EndNote essentials

EndNote allows you to format your in-text citations and reference list entries in your chosen referencing style. When you download the program, hundreds of referencing styles are automatically loaded.

It is important to note that while EndNote will format references in the selected style, the program is not able to recognise if there is incorrect or missing data. It is highly recommended that you familiarise yourself with the referencing style and compare your citations and reference list entries against the relevant referencing guide or style manual to ensure there are no mistakes or inconsistencies.



  1. Highlight a reference in your library and click the arrow to expand the Preview panel under the Summary tab
  2. Click the Bibliographic Output Style box (the default style selected will be Annotated) and an initial list of styles will display. To find additional referencing styles, click the Select Another Style… option from the menu
  3. A Choose A Style box will appear which gives you an expanded list of styles
  4. Type the name of the required style in the Quick Search box and press enter. Highlight the style you want to use, then click Choose
  5. Your reference will then display in the style you have selected.

Once you have selected a style from the expanded list it will be added to the Bibliographic Output Style drop down menu.

Preview and edit references

It is important to preview your references to ensure they are correctly formatted in your chosen style. EndNote is not able to recognise if there is incorrect or missing data so you should compare your references against the relevant referencing guide or style manual to ensure your references are correct.

  1. Select the reference in your library then click on the Preview pane to view it in your selected style
  2. To make changes, click on the Edit tab in the Tabs panel
  3. Click into the relevant field and make the necessary changes
  4. Click Save.

Curtin EndNote styles

Curtin provides three EndNote styles which have been adapted for use with the Curtin referencing guides. These should be included in the Select A Style menu. If they do not appear there you can download them using the links below:

  1. Click on the required style
  2. Select Open or Download (depending on the browser you are using) and the style will open in EndNote
  3. In EndNote, go to File and select Save As
  4. Remove the word Copy and click Save
  5. Close the style window
  6. From the Bibliographic Output Style drop down menu, click on Select Another Style to locate your downloaded style.

  1. Click on your required style and locate it in your Downloads folder
  2. Drag the style into your Styles folder located at HD > Applications > EndNote > Styles
  3. From the Bibliographic Output Style drop down menu, click on Select Another Style to locate your downloaded style.

Import terms list (Vancouver style)

Some referencing styles, such as Vancouver, require journal titles to be abbreviated in the reference (e.g. New England Journal of Medicine appears as N Engl J Med). EndNote allows you to import a terms list so that journal titles are automatically abbreviated.

  1. Click on the Library menu then select Open Term Lists and Journals Term List
  2. If there are already journals listed under the Terms tab, highlight these and select Delete Term
  3. Click on the Lists tab then highlight Journals and click Import List…
  4. This should open to the Terms List folder. If it doesn’t open automatically it is available under C:\Program Files (x86)\EndNote 21\Terms Lists (Windows) or Applications\EndNote 21\Terms (Mac)
  5. If working with the Vancouver style, select the Medical.txt folder and then click Open and the terms will be added
  6. Close the Terms List dialogue box
  7. Next go to the Tools menu, select Output Styles and Edit “Vancouver Curtin”
  8. Click on Journal Names and ensure Abbreviation 2 and Abbreviate journal articles only are selected
  9. Click on File and select Save As and give the altered style a name, e.g. Vancouver Curtin abbreviated.
  10. Click Save. This will then create a copy of the style which you can choose from the Select Another Style menu.