Bibliography settings bug

Hello when I tried to change the bibliography settings (font and size) in endnote x6.0.2, returning to word 2011 for mac (MacOS10.6.8) will start reformat and stuck forever in ‘formatting bibliography’ window. Cancelling will popup an error -1717 ID message. Please correct or I don’t buy. Thanks

Hello, djill123:

That’s interesting – I cannot replicate this issue using EndNote X6.0.2 in Word 2011. Let’s do a couple of quick tests:

  1. In the EndNote program, please click the EndNote X6 menu and choose About EndNote. This screen should read EndNote X6.0.2 (Bld 8570). If the listed version and Bld are anything other than this, please reply back to this thread with what it actually reads.

  2. As a test, please close the document you are currently working in and open a new, blank Word document. Insert several citations in this document, and then try to change the font using Tools>EndNote>Bibliography Settings. Do you get the same error?

I look forward to your response!

thank you for your post. For unknown reasons, everything went smooth after restarting the computer. Sorry about the threat. I am not sure I will buy Endnote anyway because it is not very ergonomic (insert multiple citations at once is impossible if you have like me a 5000+ ref-library). Thanks anyway.

Hello, djill123:

I’m glad restarting resolved the issue. I do recommend double-checking the version as in 10.8.2 there is a -1712 error when formatting, which sounds very similar to what you were experiencing. It’s actually caused by the Mac OS, and restarting would temporarily resolve it. The X6.0.2 version works around that issue, so I do recommend confirming that that update shows in About EndNote window.

As far as inserting multiple citations at once, here’s something that may help – have you considered making groups to organize your large library? If you had a group of, for example, all the citations you plan to use in this particular paper, selecting several at once out of that smaller group would be much easier than trying to hunt them all down in the full library.

Just a thought!

Have a great day.

I used the correct version of EndNote. One last question that really bugs me. How do you remove a reference that is quoted multiple times in your formatted text in a single operation without having to perform an ‘edit citation/remove’ action everywhere the citation is quoted? Thanks

Hello,

It is very unusual for people to need to remove every instance of a reference in a paper – usually they just need to remove it in one or two places. It could be very dangerous to include a function that would remove it everywhere. If this is not what the author needed, he or she could wind up having to re-cite that in every place in the document.

However, there may be a workaround, depending on your ultimate goal. Are you trying to replace that citation with a different one, or completely remove it from the paper with no replacement?

thanks for your prompt answer. I am actually interested in both of the situations you propose: replacing and deleting. It is not unusal to have to remove or replace a citation with another. For example if you cite multiple citations at different places and that you want to remove only one after you have change your mind. Since I use Cite while you write, it happens a lot that I change my mind about the cited reference as I write and the references may already be included in several places in the manuscript (I am a life science researcher) . Thanks for your help again.

The time I wish for this feature is when I have to trim my reference list because of space constraints placed upon me by publications!   

My workaround the last time, was to unformat the citations to temporary, - temporarily delete those records I didn’t want from library, reformat the papers and when each of those citations came I skipped, so I could go back and search for temp refs and delete the ones I didn’t want.  Reformated the paper, and then remembered to return the deleted records to my library from trash!. 

Hello again, djill123 and Leanne:

If being able to easily replace or remove all instances of one reference in a document would be something you would find helpful, I highly encourage you to make a note of it over on the Suggestions area of the forum. Our product managers monitor this, and it’s the best way to recommend new and updated features for new versions of the software. 

In the meantime, Leanne’s workaround is precisely what I was going to suggest. I’ll break it down into steps for you.

  1. In your EndNote library, move the reference(s) you are going to replace in your paper into the Trash. Note: Do not empty the Trash if you want to restore those references later.

  2. Make a backup copy of your Word document by saving with a new name.

  3. On the EndNote toolbar in Word, click Convert Citations and Bibliography>Convert to Unformatted Citations.

  4. Click Update Citations and Bibliography.

  5. EndNote will begin comparing the citations in the document with the library. When it comes to a citation it does not see in the library, it will bring up a Select Matching Reference window. When the citations you wish to replace come up, search for the new, correct reference instead. For example, if I were trying to replace Smith, 2010 #57 with Neff, 2011 #56, when “Smith, 2010 #57” shows up in the search box, I would remove that and type “Neff 2011”, then click Find.
    When the correct reference is showing in the large results window down below, I can highlight it and click Insert.

  6. Repeat the above until all citations are matched.

  7. When the formatting process is complete, you will have replaced all the incorrect references with the correct ones.
    If you wish, you can now restore the references to your EndNote library from the Trash by click on Trash and dragging the references back into All References.

I hope this helps!