Upgrade StorageCannot Import Endnote Files
I have read through all of the forums that discuss importing endnote files and have not found anything relevant to the problem I am having.
If I try to import any of my endnote files I only get one message:
"The selected file is not in a supported format."
Does anyone know why this is happening?
If I try to import any of my endnote files I only get one message:
"The selected file is not in a supported format."
Does anyone know why this is happening?
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If you open them with a text editor (notepad, TextEdit) what are the first 20 or so lines?
http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote
By the way, that support page doesn't say anything about enl files (and neither do any of the forums). It merely says that RIS files are the preferred format (the forums say the same thing).
Based on that, I think it needs to be made much clearer on the support page (and in the forums) that you cannot import Endnote files at all. Endnote files are enl files. You can only convert Endnote databases if you export them to a special format (RIS) first. All the advertising for the program that I read saying that you can import Endnote files is in fact not really true then - you have to have Endnote in order to mediate the conversion process. This needs to be clarified substantially.
I'm not aware of any advertising or even documentation that claims Zotero can import "Endnote files" - if there is, I'm happy to fix that. As for general clarity on this, I've been a regular on this forum for almost 7 years now and as far as I'm aware you're the first person with this particular misunderstanding (and hundreds of people have sought help moving from Endnote, likely many thousands have actually switched), so I really don't think lack of clarity in this respect is a major issue. People can switch from Endnote with relative ease and with relatively little loss in data - that's what Zotero is advertising and that's correct.
*if this is your situation and you don't have Endnote anymore, you can get a trial version for 30 days - http://endnote.com/downloads/30-day-trial - that allows you to run through the export steps required
The wikipedia page for Zotero suggests that Zotero can open these files as that is why Endnote tried and failed to sue Zotero.
Several reviews of Zotero indicated the same thing, which is what led me to Zotero in the first place. I was looking for a way to open and peruse endnote libraries; I don't actually want a referencing program right now, I just need to be able to view/read the contents of my libraries over long periods of time. I tried to find these reviews again, but cannot easily find them as it took me hours to find them in the first place.
I would simply suggest that when the support page says Zotero can handle a variety of file types, it should specifically exclude enl files since that seems to be the primary source of imported data.
The Wikipedia page - correctly - specifies that Zotero was unsuccessfully sued for the ability to import .ens style files. There's no mention of reading Endnote libraries or .enl files.
Further, when the program prompts a link to "supported file types" it just sends you to a non-helpful generic page. Its a failed promise that leads users to waste their time looking at non-relevant information. Its also the type of problem that most users would not bring up as they would instead assume the program doesn't so what they want and then quit using the software.
I'm just trying to helpfully point out that after searching everywhere I could, I only found unhelpful information or misinformation regarding the problem I was having. The software was further not helpful as it also provides unhelpful and misleading information.
As for your other comments, you have to be more specific and provide URLs and/or quotes. For example, the Wikipedia page for Zotero doesn't mention EndNote at all, other than mentioning a past lawsuit by EndNote owner Thomson-Reuters, so there is nothing to fix there.
However, at the bottom of this very short page is the sentence: both links have a list of supported import formats, so instead of one click we're requiring two clicks to get there. That's a trade-off, but given the substantial record of user reported issues we have here I'm pretty confident it's the right call.
1) I have problems with reference library. I can construct a library of references - but each time I add further references the file becomes a large "rdf" file. To save the new library - I export it to save it as new "rdf" file. I can e mail myself this "rdf" file (or put on USB pen) - to use library on different PC's. Is there a solution?
But when open the new library (import it) - as it is a large document - it takes a long time or software crashes (it can't haddle a large library)
2) when I have finsihed a manuscript - I format the reference libary. Whence I review the manuscript - I often find the need to add futher reference citations. I would normally "unformat the reference style" & "add the new citatations", then I would "re-format the references to complete the manuscript".
how do I unformat references in a manuscript to add references citations
@Distaso
For importing from Endnote, the page linked above is still the best source:
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote
As an alternative, you can also try Endnote's XML export instead of RIS -- both will work and be very similar in result, but you may find one or the other perform better.
Note that while that page is pretty long, the basics are really very simple:
1. Export your library from Endnote
2. If you need/want to import attached files, make sure to save the exported file to the correct location
3. Import it to Zotero