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EndNote: Organising your References

Organising your references

EndNote has 3 main methods to organise your references:

  • Groups
  • Smart Groups
  • Tags

A Custom Group allows you to add references individually to a group.

  1. Right-click on MY GROUPS and select Create Group
  2. Name the new group box that opens (a meaningful topic/keyword etc.)
  3. Select the reference(s)to be moved to the new group, then either:
    • ‘drag and drop’ into the new group box
    • right-click on a reference, select Add References To and select the group you wish to add a reference to
    • Click on Groups and select Add References to > [Group name]

A Smart Group is compiled automatically based on the parameters set when creating the smart group. As it is constantly searching your library, there is no need to add references manually.

  1. Right-click on MY GROUPS and select Create Smart Group.
  2. Name the Smart Group Name box that opens
  3. Set your search parameters.
  4. Select Create.

The references in your library that match your criteria will be automatically moved into your smart group

Tags are a new feature of EndNote 21 and provide a visual organisational method.  

 First, create the tags you wish to use. These will be visible in the left pane and when clicked, will display all references with that tag.

  1. Click on the plus sign in the left pane next to Tags
  2. Give your tag a name and select a colour

Adding the tags to references

  1. Double-click on the reference
  2. In the summary tab, Manage Tags will be at the bottom of the top screen. Click this.
  3. Click on the tags you want for this reference
  4. Click Ok.

Alternatively, drag and drop your references into the tag folders in the left-hand pane.

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