EndNote 2025

Check that the EndNote menu is showing at the top of the screen.

If the menu is showing, this means that EndNote is running but no library is open.

You can open an existing library or create a new one by clicking "File" then "New" or "Open Library". A new library will be saved to your Documents folder. 

If the menu is not showing and you can't get it to appear, reboot your computer and try again.

If citations are entered in curly brackets without formatting like {Meggyesy, 2000 #2}, several things might be the cause:

• Check the record in EndNote. Make sure all the elements of the citation are in the correct place in the EndNote record.
• Make sure that "Instant Formatting is" says On
  • If it says Off, click on it and choose On
• If the citation is added to the bibliography and not the text of your paper, click Edit & Manage Citations(s)
  • Choose the citation that is not showing up, make sure that "Default" is showing up in the Edit Citation tab of the lower portion of the screen.

Advantages to using temporary citations:

If you have a lot of citations in a document, Word may to check them frequently and start to run slow. If Word seems to freeze up or run slow, turn instant formatting off and just update the citations when you are done working for the day.

There are a couple issues that will prevent an EndNote library from opening.

• Make sure that both the library file and its accompanying folder are in the same location on your computer.
  • By default the name of the file and folder are "My EndNote Library" - the folder has ".data" at the end.

• The files are stored in the cloud.
  • Store both the library file and the folder on a local drive.
  • This may also result in a corrupted library. Try to fix the file by opening EndNote and clicking on Tools > Recover Library and follow the prompts.
    • Contact EndNote.com's support portal for further help.

If EndNote seems to have lost the library and tells you that no citations match your search criteria, there may be a setting issue. Try these steps:

• In EndNote select Edit and Preferences (Windows) or EndNote menu and Preferences (Mac)
• Select the Folder Locations option
• Click on the EndNote Defaults button and select Yes
• Click Apply and OK

Files are Open

EndNote requires all Microsoft Office programs be closed before installing. This includes Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook. Close these programs and click on Retry. 

If the program still will not install, try rebooting your computer and installing it before opening any Office program.