In Plain Cite

Is It Legal to Save PDFs on My Computer & Link to EndNote Records?

2008-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Now that the latest version of EndNote (i.e. X2) makes it much easier to capture and organize PDFs, users of EndNote and other reference management applications must consider the legal aspects of storing copies of PDFs. I'm having difficulty finding information that specifically addresses this issue. However, I assume that this is legal, i.e. does not violate copyright, under something called the Fair Use Doctrine, which allows the use of copyrighted material for teaching, learning and scholarship. Unfortunately the area of what is "fair use" is a little murky. I did find this information posted by the University of Melbourne:

"Saving pdfs of items in an EndNote Library is permitted for the purposes of research and study (s 40) under Fair Dealing in the Copyright Act 1968. However, sharing pdfs as part of an EndNote library s not permitted and would be an infringement of the Copyright Act 1968."

Obviously, this applies to Australia, but until I get clarification I assume it can be taken as a general guide to keeping electronic copies of PDFs. I'll keep you posted. Comments and information on this issue most welcome!

Here's a brief description of the Fair Use Doctrine

New PubMed ID (PMID) and PubMed Central ID (PMCID) Fields Added to the RefWorks Record

2008-08-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's good to see that both EndNote and RefWorks are responding to the NIH Public Access Policy's requirement to include the PubMed Central ID number in bibliographies. In its August release RefWorks has now added two new fields to every reference type reflecting the changes made by the NIH. These fields are the PubMed ID (PMID) and the PubMed Central ID (PMCID).

You can read about all the new features here.

RefWorks Users: Use RefGrab-It to Capture Citation Information from Web Pages

2008-07-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

RefGrab-It is a neat little tool that RefWorks users can use to capture citation information from web pages. You can then view and import that data into your RefWorks account. It works with your browser. When you use RefGrab-It on a web page, it automatically opens a "temporary results page" in a new window. You can view the information and additional resources first, then decide if you want to import the data.

For more information go to the RefWorks website. You can also view this brief online tutorial.

Software Update for EndNote X1 & Word 2008 on the Mac

2008-07-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Mac users can finally use all EndNote X1 functions (specifically the integration of Cite While You Write) with MS Office 2008. Users of EndNote X1 for Mac OS X can now download a software patch from the EndNote website.

Users of EndNote X and lower will either have to upgrade or continue using older versions of EndNote with Word 2004.

EndNote Licenses for $69.99!!

2008-07-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

EndNote just got a lot cheaper. UCSF personnel can now purchase an EndNote software license for just $69.99. According to the folks at the UCSF Technology Store the licensed version has the same features as the standard version. It just comes without the box and CD manual.

Licenses are currently available for EndNote X2 (Windows only at this time) and EndNote X1 (both Mac and Windows).

For more information visit the UCSF Technology Store website.

Use RefShare to Share Your RefWorks References with Colleagues and Students

2008-07-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

Want a quick and easy way to share references or bibliographies with colleagues or students? RefWorks users have access to RefShare, a cool tool that provides you with a quick and easy way to share references with colleagues and students. You can share your whole database or just specific folders. While RefWorks allows you to save and organize references, as well as output bibliographies, sharing your bibliography with students or colleagues requires you to export or output your citations in some way. With RefShare it only takes a click or two to make your bibliography viewable by anyone.

RefShare allows you to make selected parts of your RefWorks library available to others, including:

a stable URL accessible by anyone, even non-Refworks users
options allowing you to export, print, or create bibliographies from your shared references
RSS feeds
adding comments to a reference

You can view a short web tutorial on using RefShare here.

View/print a guide to using RefShare with RefWorks.

Feel free to send any comments or questions.

EndNote X2 : Captures & Downloads PDFs

2008-06-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yet another EndNote upgrade has been released but this one may have been worth waiting for. EndNote X2 is a major upgrade offering what users have been clamoring for - automatic downloading of PDFs!

EndNote X2 for Windows was released a couple of weeks ago. As usual, Mac users will have to wait a few months. The Mac version should be available towards the end of summer.

You can view X2 online tutorials here.

EndNote X2 is available from the UCSF Technology Store.

Update on Using RefWorks to Capture the PMCID Number

2008-06-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last week I asked the RefWorks folks how they were going to incorporate the PMCID number into bibliographic styles. This is their reply:

"RefWorks has included the new required information in our import filter for NLM PubMed. We are placing both the PMC and MID tagged elements in the Notes field at present. We will look at placing this information in their own fields when the information is formally addressed by the major bibliographic style and journal publishers. For the time being, however, it will remain mapped to the Notes field."

I've put together a MS Word handout giving you a fairly easy way to add the PMCID number to a RefWorks' output style. You can access it here.

2008-06-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Zotero (pronounced zoh-TAIR-oh).

There seems to be a lot of buzz about Zotero on UC campuses and in blogworld. The following message from Terri at SFGH nicely summarizes what it does:

"I have recently started to use Zotero the Firefox extension and I am finding it fairly easy to use and I like its ability to store screen shots of webpage as well as links, article citations and PDFs and add notes and organize related items in libraries. In addition to easy capture and organization of information from the web it also has the capability of generating formatted bibliographies and includes a Word plug in similar to Cite while you write. "

Zotero is open source software, so it's free. It's an easy-to-use yet powerful research tool that helps you gather, organize, and analyze sources (citations, full texts, web pages, images, and other objects), and lets you share the results of your research in a variety of ways. Zotero integrates tightly with online resource.

Before you decide to try it keep in mind that at present Zotero is tightly linked to the Firefox browser only and will not work with Internet Explorer. It's also the new kid on the block, while EndNote and RefWorks are well established tools and have a huge user base. There are advantages and disadvantages to all bibliographic/research tools. I'll be writing more about Zotero in the future.

Click here to go to the Zotero website for more information.

Please remember that the library does not endorse any particular software application.

Looking for Software to Organize your PDF Collection? Consider "Papers."

2008-06-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Looking for software to organize your growing collection of PDFs? One of the most popular ones is Papers - sort of an iTunes for PDF journal articles. This commercial application lets you do your PubMed searches, link to the journal website and download the PDF all from within papers. Unlike programs such as EndNote or RefWorks it does not have a bibliography formatting feature but can be used in conjunction with EndNote. As far as I know, it's a Mac OS X application and there's no equivalent version for Windows. And it's not free - costs around $29.

There's a nice review here.

RefWorks and Mac OS Leopard

2008-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

This week a student sent me this message:

"I'm having a bad time with refworks and leopard on my mac. Does it work on leopard?"

Mac users should download the latest Mac version of Write-N-Cite. This version 2.5 works with Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac and the Leopard operating system, and it has the same features as the current Write-N-Cite for Mac. Download the new version from within your RefWorks account by selecting Tools, then Write-N-Cite.

Other users have reported some problems with Write-n-Cite on the Mac. Let me know and I'll try and find out what the problem is.

RefWorks and the NIH Public Access Policy: How to Deal with the PMCID.

2008-05-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Applying for an NIH grant using RefWorks? As you may know, as of May 25, 2008, you must note the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) on any NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports when citing an article that falls under the new NIH Public Access Policy.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries have now put up this great page on Using RefWorks to Manage NIHMSID & PMCID Numbers. If you wish you can download the instructions as a PDF file.

Applying for an NIH Grant? How to get the PMCID into EndNote.

2008-05-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Applying for an NIH grant? As of May 25, 2008, you must note the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) on any NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports when citing an article that falls under the new NIH Public Access Policy. The EndNote folks have now released new PubMed files that include the PMCID. See this EndNote FAQ for more information. (I'll provide more detailed information later when I've had a chance to work with the new filter and output style.)

New! Attach PDFs & Other Files to Your RefWorks References

2008-05-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

UCSF RefWorks users can now easily attach files to saved references, just like you can with an email message. If you have a RefWorks account, you can now organize and store images, PDFs, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and other files within your online RefWorks account. Attach a File within RefWorks by "Editing" an existing reference, browsing for the file, and clicking "Add Attachment." For more information, see the RefWorks' Attachments fact sheet.

There is no limit to the number of files you can attach to your reference, but there is a limit of 100MB per user and the maximum size of any individual attachment is 5 MB. You will receive a message alerting you if you exceed either the file size limit or the limit set for your individual account

Compatibility Issues with EndNote 7 and Later Versions

2008-05-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

EndNote versions 8 and above are not compatible with EndNote 7 and earlier versions. If you use EndNote on more than one computer, make sure that you have the same version of EndNote on all computers. If you collaborate with colleagues, make sure that they are all using the same version of EndNote as you are using.

LexisNexis Academic Now Exports to RefWorks

2008-04-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

You no longer have to cut and paste newspaper records from LexisNexis Academic into a bibliographic database. LexisNexis Academic now exports records directly to RefWorks. Just follow the steps below.

- Conduct your search and select your records to export.
- Click on the Export Bibliographic Records (book) icon.
- A new window will open and RefWorks Direct Export Format is automatically selected.
- Confirm your Document Range and click Export.
- You'll be prompted to login to your RefWorks database.
- Your records should appear in the Last Imported Folder.

RefWorks Windows Users can Now Work Offline

2008-04-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Using RefWorks for Windows? You can now write and format a paper while offline with the new version of Write-N-Cite.

Simply download your RefWorks database from within Write-N-Cite III while online, then feel free to disconnect from the internet. Full Write-N-Cite functionality is available while offline, including formatting your paper in the journal output style.

Details are available in the RefWorks online help section Writing Your Paper Offline.

RefWorks Write-N-Cite and Vista

2008-04-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Windows RefWorks users using the Vista operating system will find that there are compatibility problems with Vista (surprise, surprise!). However, there's a new version of WNC that should fix things. To download the new version go to the Write-N-Cite site via the Tools/Write-N-Cite option on the main RefWorks toolbar.

Using RefWorks with Word Perfect and Other Word Processors

2008-03-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

RefWorks can work with your word processor to create citations while you are writing your paper. However, the Write-n-Cite plugin only works with MS Word. If you're using WordPerfect or any other word processing application you can get around this by using the One Line/Cite View option. One Line/Cite View does not require downloading a plug-in and is compatible with any word processing software.

The RefWorks site has a short online tutorial on how to use One Line/Cite View http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/ when formatting a document.