Cite While You Write (CWYW) is a feature of EndNote that integrates into Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Google Docs. This feature will allow you to import a citation from your EndNote Library as you are writing your paper, without having to manually create the in-text citation and reference.
Installing Cite While You Write
For use in Microsoft Word: when you install EndNote, CWYW will automatically connect to your Microsoft Word. You will need to close all windows of Word to restart the software before seeing the EndNote button at the top of the Word ribbon.
Open your Word document and place your cursor where you want the citation to appear.
In Word, go to the EndNote tab (added when you installed EndNote).
Click Insert Citation
A search box will appear.
Search for your reference by author, title, or keyword.
Select the correct reference from the results.
Click Insert.
The citation will appear in your text, formatted according to your chosen style (e.g., APA, AMA, Vancouver).
A corresponding entry will also be added to the bibliography at the end of your document.
How to Update a Citation Style
Sometimes you may begin working in CWYW without knowing which citation style you'll need for your publication or assignment. Changing styles mid-paper is simple. Select which style you'd like to be citing in from the drop-down, and all citations you've previously written in the document will change with it. Once you have converted to plain text, this will not work.
How to Update Individual Citations
If you're working in CWYW and notice something in a reference you'd like to change, you cannot simply backspace and re-type the reference that CWYW imported; you'll need to take a couple extra steps to edit the reference.
This will cause the EndNote Library to open, and the Edit pane will allow you to make any changes needed [Image 2]. Once you save, select "Update Citations and Bibliography" in the Word document.
Image 1: Edit & Manage Citation (s)
Image 2: Edit Reference
How to Create a Bibliography
To quickly create a bibliography, a list of references in a desired format, you can copy and paste references in bulk from your EndNote Library to any word processor.
First, be sure you have the correct citation style in place. In this case, we used JAMA.
Highlight all references you'd like in your bibliography > right-click > Copy Formatted Reference > Paste onto a Word document. Or use the EndNote menu and select Copy Formatted Reference, then paste in onto a Word document.
Formatting Your Bibliography in Your Document
In your Word document, go to the EndNote tab on the toolbar.
Locate the Bibliography group (usually in the middle of the ribbon).
Use the Style dropdown menu to select the citation style you want (e.g., AMA, APA, Vancouver, Chicago).
The bibliography will automatically update to match the new style.
To adjust bibliography layout:
Click the Bibliography dropdown arrow (small box in the bottom-right corner of the Bibliography group).
This opens the Format Bibliography dialog box.
In the Format Bibliography window, you can:
Change the output style (same as the dropdown, but with more options).
Adjust font, size, and line spacing for bibliography entries.
Choose whether to format the entire document or just selected citations.
In the Layout tab on this window is where you will need to go to make any formatting changes to your bibliography (or if you need to change "bibliography to references). Any changes you make outside of this window will automatically be reverted back to the EndNote formatting.
Click OK and the bibliography will reformat instantly throughout your document.
FAQs: Writing, Citing, Sharing
If you have a reference authored by an organization and Cite While You Write (CWYW) is formatting the name in a Last Name, First Name format, you need to add a comma (,) at the end of the organization name in EndNote to correct the format.
Example:
Edit the reference in your EndNote Library by selecting the reference or right-clicking and selecting Edit References > Author > World Health Organization, > Save the changes and now the full organization name will appear as the author in your bibliography.
Open your manuscript in Word.
Click within the citation you would like to modify.
Go to the EndNote tab and choose Edit and Manage Citation(s).
Under Formatted Citation, type the page numbers in the Pages field.
Click the OK button, and your pages should now appear in the citation.
While not typical, certain output styles (such as MLA) are configured to use the special “Cited Pages” field as part of the citation template, enabling you to enter citation page numbers into the Pages field. Consult the Bibliographic Styles section of your EndNote Manual for details.
Some journals require their submitted drafts in plain text format. To do this, select Convert Citations and Bibliography > Convert to Plain Text. This will create a copy of your document in plain text, but you will still retain the document with Cite While You Write coding as well.
1. Copy the references listed in the bibliography in PDF or Word. (The number before each reference doesn’t matter.)
3. Under Enter citations, paste the references you copied from the PDF/Word file.
4. Choose RIS as the Citation Format
5. Then search for matches.
6. Check each result of the retrieved matching references (pay special attention to citation data), select the correct match for each item, then press DOWNLOAD ALL SELECT CITATIONS at the bottom of the screen. Note: If you don’t find a good match, you can edit the citation text and search again. If no correct match can be found, leave the item with no matches selected.
7. Save the citation file with the select references. Then import the downloaded file into EndNote.
For Windows Users
Word 2007/2010/2013/2016:
Word 2007: Click on the Office icon and select "Word Options."
Word 2010/2013/2016: Click on the File ribbon and select "Options."
Click on "Add-ins."
Change the "Manage" options to "Disabled Items."
Click Go.
Highlight any EndNote item(s) and click "Enable."
Click OK/Enable.
Restart Word.
For Mac Users
If you are using Word 2011, make sure you have installed EndNote 21 on your computer. If EndNote 21 menu didn’t appear under Tools, do the followings:
Close Word application
Open EndNote and select Customizer from the EndNote menu.
Check the box in front of the Cite While You Write option.
Click next until the Customizer is finished.
Open an EndNote Library and then open Word and check the Tools menu for the EndNote submenu.
1. Close Microsoft Word and EndNote.
2. Go into the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
3. Click Security & Privacy.
4. Click the Privacy tab (along the top).
5. Click the Automation options, along the left.
6. Here, make sure that both "Microsoft Word" and "EndNote" are both turned on. (With this automation turned off, the EndNote CWYW Cite While You Write functions will not work in MS Word.)
1. On the EndNote tab of Microsoft Word, click Preferences.
2. Click Application
3. Make sure it's toggled to EndNote, not EndNote Online.
