Cite-While-You-Write (CWYW)
About CWYW
The EndNote Cite-While-You-Write (CWYW) function adds an EndNote toolbar to Microsoft Word, and EndNote options to Pages 09 (Mac).CWYW allows you to insert citations for references from your EndNote library in a Word document, and automatically generate a reference list using the selected referencing style.
If the Endnote toolbar does not appear in Microsoft Word, see: I can't find the EndNote toolbar in Word in the EndNote FAQs.
The EndNote toolbar in MS Word
The EndNote Toolbar in Microsoft Word is divided into three sections:
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Tools
Citations

- Click Insert Citation to display the Insert Citation menu.
- Click Find Citation... to search your EndNote library and insert in-text citations into your Word document in the selected referencing style (call output styles in EndNote).
- Click Insert Note to add a note to a Word document that will appear in the references list along the with the citations. Some journal styles (such as Science) require that you include notes along with the list of works cited at the end of the document.
- Click Insert Selected Citation(s) to insert the citations that you have highlighted in your EndNote library into your Word document.
- Click Find Figure... to locate images, charts, etc. that are in your EndNote library and insert them in your Word document. A table of figures is automatically generated by EndNote when you insert a figure.
- Click Go to EndNote to switch to the EndNote program.
- Click Edit Citation(s) to edit an in-text citation. It is also the safest option for removing a citation from your Word document.
- Click Edit Library Reference(s) to switch to EndNote and open the reference in which the cursor is located
Bibliography

- Use the Style drop-down menu to change the referencing style within your Word document.
- Click Update Citations & Bibliography to format (or reformat) your document in accord with the selected bibliographic output style.
- Click Convert Citations and Bibliography to display the Convert Citations and Bibliography menu.
- Click Convert to Unformatted Citations to remove the Endnote coding from your document and use temporary citation delimiters to mark your citations. This also removes your reference list.
- Click Convert to Plain Text to create another copy of your document that is visually identical to the original document but does not have any Endnote coding.
- Click Convert Word 2007 Citations to EndNote to convert any Word references (inserted using the References tools in Word 2007) into active Endnote references.
Tools

- Click Export to Endnote to display the Export to Endnote menu, which allows you to create a travelling library (used to email or share libraries) or export Word citations into Endnote.
- Click Preferences to open the EndNote Cite While You Write Preferences window, which allows you to change the settings for Endnote in Word.
- Click Help to switch to the EndNote program and open the Help window.
Bibliography preferences

- Click the small arrow next to Bibliography to display the EndNote Format Bibliography window.
- Click the Format Bibliography tab to change the output style and change the temporary citation delimiters for one or more documents.
- Click the Layout tab to change the formatting of your reference list.
- Click the Instant Formatting tab to change the instant formatting settings.
- Click the Libraries Used tab to select the libraries used for referencing in the document.
Working with large documents
When using Endnote with large documents such as theses it is important to decide whether to work with one large document or separate chapters.
If you decide to work with one large document it is recommended that you use unformatted citations because formatted citations:
- may slow down the opening and saving of the document; the hidden field code data can significantly increase the size of the file
- will increase the chances of corrupting data when editing sections of text, ie. cutting and pasting text that includes in-text citations and hidden field codes.
Notes
- Unlike formatted citations, unformatted citations require you to have the corresponding EndNote library open in order to format the paper again.
- The Edit Citation(s) button does not work with unformatted citations. You will need to format the citations before using the Edit Citation(s) button to change the any content in the in-text citations (eg. add page numbers) or manually edit the unformatted in-text citations.
e.g. adding '@25' to this citation {Zhang, 2007 #1@25} causes the formatted citation to appear as (Zhang, Watson, & Banfield, 2007, p. 25).
- Un-formatting changes the format of your in-text citations, and removes the reference list. Using the Update Citations and Bibliography button will re-format your in-text citations and insert a reference list.
If you decide to work with separate chapters you will need to merge your chapters once you are finished into a single document. To do this you should un-format the citations in each chapter, merge the chapters into a single document and then re-format the citations and reference list.
For more information see the Endnote FAQs.
- You should backup your Word document and Endnote files - including your Endnote library (the .enl file) and associated .Data folder - frequently, and preferably to different locations, e.g. P Drive on CSU network, different computers, external hard drive or other mobile device.
Further Resources
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Training notes for EndNote X4 (Win). (2009). Charles Sturt University, Division of Library Services.
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Training notes for EndNote X4 (Mac). (2009). Charles Sturt University, Division of Library Services.
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Step-by-step guide for referencing using footnotes and Chicago 15th (Win). (2009). Charles Sturt University, Division of Library Services.
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EndNote X4 : Getting started guide. Chapter 9: Using EndNote while writing a paper with Microsoft Word. (2010). [United States]: Thomson Reuters.
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EndNote X4 : Help guide. Citing sources as you write. p.181-188
- Bibliographies Made Easy. YouTube video. (This contains information on the Cite While You write feature).
- Cite While You Write for Mac (Word 2008). YouTube video.