Answered By: Caltech Research Librarians
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024     Views: 4557

This 7-step process is a relatively easy way to import citations and PDFs from EndNote into Zotero:

  1. In EndNote, select the citations you want to export and then go to File > Export; a dialog box will pop up asking you where to save the export file.

    Screenshot of EndNote X8 File drop down menu highlighting Export.

  2. Navigate to your EndNote data directory (typically, My Documents\endnote.Data); this directory contains a 'PDF' folder, but you should be sure to select the data directory rather than any sub-directory; this is important: Zotero will look for file attachments in a directory relative to the XML file you are exporting now. If this file is located in the wrong place during import into Zotero, file attachments will not be imported.
     
  3. Set “Save as type” to XML and save as a .xml file; if you want to export a subset of your library and have selected specific items to export, check the 'Export Selected References' box; otherwise, make sure it is unchecked.

    Screenshot of EndNote folder structure to save an export in.
     
  4. In Zotero, go to File > Import.

    Screenshot of Zotero File drop down menu highlighting Import.
     
  5. When asked "Where do you want to import from?" choose "A file (BibTeX, RIS, Zotero RDF, etc.)."

    Screenshot of Zotero's Import popup window.
     
  6. Find and double-click the XML file that was exported from EndNote.

    Screenshot of where to find and select EndNote file to import.
     
  7. Citations are added to a Zotero collection sharing the same name as the .xml file (in most cases 'My EndNote Library').

    Screenshot of folder structure in Zotero highlight new import from EndNote.

(To rename this collection, right-click on it and select 'Rename Collection.')

Screenshot of using right-click to rename a folder in Zotero.


See Zotero's documentation on importing from EndNote for additional information.


Part or all of this answer is adapted from Zotero wiki content distributed under various Creative Commons licenses. Additional content may have been adapted from the Zotero Research Guide by Jason Puckett and licensed by Georgia State University Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License.

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