’ll assume that the RIS method is the only way and live with what I have as I want to retain character formatting.

Anthony

4

Hello Anthony,

Yes, exporting the database to RIS and then importing into another Reference Manager database would be the only way to reset the RefID information.