When I go to enter a now referenced, there’s a bunch of lines / items that I will no doubt never use.
Is there any way to erase/delete items that you won’t use? Put them back if you find out later you DO need them?
Regards,
Chuck Billow
You could: 1) erase the unwanted fields from each Reference Template*; or 2) click the “Hide Empty Fields” option shown at the top of an opened reference (see attached image).
Erasing the unwanted fields from each Reference Template offers a global solution but if you later decide you needed a field that you previously erased, you’ll need to manually re-enter the field name. (It might also be helpful to keep a list of the style template’s original fields as a reference).
The “Hide Empty Fields” is an option but is available within each reference so you’ll need to designate it on a reference-by-reference basis.
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* To modify (erase) the reference template, go to the EndNote toolbar, select EDIT, PREFERENCES. In the Preferences window, click to select REFERENCE TYPES, then “Modify Reference Types”. Then it’s just a matter of manually erasing/deleting the unwanted field names within a selected reference type.
CG;
s there a way to back up a particular template so that at some later time (when my good sense returns), I can just "bring it back?
Also, I noticed last night (I THINK) that I can enter the references in Word and the EN auto-updates…yes?
Regards,
Chuck Billow
Yes, you can make a backup copy (in an .xml file format) of the Reference Types Table before you make any changes so you have an “original” copy available. (Or just go to the “Help” option in the toolbar and select “Web Styles Finder” to go to the EndNote website, search and download an original copy of the style you’re using.) Then when you start modifying the reference types, make a second copy and keep both files in a safe place.
To make a copy of the Reference Types Table, go to the EndNote toolbar, select EDIT, PREFERENCES. In the EndNote Preferences window, click “Reference Types” then the EXPORT button (see attached image). You will be prompted to name and save the file to a location on your hard drive. If at some point you need to re-instate either the original or backup file, you’ll need to return to the Preferences window but click the IMPORT button. Comment: It might be easier to manually track what fields you’ve changed as you won’t be able to do a side-by-side comparison between the original file and the backup file to see what fields you’ve changed.
To your second question, it sounds like you have Cite While You Write (CWYW) activated which, yes, automatically updates.
CG:
So then, if I make a copy of the reference types table, it’s the files themselves as well – so if I change a type and then copy the backup back in, it resets ALL the ref types?
If so, then I should backup it up for each change, shouldn’t I?
I apologize if I seem slow at this…
I added a couple of ENS files to the references (table?). These were individual files. Can just back up or export individual files (like these) so that, if I want to “backtrack” I will be able to do it selectively and not for all reference ENS files?
Regards,
Chuck
No problem. 
Just to clarify:
- When you make a backup copy of the Reference Type Table (generates a file with an .xml file extension),
it copies all the individual reference types (e.g., Journal Article, Book, Book Section, etc.) into a single file (e.g., APA6th_modified10-06-2010.xml).
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When you modify/change a reference type, the layout remains unchanged unless you import another .xml file which will overwrite the existing file. So for example, if you modified a reference type but wanted to see what the original field was prior to changing then imported the “original” .xml file, whatever change(s) you made will be lost as the current .xml file is now overwritten with the “original” .xml file. Note: This is why it might be easier to manually track the changes you make to the reference type - see attached example illustrating modifying the Report reference type template.
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Due to the possibility of erroneously overwrting or losing current changes made to a reference type, it helps to make a backup .xml file copy after making any changes.
Am unclear what you mean by your last comment, "adding “a couple of ENS files to the references (table?)” - could you explain further? It’s possible to change/modify “fields” (e.g., Author, Year, Title, etc.) with a reference type or add files (e.g., .doc, .pdf, xls., etc.) to the File Attachment field, but I don’t get what you mean by adding “a couple of ENS files to the references (table?)”. Or maybe this is related to generating an .xml file which aggregates all the reference type templates into a single file?
G:
I apologize, I was thinking OD styles – like “Bluebook-Law Review.ens” I guess. Different issue.
So then, as this question first started, if I modify the WebPage reference type, it is part of the “whole” xml file, and not available for exporting just, for instance, that one reference type (?). So then I would need to back up the table after each ref type change…
I think I see now what you are saying.
Regards,
Chuck Billow
CWBillow wrote:
So then, as this question first started, if I modify the WebPage reference type, it is part of the “whole” xml file, and not available for exporting just, for instance, that one reference type (?). So then I would need to back up the table after each ref type change…
Yes - when you save/export the .xml file, the “WebPage” reference type will be included along with the rest of the reference types (regardless whether the other reference types were changed or not). Makes it easier to deal with one “whole” .xml file rather than a bunch of individual files - and trying to remember which is which.
G:
I was getting mixed up…I was talking about individual output styles and whether they could be exported.
Bear with me, I’ll get this, I’m just a bit slow…
Chuck
Hang in there as you’re nearing the finish line on this subject.
The output style (refer to attached image) incorporates various templates that designate the the appearance of an in-text citation or bibliographic reference but comprises a single file (.ens). When you modify an output style then close/exit the style’s window, EndNote will prompt you to save the file as a copy (e.g., Bluebook Law Review Copy.ens). [Note: You can manually remove the word “Copy” if you prefer overwriting the original Bluebook Law Review.ens file.] So unlike modifying reference types, no exporting of a file is necessary.
The modified Bluebook Law Review Copy.ens file will be saved to the EndNote folder in your Documents folder. Just remember to: 1) change EndNote and MS Word to use the modified .ens file, and 2) backup the EndNote folder in the Documents folder.
The guiding rule when modifying reference templates is to maintain a current .xml file copy along with the corresponding output style .ens file - as both work in tandem to generate user-specified modifications.
