Endnote 5.0 Upgrade

Rating:
Summary: evolutionary upgrade; compatibility problems
Review: EndNote version 5 does not revolutionary change the way how EndNote looks a feels, but it adds a few nice touches. First of all, you get a toolbar in Word which enables you to access the main 10 features of EndNote without browsing through the menus. Secondly, it has a very nice feature which formats references immediately as you add them to the text. This is very convenient when you are writing a camera-ready paper with figures, and want to have good feeling of the length and format of the paper. Version 5 also has a built-in spell-checker, which is handy when you generate database entries by typing in the titles and abstracts of the articles.

A controversial part of the upgrade is the so-called "Traveling library". The format of the formatted EndNote fields has changed, they now contain complete reference data which enables your collegue who may not even have your database to use parts of your documents in his work and even change the output style of the citations. Unfortunately, the negative side of this new feature is that version 5 cannot unformat the references which were formatted in version 4, and vice versa. This means that (a) you have to unformat all your old documents before making the upgrade, and (b) you may have some compatibility issues with your collegues who run versions 1-4. I am surprised why the developers could not add the feature "unformat version 4 references" to ensure the complete compatibility and smooth transition to version 5.

The format of EndNote libraries (databases) remained the same, I did not experience any compatibility problems there.

Overall, EndNote is a great program, I cannot imagine my work without it. If you already have version 4, then I am not sure that an upgrade to version 5 is really worth the money. In contrast, an upgrade over 2 versions, e.g., from version 3 to version 5, makes sufficient difference to justify the expense.

Rating:
Summary: Couln't live without it!
Review: From high school student to professional, it you are at all serious about scholarly writing or even just expect to do a lot of it (whether you like it or not), this product is for you! My productivity has skyrocketed since I purchased EndNote last year. Sure, there are some improvements that could be made, but all in all, a fantastic product!

Here's how it works: EndNote builds a database of information about the articles, books, and other items you want to cite in your paper. You fill in a template with the bits of information needed to cite a source properly, which might vary for an edited book, a web site, or whatever type of source you are using. (You can even type in or scan in text from your sources as well.) Then, as you write your paper in Word or WordPerfect, you will find an added EndNote toolbar along the top of your page. After you type in something you want to cite, click to open the list of sources, and drop the one you want into the paper. (At this point I always edit the citation by adding the page number). EndNote *automatically* puts this citation into the citation style you choose, and at the same time generates a "works cited" list at the end of the file. It's that simple!!

And even better: if you need to change the citation style -- say you wrote it in MLA style but are submitting to an APA style journal -- it just takes a few clicks to change the style! I have had to go back and clean up citations once or twice when doing this, but it's a lot easier than re-doing the whole paper.

Another nice feature is the ability to download citations directly from some databases and library catalogs, saving you keystrokes. It's a nice program to use to keep track of your personal library as well, since it has searchable keyword fields.

I highly recommend this program! If you are a student contemplating a few years of serious writing in college, this will save you an enormous amount of time. If you write scholarly articles, this will keep you so organized you will have hours more time for research. And if you just collect books and articles of topics that interest you, it's still a great way to keep your information organized.

Rating:
Summary: Couln't live without it!
Review: From high school student to professional, it you are at all serious about scholarly writing or even just expect to do a lot of it (whether you like it or not), this product is for you! My productivity has skyrocketed since I purchased EndNote last year. Sure, there are some improvements that could be made, but all in all, a fantastic product!

Here's how it works: EndNote builds a database of information about the articles, books, and other items you want to cite in your paper. You fill in a template with the bits of information needed to cite a source properly, which might vary for an edited book, a web site, or whatever type of source you are using. (You can even type in or scan in text from your sources as well.) Then, as you write your paper in Word or WordPerfect, you will find an added EndNote toolbar along the top of your page. After you type in something you want to cite, click to open the list of sources, and drop the one you want into the paper. (At this point I always edit the citation by adding the page number). EndNote *automatically* puts this citation into the citation style you choose, and at the same time generates a "works cited" list at the end of the file. It's that simple!!

And even better: if you need to change the citation style -- say you wrote it in MLA style but are submitting to an APA style journal -- it just takes a few clicks to change the style! I have had to go back and clean up citations once or twice when doing this, but it's a lot easier than re-doing the whole paper.

Another nice feature is the ability to download citations directly from some databases and library catalogs, saving you keystrokes. It's a nice program to use to keep track of your personal library as well, since it has searchable keyword fields.

I highly recommend this program! If you are a student contemplating a few years of serious writing in college, this will save you an enormous amount of time. If you write scholarly articles, this will keep you so organized you will have hours more time for research. And if you just collect books and articles of topics that interest you, it's still a great way to keep your information organized.

Rating:
Summary: Time Saver
Review: I used EndNotes for my doctoral dissertation and realize the many hours I saved by using the EndNote feature of typing in a keyword, then reviewing the list of my references that addressed the keyword topic.

With the simplicity of entering data as one writes, there is no hectic searching upon completion of a writing to locate the correct reference for inclusion in the bibliography.

Two shortcomings: 1. No spell check, which I understand is now available in the upgrade. 2. Awkwardness in including references read, but not cited in the work.