Organizing your library with folders is easy. You can use them to separate collections of documents for different projects or topics.
Learn more about organizing your library with folders in this Mendeley Minute:
To import your EndNote library, you need to first export your references to an 'EndNote XML' file and then import that into Mendeley Desktop.
In EndNote, highlight the references that you want to import into Mendeley Desktop, and click File > Export...
In the window that appears, there is a box labeled 'Files of type:', in that box select 'XML (*.xml)'
Choose a name for the file and click the 'Save' button
Open Mendeley Desktop and click File > Add Files
Select the file which you exported from EndNote and click Open, then sync your library to save the references to Mendeley Web too
In addition to the EndNote XML format, you can also export references to Bibtex and RIS format in EndNote which Mendeley Desktop can also import. In EndNote select Edit > Output Styles > Open Style Manager. Check the 'Bibtex Export' and 'RefMan (RIS) Export' options in the list that appears then close the window. Then go to File > Export... and select the 'Text File' type. In the box labeled Output Style, select either Bibtex Export or 'RefMan (RIS) Export'. In the filename field, enter a name ending in ".bib" for Bibtex or ".ris" for RIS export and click Save.
Mendeley Desktop now supports importing your documents directly from Zotero. To do this, you'll need to install Mendeley Desktop onto the same computer as where you have Zotero installed.
Open Mendeley Desktop
Go to Tools > Options (or Mendeley Desktop > Preferences if you're on a Mac) and select the Zotero tab
Enable the checkbox for Zotero integration
Mendeley Desktop will attempt to automatically locate your Zotero database, however you can choose to use an alternate Zotero database if desired.
Once you've clicked Apply and then OK, all of your existing documents from Zotero will be imported into Mendeley Desktop, and any future items you add to Zotero should find their way into Mendeley Desktop automatically
Don't forget to click Sync to save references to Mendeley Web
Log into your RefWorks account.
Go to References menu. Choose Export.
Select Bibliographic Software as the export format and export all your references in .ris format.
Alternatively you can export in BibTeX format.
To Import into Mendeley, open Mendeley Desktop
Go to File > Add Files... and select the file you exported from RefWorks
Mendeley should import all the references automatically.
Note: This will not add your files to Mendeley Desktop, only the references. To add the PDF from RefWorks to Mendeley you will need to download them manually and add them to Mendeley.
In Papers, select File, then Export and select, & select Refman RIS file
At the Save as field, name the file
At the W’ field, browse for the drive/folder where you will save your this file
Click ‘Export’
In Mendeley Desktop, click Add icon
Browse to find the file you exported from Papers & click Open to import.
Click the Sync icon to save the references on the web.
For other citation managers, check the Mendeley Support page for information and assistance.
Tip: If you're having trouble importing PDFs along with References, you could move all of your PDFs to a Watched folder, but you may need to merge (de-duplicate) all the citations or clean up the citation information ("Details" tab in each document).
Before you can import information to the citation manager, you must find it. Check out some of the other UO Libraries' research guides to learn:
Drag and drop PDFs or other files from your computer directly into the All Documents section or to a Folder in your Library.
Drag and drop from All Documents to any Folder you create
File > Add Files..., then use your computer's Finder (Mac) or Browse box (PC) to search for your folder or documents
File > Add Entry Manually... to type or paste your citation data into Mendeley Desktop
File > Import... to import data in various formats including from other citation managers: BibTeX (*.bib), EndNoteXML (*.xml), or RIS (*.ris)
Or simply drag and drop the file into your Mendeley Desktop
Use the Mendeley Web Importer to add citations directly from your browser
For Mendeley Desktop only
Tip: After importing, it is extremely important that you review and edit the citation details (title, author, etc.) for your entries.
Every time you import a new file or reference to your Mendeley Library (Desktop or Web), it is very important to check the Details panel to make sure all citation data is correct! This will ensure less work for you when it's time to generate the Bibliography and turn in your paper!
Be sure the Type (Journal Article, Book Section, etc.) is correct for the document or citation you are importing. If the Type fields do not include something that you need for a certain citation style, customize the document template by going to Mendeley Desktop > Preferences > Document Details. Check the fields you want to appear on a certain Document type template. For example, you can add a Medium field to the Journal Article Document Type so that you can comply with MLA 7th style and add 'Print' or 'Web' as needed.
[Screen capture is Mendeley Desktop and not the Reference Manager]
If you forget to do this, Mendeley will catch SOME but not all of your citations that have missing or problematic details. Click the Needs Review option in the left sidebar menu to see citations with problems that Mendeley has flagged for you.
You can add additional links to the Details panel. We recommend you use permanent URLs or permalinks whenever possible. You can find permalinks in most Library subscription databases and Government publications.
You can also add a PDF or other file by clicking on "Add Files" in the Details panel and searching for the file in your local hard drive.
Screen captures show Mendeley Desktop (not Mendeley Reference Manager)
Mendeley.com allows you to search for and add articles to your library, many of which have been added by other Mendeley users worldwide. Most users do not want your course syllabus, your working documents, or other miscellany. To prevent these documents from showing up in the Mendeley search results of others, click the "Unpublished work" checkbox at the bottom of the Details panel in Mendeley Desktop ("Opt Out" in Desktop), or deselect the "Share this reference anonymously with Mendeley Web Catalog option" in Mendeley Reference Manager ("Opt In" in MRM).
Mendeley Desktop (Opt out from sharing) | Mendeley Reference Manager (Opt in to sharing) |
---|---|
![]() |
![]() |
Use these setting to prevent the following types of documents from cluttering up the Web Catalog for other users: