Some of you may have already heard this, but I found out yesterday via Facebook that UW-Madison is canceling their RefWorks subscription in June 2013. I emailed their reference service and asked why and heard back that it was a cost issue and that there are other tools like Mendeley and Zotero that their users prefer.
--Lisa
RefWorks has released a new version of WNC for the Mac which is compatible with operating systems Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion and Word 2008-11.
This version seems to work very differently than 2.5. I've just downloaded it and am already receiving error messages around it, so it may be a bit buggy still for account holders with lots of citations. I'm currently unable to view my citations at the Folder level.
Other enhancements include some drag-n-drop features for moving citations around to different folders and quick links for sharing folder data on Twitter and FB.
You can watch a video of new enhancement for January 2012 here.
Lisa
From RefWorks' Facebook page:
Mac users, please be aware that Write-N-Cite 2.5 is not supported by OS X Lion (Apple's recently released OS update). If you have already updated your operating system, here are some steps you can take to create a bibliography using our One-line/Cite View. We will be making an announcement about the new version of Write-N-Cite later this summer, and, yes, it will support Lion!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/682844/olcv.mov
Now that RefWorks 2.0 is here there are a few bugs that we need to report to RefWorks. If you notice that after importing citations into 2.0, you cannot see all of your folders (e.g. just the permanent folders display), try to capture this image and email the problem to RW at support@refworks.com
This is a known issue but the more that others report it, the quicker the fix will come.
Also, RefWorks now updates the software approximately every 3 weeks and they no longer send administrators a list of new upgrades.
Lisa
Hi all,
Yesterday I helped a patron who had been exclusively using Google Scholar to find citations for her research. She was using the Find It link within Google Scholar to bring citations into her RW account.
She didn't notice it at the time, but apparently using the 'Export to RefWorks' link within Find It from GS only brought the first author name into her RW account.
I tested this and had the same experience. I then tested importing from GS using the preferences method (this puts the 'Import to RefWorks' link at the bottom of the citation and snippet). This method does bring in all author names.
I tested using Find It again, this time in PubMed and did get all the author names. So this may be limited to using the Find It menu within Google Scholar to bring in references.
Personally, I've never been a fan of using Find It to import into RW, especially when you are in a database. It doesn't make too much sense to me to import one at a time, when you can batch send, but since GS doesn't give you an option to batch send you are stuck using Find It or setting the preferences option.
I've opened a help ticket on this so I'll write back and let you all know what I hear, but in the interim just keep this one in mind. I'd be interested to hear if anyone here actually teaches the Find It menu as a way to send items to RW.
Lisa
Just to follow up about the Ovid/RefWorks direct export problem - I emailed RefWorks technical support, and they're aware of the problem. They said Ovid is working to fix this problem, and the last update they have received is that Ovid hopes to have it working consistently by the end of this week. So, hopefully this problem will be resolved soon.
Liz
Hi all,
The question of whether alums have access to RefWorks after they graduate has come up several times lately, and the official word from Jan Fransen is that yes, they do have access after graduation.
After graduating, people can access their RefWorks account by going to www.refworks.com and choosing the Login option (currently on the left side of page under their big banner). If it doesn't default to it, they'll need to choose the "remote access" tab on the next screen (note: if you click the RefWorks login while you're on campus, it will direct you to the U's RW login screen, so you won't see what people off campus see unless you click the "login using your group code" link), and enter the U of M group code.
The group code is password protected on our page, so it's okay to give it out to alums if they don't have it and ask for it by phone or email.
I think that's all you need to know about alumni access - let me know if you have any questions.
Liz
Just to post this note from Steve Irons for reference, in case we get questions from patrons with a similar problem...
"Over the last week or so, I have come across a few staff computers
where Write-n-Cite III has suddenly decided not to recognize the
computer and asks for a group code. However, when our group code is
entered, it is rejected and the user cannot connect.
I am not sure why this is happening, since all the settings on the
computer appear to be correct. The solution to the problem is to
simply uninstall and reinstall the application."
Hi all,
You may have heard that RefWorks is going to be rolling out a new version. This 2.0 version of RefWorks consists of cosmetic changes only, no functionality is changed. I don't know if we are going to be pointing to the new version of RW when it comes out, or whether we are going to stay on the 'classic' view for awhile.
In either case, RW is offering webinars on the 2.0 interface. You can use this link to sign up for these.
Lisa
This just came through the AP list from Jon Jeffryes in SciEng, regarding a patron who says that he can't access WNC III on his Windows 7 computer. Here is the response he got from RefWorks:
Hello Jon,
I believe the issue will be more with the use of WNC III for Windows and MS Word 2003 than anything else. WNC III was created for use primarily for MS Word 2007 users who were on Vista.
I will provide some troubleshooting guidelines for WNC III but you will notice they refer more to things found in MS Word 2007 but may provide some ideas to your user.
Would you please try the following suggestions?
1. Open WNC III from the Start Menu and see if the error message reoccurs
2. Open WNC III from the Tools (or Add-Ins) menu within MS Word
a. With an existing document open
b. With no document open
3. Open WNC III from the desktop, if you have a shortcut placed there
We have had users report different results within these scenarios and would appreciate any observations you may be able to provide to us. We are hoping to have a solution as soon as we are able to identify the specific cause of the problem. So far, the results of users' feedback have failed to point to a single issue for us to address.
If WNC III is not present in the Add-Ins list in MS Word 2007, select the round MS Office button with the red-yellow-green-blue logo and select Word Options from the lower-right of the panel. Then from the resulting window, select Add-Ins from the column on the left. You will see the following and we want to see that RefWorks.dot is an active Add-In.
If Refworks.dot is not active, open the drop down menu at the bottom of the page to Word Add-Ins and select the Go button.
Once open, you will want to select the Templates tab and check to make sure the Refworks.dot is checked and if not, you will want to use the Add... button to activate it.
If there is any security software on the computer it would be helpful to know what it is and the version of MS Word in use on the computer. Because firewalls not only help manage online work, it is important to note that is can block programs (in this case MS Word and MS Internet Explorer) from working together and this is the most likely cause. The Windows Firewall will need to have WNC III listed as a permitted exception allowing our plug-in to communicate with those programs and online resources required.
Another scenario we have seen that causes WNC to fail is when the user is working out of a roaming profile or from a limited installation of WNC III on the computer to just the Admin account. It has been shown that creating another profile on the computer and installing WNC III again for all users is a possible solution worth considering. Anytime WNC is installed the user is given the opportunity to install for all users on the machine and doing this has a much higher rate of success than installing for the single user.
Please let me know if you have other questions or the need for further assistance.
______________________________
Jay Lesseig
Senior Technical Support Specialist
1155 West 4th Avenue, Suite 212
Reno, NV 89503 USA
t. +1.775.327.4105
f. +1.775.327.4112
Jay.Lesseig@refworks-cos.com
www.refworks-cos.com
Hi all,
I've created a PDF document that explains how to move citations from StatRef into RefWorks.
There's recently been some transition with how these new RW guides get onto the web site so this may take a wee bit of time to be uploaded on the site.
Lisa
Hi all,
Sometimes WNC does not recognize the U of M group code for off-campus users and people see a message that says:
"You have entered an invalid Group code. Please see your department or institution administrator for the correct code"
This problem may be fixed by setting up WNC with the U of M's proxy server address. Here are instructions on how to do this for PC and Mac users. Patrons should be told to uninstall WNC and then reinstall with these instructions:
Downloading/Configuring the Windows Write-N-Cite
1. Login to RefWorks if you have not done so already.
2. Select Write-N-Cite from the Tools drop down menu at the top of the screen.
3. Click on For the Windows version--Click Here to download the plug-in.
4. Click Save if another window appears and save to desired location.
5. Close RefWorks. You will automatically be logged out.
6. Find the RefWorks plug-in (wncinstall.exe) and click to start installation.
7. When asked to restart your computer, click OK.
8. Go to Start > Programs > RefWorks/WNC Proxy Configuration Utility.
9. In the box that appears for proxy server information, type the following URL:
http://floyd.lib.umn.edu/login?url=https://www.refworks.com/Refworks/?WNC=true
10. Click OK.
Downloading/Configuring the Macintosh Write-N-Cite
Note: Do not install Write-N-Cite with Microsoft Word running
1. Login to RefWorks if you have not done so already.
2. Select Write-N-Cite from the Tools drop down menu at the top of the screen.
3. Click on For the Mac version--Click Here to download the plug-in.
4. After downloading the file, drag Write-N-Cite to your Applications folder.
5. Launch Write-N-Cite file.
6. Select Preferences from the Write-N-Cite menu.
7. Select the Proxy option and enter the following URL:
http://floyd.lib.umn.edu/login?url=https://www.refworks.com/Refworks/?WNC=true
8. Restart Write-N-Cite for this proxy configuration to take effect.
Lisa
All EBSCOhost databases are currently not able to direct export into RefWorks at this time. This is problem on RW's end and they know about it and are working on a fix. They expect this to be resolved sometime on Friday.
In the interim, users can still save citations in these databases and then export out to a .txt file and then import into RW.
Here are the steps you can email/tell users:
To Manually Save and Export Records:
1. Conduct a search.
2. Click on the Add to folder icon for each of the results you want to save.
3. Click on the Folder icon in the upper right-hand corner.
4. Re-select the references to export.
5. Click on the Export icon.
6. Click the radio button in front of Generic bibliographic management software.
Note: Uncheck the Remove these items from folder after saving option, if you want items to remain in the folder after performing the export function.
7. Click Save.
8. From the File menu select Save As.
9. Select the location where you want to save the file, type the name you want and select Text as the Save As Type.
10. Log in to RefWorks.
11. Select References/Import from the toolbar.
12. Select EBSCOhost as the data source and the appropriate database you searched from.
13. Browse to find the text file you saved to your computer.
14. Click Import.
15. Your records should appear in the Last Imported Folder.
lisa
Still cleaning out email! Here's another useful note from Jon Jeffryes about some resources for Zotero and RefWorks:
Over here at Sci/Eng we've put together a Moodle version of our Zotero workshop that I thought I'd share with the wider AP audience...feel free to take a look and send me your feedback. (I'll add the link to the Info Lit Toolkit as well)
https://moodle.umn.edu/course/view.php?id=5223
If you want to refer people to this site or use/adapt it in some other way to meet your instructional/reference needs, please feel free.
Also if you want to be added to the roster of instructors that we provide contact links to in the right hand column, I'll be happy to add you.
And Kate Peterson helped Jan Fransen and me record our last RefWorks session...we've linked to it on our Moodle page and our Twitter account. If you're interested to see what Connect can do for recording class sessions, feel free to take a listen: https://umconnect.umn.edu/p60171185/
I found this email from a few weeks ago from Jon Jeffryes, linking to a useful chart Meghan Lafferty put together comparing citation managers. Enjoy!
Do you get questions asking you the pros and cons of various citation managers...Meghan Lafferty put together this chart as part of "Intro to Citation Managers" workshop.
Here's the url: http://courses.lib.umn.edu/page.phtml?page_id=3119
Feel free to distribute...if you have any thoughts, additions, comments...let Meghan or I know and we'll be happy to discuss.
Best,
Jon
Just a heads up...
RefWorks is planning to launch a new streamlined user interface by year end. They are basing their changes on an analysis of user workflows, a collection of user surveys, and end-user review sessions. I took part in a testing session and it looks a lot different, but the transition should be quite intuitive for current users and work fine for new users. Nevertheless, we'll need to update materials and get used to the new interface when the time comes.
Once launched, the new user interface will be made available in conjunction with the current version of RefWorks to allow for transition. There is no solid launch date yet, but we'll make further plans as we hear more!
Liz
Hello all,
A question came up a few days ago about how to share a RefWorks custom output style. If you've ever created a custom output style before, you know that it's a lot of picky little detail work to make sure it comes out correctly. So, how can you send this style to someone else's RefWorks account, so that they can use it too?
Here's what to do:
1. From either the Tools or the References menu select Backup/Restore.
2. By default, all the available elements are selected. Uncheck all the boxes except for the custom style you want to share. Important - make sure you don't include your references in the backup, because if you do it will overwrite all the references in whatever account you import it to!
3. Click on Perform Backup.
4. Save the file when prompted. If you are not prompted to save the file, click the link that says "Click here to save your backup file" to download the backup to your computer. The default file name is a combination of our Group Code and your login name. It will be saved as a .zip or .rwb file extension. Do not change the extension of the file! This is the file you will send to other users who want to use the custom style.
For the person receiving the file with the custom output filter:
1. From either the Tools or the References menu select Backup/Restore.
2. Select the Restore option.
3. Browse for the appropriate back up file.
4. Select "Include Output Styles."
5. Click on "Perform Restore."
It appears to work like a charm - let me know if you have any questions.
Liz
Apologies to those of you who have seen this. Jon Jeffryes posted a heads up to the AP listserv this morning about a Write-N-Cite/Mac glitch that I thought was worth passing along....
Emily
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi all,
I'm not sure if this is old news to users, but I've been working closely with RefWorks for a couple years now and I thought this issue had been resolved...so just a heads up in case the question comes your way.
Write-N-Cite with Macs is still only compatible with .doc file types. .docx files cause Write-N-Cite to error out. I was working with a patron that was getting quite a headache over this and we eventually contacted RefWorks support.
RefWorks is working on a fix...but until then Mac users that have the newest version of Word should probably be advised to save their documents as .doc before formatting the final document in Write-n-Cite.
This issue *does not* occur with PCs.
Best,
Jon