What do you do if your data is not in a format that EndNote can automatically import? You can do one of several things (or even a combination these options):
Rearrange the reference data using your word processor so that it is in a format that EndNote can import (one of the two options listed at the end of this topic).
Copy and paste each piece of data from its source into the proper fields in EndNote, as described in Copying and Pasting References.
Enter the data manually by typing it into EndNote as described in Entering References.
Creating a file that EndNote can import can be a lot of work if your data is in an arbitrary or inconsistent format. If you only have a few references to import (less than 30 or 40), it might be faster and easier to retype them or copy and paste the references than to try to put them into a format that EndNote can import.
However, if you have many references to import, it might save time to first manipulate the data in a word processor as best you can, and then import the references into EndNote and clean up the references there. Even if the imported data does not come through perfectly, it can be rearranged with EndNote’s various commands, drag-and-drop, and copy and paste.
These are two different formats that you can put your data into such that it can be imported into EndNote:
A tab-delimited format (best if your data is in a database or spreadsheet that can export to a tab-delimited file)
A tagged format (best for when your data is in a word processor document and looks like a bibliography)
Note: To allow for the appropriate import of Unicode characters, save TextEdit files as Western (Mac OS Roman), and save Microsoft Word files as Unicode Text (UTF-8). If the appropriate option does not appear on the Save dialog, you can first select it under Preferences.