
Created by Cardiff University Library Service
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This is one of a series of tutorials that have been written to help you learn how to use EndNote Online. This tutorial assumes that you already have some references in your EndNote library. If you don't have any references yet, take a look at the Adding references to your library tutorial.
This tutorial will show you how to:
It should take around 10 minutes to work through this tutorial. Use the back and next buttons at the bottom right of the screen to move through each page.
EndNote Online works with Google Chrome, FireFox and Safari web browsers.
This tutorial demonstrates the use of EndNote Online with Microsoft 365. You may find slight differences if you are using older or newer versions of Word, but the guidelines should remain applicable.
When you open Microsoft Word after installing the EndNote plug-ins you will notice a new EndNote tab on the menu ribbon. When you click this tab for the first time you will need to log in using your EndNote username and password:
On networked computers you may find that Word shows the menu tab for the desktop version of EndNote rather than the online version. If this is the case, all you need to do is:

If you can't see the EndNote tab in your version of Microsoft Word, check that you have installed the Cite While You Write™ plugin. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the Getting started tutorial.
Open Microsoft Word, click the EndNote tab, then enter your username and password.
Once you have done this, click Preferences to check that EndNote online is listed as the Cite While You Write application.
You can easily add citations to your document using the Insert Citations button in Microsoft Word. The number of referencing styles is limited and does not include the the Cardiff University styles. If these are required, we suggest you use EndNote desktop, see Getting started with EndNote.
For styles such as Harvard or Vancouver, it is relatively straightforward to insert citations:
Here is a demonstration:
For styles such as MHRA or OSCOLA (available via the premium version of EndNote Online for desktop users) you will need to carry out an extra step when inserting citations:
Open a blank Word document and try to add some citations from your own EndNote Online library.
If you need to remove a citation from your document it is very important that you do not simply delete the text of the citation. This may not actually remove the citation and you might find that references will reappear the next time you open the document.
To correctly remove a reference for styles such as Harvard or Vancouver:
Your reference should now have been removed from the document.
To correctly remove a reference for styles such as MHRA or OSCOLA:
Your reference and accompanying footnote should now have been removed from the document.
Try removing a reference you have added to your own Word document.
It is extremely straightforward to change the citation style within your Word document. Here is how:
Your references will now be automatically reformatted in the new style you have chosen.
If you have added referencing styles to your favourites in EndNote Online, only these styles will be shown when you click "Select Another Style...". To show all styles you will have to remove any favourites you may have added.
When you use the Cite While You Write function references appear in a standard format, for example (Irvine 2016). However, it is very likely that you will want some of your citations to be presented differently or with additional information depending on the context in which they appear. For example, you may wish to include page numbers or exclude the author name.
Thankfully, there are various editing options which can be accessed by right-clicking a reference and selecting Edit Citation(s) or by clicking the Edit Citation(s) button.
This table gives you a useful overview of the editing options available and how they will affect the presentation of citations in your document when using a Harvard style:
| Desired Result | Option in Edit Citation menu | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| Remove the author from the citation | Select Exclude Author | (2016) |
| Remove the year from the citation | Select Exclude Year | (Irvine) |
| Remove the author and year (no citation will appear in the text but the reference still appears in the bibliography) | Select Exclude Author & Year | No citation appears |
| Add a page number | Click on More… then Enter the page number into the Pages field | (Irvine 2016, p. 46) |
| Add text before the citation, e.g. "see" | Click on More… then enter the text into the Prefix field | (see Irvine 2016) |
For footnote styles such as OSCOLA, you can use the edit function to add a pinpoint such as a page number or paragraph numbers to your citations. Here is an overview:
| Desired Result | Option in Edit Citation menu | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| Add a pinpoint, e.g. [13]-[19] | Click on More… then enter the text into the Suffix field | 2 Nikken Kosakusho Works v Pioneer Trading Co [2005] EWCA Civ 906, [2006] FSR 4 [13]-[19]. |
Over the following pages we will demonstrate how you can edit a citation by removing an author, adding a page reference, adding a prefix, or adding a suffix to a citation.
These examples are applicable only to "Author Date" style citations, such as Harvard or footnote styles such as MHRA and OSCOLA.
For numeric styles such as Vancouver this information will not be relevant.
To remove the author and/or year from a citation:
Your citation should now be amended.
Here is an example of how to exclude the author name:
Find a citation you have added and try to remove the author name. Then, choose another citation and try to remove the date.
To add a page number to your citation:
Your citation should now include a page number.
Now choose a citation in your document and add a page number.
To add text before or after your citation:
Here is an example:
Pick a citation from your document and add a prefix or suffix.
In this tutorial we've looked at the main ways in which EndNote Online can integrate with Microsoft Word, in particular how you can insert, edit and remove citations.
If you want to learn more about other aspects of EndNote Online, you can take a look at the other tutorials in this series:
If you require further information about EndNote Online, take a look at the EndNote Online pages on the intranet, or contact your Subject librarian.
We want to make sure this tutorial is useful and relevant to you. If you have any comments on the content or suggestions on things you'd like to see, then please let us know.
Sometimes you may wish to create a bibliography of sources you have used for a particular piece of research or assignment. You can easily create one as follows:
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If the bibliographic style you need is not shown in the drop-down list, click Select Favorites and add it from the list of styles shown.
Now try to create your own bibliography.