I converted database from RM to EndNote and have problems with Authors’ names. In the RM database the names are input as the “last name space initials”. EndNote interprets this as “first name space last name” (e.g. “Brown ED” is converted to “ED B.”). Is there a way of fixing it?
Thanks
If all of the author names consistently appear in Endnote’s “Author” field in the last name-space-initials order then a partial solution is to use Endnote’s “Find and Replace” function* to insert a comma after the last name. The reason this is a partial solution is that if there are two initials Endnote will recognize only the first initial and disregard the second initial.Unfortunately Find and Replace seems unable to recognize and disaggregate initials in order to insert periods – maybe because there is no blank space separating the initials. So you would need to manually correct each record.
An alternative might be to see if Reference Manager has tools to enable correcting the format of their names prior to exporting: or exporting the tab delimited file into another program like MS Excel to enable parsing out of the initials.
Suggest you also consider contacting tech support as they may have assorted utilities to assist you:
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*Make a backup copy of your library for safekeeping before proceeding. Then go to the Endnote toolbar and select edit >Find and replace. In the pop-up dialog box (see attached image) choose the Author field and designate: 1) a blank space in the Find box; and 2), followed by a blank space in the Replace box. Click the “Change” button.
Thank very much - it does work! Saved me a lot of time.