Different ways to share an EndNote library

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EndNote provides you with the possibility to share the library with other people. You may even decide to read/write access for every person you share to.

Note!
Never share an EndNote library via a Cloud service or in any place/folder that is synced to iCloud or other clouds/backup service. EndNote, iCloud, Sync and storage location

The reason is that EndNote saves information in multiple files in a specific sequence. Cloud services normally use a different sequence to favour the syncing speed. This will lead to the corruption of the EndNote library.
This includes the following Cloud services but is not limited to only them:

• Dropbox
• Box
• Google Drive
• Office 365
• SharePoint
• Onedrive, SkyDrive
• Sugar sync
• Amazon Cloud
• or, e.g. a USB memory

EndNote's share functionality (from version X9)

By creating and syncing a library with your EndNoteOnline account, you can share the library with 1000 colleagues (an EndNote account is included in your EndNote license).

How to share your library

1. EndNote: File > Share...
2. Enter email addresses to the ones you want to share the library with, and specify Read/Write permissions.
3. Add a message (optional) and click the Invite button.

Everybody can see and use attachments (PDFs). You decide read/write access for every user. And of course, everybody can use the library in their own, or shared documents.

You can see who you have invited to share the library with, remind people who have not accepted or remove people from accessing the library via the EndNote: File > Share library feature.

Everyone you share the library with (enter email in EndNote: File > Share library), will get an email invite they will have to confirm.

When they open the shared library (EndNote: File > Open shared library > Choose your library/email), the library will download to their computer and sync all changes. Where is the shared library stored?

Your colleagues can open the library as it was a local library on their computer and work normally within EndNote.

Use the Traveling Library

Every time a reference is formatted in Word, by EndNote, the major information about the reference is saved in the Word document. The information is saved as hidden field codes, which mean that the user (user A) does not see this information.

When the document is sent to another user (user B), this hidden reference information travels with the document. This means that user B does not need access to user A´s original references.

User B can add new references and format the document. The information for the new references is collected from user B´s library, and the information for the already present references (from user A) is collected from the hidden field codes.

It is the hidden field codes that are called ”the Traveling Library” since they ”travel” with the document.

Note!
If you choose to remove the formatting in the document (“Unformat Citations”) all the hidden field codes are deleted (i.e. the travelling library is deleted). When user B then tries to format the document again, none of user A´s references will be found and formatted. EndNote will then ask user B to add these missing references again.

Share a group in your library

You can create groups in your library and sort your references into groups.

By syncing the library with your EndNoteOnline account, you can share a specific group with colleagues (an EndNote account is included in your EndNote license).

How to share a group

1. Click on the Organize tab
2. Click on Manage My Groups
3. Click the box next to the Group you want to share
4. Click on Manage Sharing
5. Click on Start sharing this group
6. Enter the email addresses of the EndNote Online users that you want to share your group with
7. Select Read-only or Read & Write (allow others to edit and add references to the group)
8. Click on Apply

Shared groups will appear in Groups Shared by Others (My References tab). No invitation emails are sent, they just need to create or have an EndNote online account and log in to view the group (https://my.endnote.com).

The library owner decides who gets read and/or write access to the group references. You can share a group in this way with 5000 users.

Note that attached files (PDFs) cannot be shared between users. You can instead, e.g. add a link to the attached files and place/share the files via Dropbox.

If two people would edit the same reference simultaneously, then the last edition is saved.

Note: (Unlike EndNote Desktop, EndNote Online does not support group sets or smart groups, so the custom groups will display alphabetically)

Centrally located library

If you want many people to have access to the complete library, including attached files (PDFs), you can place the library on a network drive. Everybody then has EndNote installed locally, but open and work against, the centrally located library.

EndNote normally only allows one person at a time to open a library why the centrally located library needs to be in read-only mode. In this mode, an unlimited number of users with read-rights can simultaneously open the library and use it.

Every user can use all functions in EndNote except for editing existing or creating new references.

Note that normally one, or a few, persons have admin rights to the library (read & write access). These admins have a master copy of the library on their computer and update the library. A copy of the master library is placed centrally.

Send the library

An EndNote library consists of two units; a file and a folder. The two units mean you cannot email a library as you cannot email a folder.

To simplify for the user EndNote has a compression functionality which compresses the full library, including any attached files, into a single file. This file can then be distributed in several ways to the users.

The user opens the compressed library like they would open a normal library, and EndNote then uncompressed the library.

Please note that every user initially gets a copy of the library, but no syncing is active between the copies. This means that as soon as a user starts to use the library, that copy stops being a copy and are instead a unique library.