Why does Endnote Web separate multiple references by comma and not semicolon?

Hello

My name is Michal and I’m new to using Endnote Web. I’ve been spending several days now trying to find on Google a solution to my problem. I’m using Endnote Web with Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013. I set Endnote Web to the Harvard style. When I select several citations and insert them, they look like this:

…occur in a linear fashion (Godin, 2006 , Price and Bass, 1969). The model…

The problem is that the Harvard style is supposed to separate different authors/citations with a semicolon, not a comma. (There is a comma instead of a semicolon between “Godin, 2006” and “Price and Bass, 1969”).

How do I change this in Endnote Web?

Got to know where to look I guess, it isn’t always easy to find!  There is a knowledge base article here on this topic: http://endnote.com/kb/101407  which says: 

Endnote online: Creating new output styles or modifying existing styles


If an Output Style is missing or needs updating to match the publisher requirements, you can submit a request through our EndNote Request Form:

http://endnote.com/info/output-style-request

You can also check with our EndNote Community Forum here:

http://community.thomsonreuters.com/t5/EndNote-Styles-Filters-and/bd-p/en-files

You can use this forum to submit your request for the creation of a new output style (or the modification of an existing one). When you submit this information, your request is brought to the attention of our Content Group. Once the style is created or updated, it will be submitted for inclusion into EndNote online.

The local EndNote online Administrators also have the ability to update Styles for their site if EndNote online access is provided by Web of Knowledge. If you have EndNote online access through your institution, you can contact your local Administrator to update existing Styles or upload new Styles.

Excellent, thanks as always, Leanne. 

Michal, I will send an alert over to the Content team and let you know the status of getting that style updated.

Meredith M. 

Hello,

I seem to have a similar problem with a different Output Style, and in the desktop version (Windows; EN:X5):

I am using the Journal of Fish Diseases style, which I downloaded from the TR website, but as in Michal’s case, multiple citations in a single group are separated by commas and not semicolons, which is what the journal requires.

I think the template is based on the Harvard output style, so this may be a legacy issue affecting all Harvard-based output styles.

I have submitted an update request as suggested in this thread. In the meantime, are there any options available by virtue of using the desktop client? Is there anything I can do to correct this in the style template myself? I saw there was an option to choose the separating character for multiple citations in a footnote, but no equivalent option for in-text citations.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

Bik

The answer is much more simple. You can change it in your own EndNote software.

  1. Edit → Output Styles → Open Style Manager…

  2. Select the style you want to edit in the drop-down list and click Edit

  3. In the left menu click Templates under Citations

  4. Under the large text field in the main area, there is a box labeled Multiple citation separator. Insert a semicolon instead of a comma. File–> Save and you’re good to go.

And of course put a space after the semicolon in the Multiple citation separator box.

Wanted to thank you very much for the very simple trick! If like me you cant see that box, just reduce the endnote window size! Thank you, has saved me alot of reference editing!

Hello. I am using EndnoteX8 and having the same problem. I have changed the template, and when the citation is inserted in the {unformatted} way there is a semi colon between the references YAY, but when I ask it to format, it changes the separator back to a comma. Any thoughts or hints? thanks Jen

Have you used the new output style you edited (which should have a new name, especially if it a default installed output style) in the word document, or is the word document still using the original output style?