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EndNote Groups – organise, manage, and collaborate on references

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Summary:
EndNote’s Groups feature is a powerful way to organise research libraries by topic, project, or other criteria. You can create Custom Groups, Smart Groups, Combination Groups, and Group Sets to keep references structured, easy to find, and ready for collaboration. Groups are flexible subsets of references that already exist in your library — they don’t duplicate records but give you organised access to them.

Benefits of using EndNote Groups

1. Better organisation

  • Sort references into topic-based or project-based groups for quick access.

2. Smart Groups (dynamic updates)

  • Automatically populate groups using saved search criteria (e.g., keywords, author, year).

3. Shared Groups (collaboration)

  • Share reference groups with colleagues or teams for joint projects.

4. Group Sets (structure for large projects)

  • Organise multiple groups under a broader category for easier navigation.

Types of Groups in EndNote

groups-getting-started-endnote.png

A. Custom Groups (manual)

  • Manually add references via drag & drop or menus.

B. Combination Groups (Groups from Groups)

  • Merge Smart and Custom Groups using Boolean logic (AND/OR/NOT).

C. Smart Groups (dynamic)

  • Automatically update based on search strategies.

D. Group Sets

  • Collections of groups organised under one broader category.

How to create and manage Groups in EndNote

Create a Custom Group

  1. In EndNote, go to Groups > Create Group.
  2. A new group appears in the left Groups Panel under My Groups.
  3. Name the group (e.g., “Literature Review”).

Add References:

  • Drag and drop references into the group, OR
  • Right-click a reference → Add References To > [Group Name].

Create a Smart Group (dynamic)

  1. Go to Groups > Create Smart Group.
  2. Define search criteria (author, keyword, year).
  3. Click OK — the group updates automatically when new matching references are added.

Create a Group Set (for large projects)

  1. Go to Groups > Create Group Set.
  2. Name the set (e.g., “Thesis Research”).
  3. Drag multiple groups into it for structured organisation.

Use Combination Groups (Groups from Groups)

  1. Go to Groups > Create from Groups.
  2. Combine Custom and Smart Groups using AND, OR, NOT logic.

Useful for complex projects where references overlap across topics.

Group limits in EndNote

  • 5,000 Custom + Smart Groups (combined) per library.
  • 5,000 Group Sets per library.
  • A single reference can only appear once per group, but it can belong to multiple groups across the library.

Deleting References in Groups

  • Custom Groups (A): 
    Removing a reference only deletes it from the group, not the library. Deleting the Group itself does not delete the references from the library.
  • Combination Groups (B): 
    Deleting a reference here deletes it from the entire library. Deleting the Group itself does not delete the references from the library.
  • Smart Groups (C): 
    Deleting a reference here deletes it from the library. Deleting the Group itself does not delete the references from the library.
  • Deleting from Library: 
    Removes the reference from all groups in that library.

Advanced Tips

  • Cross-library drag-and-drop: You can drag references from one library into a group in another — EndNote copies them into the target library and group.
  • Selection memory: If you highlight references inside a group and switch to All References, EndNote keeps them highlighted until you deselect.
  • Backup first: For large projects, back up your library before deleting groups or references.

 

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