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Reference Manager Technical Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Importing References
1. I have a list of references in a document that was not created using Reference Manager. Can I import these into Reference Manager?
The Import Text File command allows you to import references from a plain text file using an Import Filter. The Import Filter is a file used by Reference Manager to determine how the imported information is to be organised and formatted.
Before importing references, the data in the text file must be in a format that Reference Manager can read, ie, the data must be both delimited and tagged.
Delimited data has a "delimiter" between fields. A delimiter is a character, like a hard return, that is inserted between fields. Delimiters are necessary for Reference Manager to determine where each field begins and ends.
Tagged data has a label at the beginning of each field, eg AU: preceding the author name, TI - preceding the title. Tags are necessary for Reference Manager to determine which fields to put the data from the text file.
Each data service uses a unique tagged format for its files. Reference Manager's Import module contains a specific translator for each data service.
2. When importing, I get a message saying "Import Successfully Completed" but when I check the Import Log it says "0 reference(s) imported out of 0". Why haven't my references been imported?
This error message usually indicates that you are using the wrong Import Filter. Choose a different filter and try again.
3. When I try to use a website's Direct Export feature to export references into my Reference Manager database, I get a "File Not Found" error. How do I fix this?
This error indicates you need to delete the temporary internet files on your local drive because the cache is full. To delete the temporary internet files:
- Open Internet Explorer. Go to the Tools Menu and choose Internet Options.
- Under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button. When the files have been deleted, click OK.
- Try the Direct Export feature again.
The same error can also occur with Netscape and Mozilla. To delete the temporary internet files:
- Open Netscape / Mozilla. Go to the Edit Menu and choose Preferences.
- Click on Advanced, then click on Cache.
- Clear the disk cache and the memory cache.
- Try the Direct Export feature again.
4. When trying to import a text file, I received a message "Error adding reference. Unable to continue."
This message indicates that the database to which you are trying to add references to is corrupted. You will need to rebuild your database before you can add to it.
5. How can I download and import references from PubMed's website?
Follow the steps below to download your search results from the PubMed website and import them into your Reference Manager database. These steps refer to the PubMed navigation bar on their website, illustrated below:
1. Go to the PubMed website in your web browser. The address is http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez.
2. Execute your searches to obtain search results (Select "Clipboard" from the "Send to" drop down in the PubMed navigation bar to save records from multiple searches as you work).
3. On the search results page, select "MEDLINE" in the Display dropdown menu in the PubMed navigation bar, which is set to Summary by default.
4. Choose "File" from the "Send to" drop down menu in the PubMed navigation bar. This should bring up a dialog box allowing you to save the text file containing your selected references.
Note: If you use File>Save from your browser, instead of the Send To pull down, the file will not import.
If you have a popup blocker enabled, such as the one that comes by default from Windows XP Service Pack 2, you may need to disable the popup blocker temporarily to allow the PubMed website to send you the file.
5. When the Save dialog box comes up for you to save the file to your computer, click on the "Save" button and save the file somewhere easily accessible such as your desktop (we recommend saving with the file extension *.txt).
6. In Reference Manager, open the database where you would like these references saved.
7. Under the File menu (or References menu for RefMan 9/10) select "Import Text File".
8. In the Filters field, select the Browse button [...] and select the Import filter called "PubMed.cap".
9. In the Text File field, select the Browse button [...], and then select your downloaded *.txt file.
10. Click the Import button and your references will be imported.
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