EndNote XML Converter
Paste or upload the XML file from EndNote's File → Export and convert it to RIS for Zotero, Mendeley or a screening tool, to BibTeX for LaTeX, or to CSL JSON. Every record is read in your browser, and anything that could not be carried over is listed so you can check it. Nothing is uploaded. Free, no sign-up.
Paste the XML or upload the file from EndNote's File → Export (Save as type: XML). It is converted in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Paste or upload an EndNote XML export to convert it.
How to Use the EndNote XML Converter
- 1. Export from EndNote. Select the references (or the whole library), choose File → Export, set Save as type to XML, and save the file.
- 2. Add it here. Upload the .xml file or paste its text. An upload that is not valid UTF-8 is read as Windows-1252, and the page tells you.
- 3. Choose the format. RIS for most reference managers and screening tools, BibTeX for LaTeX and Overleaf, CSL JSON for Zotero and Pandoc.
- 4. Check the warnings, then download. The table shows the first records as they were read, and the warnings list anything that was missing or did not map.
Why Convert From EndNote XML
EndNote can write RIS itself with its RefMan (RIS) Export style, which is the simplest route if you have EndNote open. This tool is for the other cases: you were sent an XML file and do not have EndNote, you need BibTeX for a LaTeX project, or you want to see exactly what a conversion dropped before importing. The XML file keeps more structure than most exports — names are already split and the journal, abbreviation and DOI have their own elements — which is why the conversion can be explicit about what goes where.
How Fields Map
| EndNote XML element | RIS tag | BibTeX field |
|---|---|---|
| ref-type | TY | Entry type (see below) |
| contributors → authors | AU, one per author | author |
| contributors → secondary-authors | A2 | editor |
| titles → title | TI | title |
| periodical → full-title, or titles → secondary-title | T2 | journal or booktitle |
| periodical → abbr-1 | J2 | — |
| titles → tertiary-title | T3 | — |
| dates → year and pub-dates → date | PY and DA | year and month |
| volume, number, pages | VL, IS, SP and EP | volume, number, pages |
| publisher, pub-location, edition | PB, CY, ET | publisher, address, edition |
| isbn (ISSN or ISBN) | SN | isbn, when it is an ISBN |
| electronic-resource-num | DO | doi |
| urls → related-urls | UR (first), N1 (others) | url |
| keywords, abstract, notes | KW, AB, N1 | not written |
BibTeX has no standard fields for keywords, abstracts or journal abbreviations in this conversion, so use RIS or CSL JSON if you need them.
Reference Types
| EndNote type | RIS TY | BibTeX entry |
|---|---|---|
| Journal Article | JOUR | @article |
| Book | BOOK | @book |
| Book Section | CHAP | @incollection |
| Conference Paper | CPAPER | @inproceedings |
| Thesis | THES | @phdthesis, or @mastersthesis when the type of work says master's |
| Report | RPRT | @techreport |
| Generic and anything else | GEN or the matching RIS type | @misc |
A Worked Example
The sample button loads two records. The journal article becomes the RIS record below, with the author split into one line each, the journal title in T2, its abbreviation in J2, and the date June 2014 written as DA 2014/06/. The book keeps its edition in ET.
The first sample record as RIS
TY - JOUR AU - Light, Janice AU - McNaughton, David TI - From basic to applied research to improve outcomes for individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication T2 - Augmentative and Alternative Communication J2 - Augment Altern Commun PY - 2014 DA - 2014/06/ VL - 30 IS - 2 SP - 99 EP - 105 SN - 0743-4618 DO - 10.3109/07434618.2014.906498 KW - eye tracking ER -
What the Warnings Mean
- Reference type with no equivalent — EndNote has more types than RIS. The record is written as GEN (generic) so nothing is lost, and you may want to retype it after import.
- No title or no authors — the record is converted as it is, but most reference managers will import it as an incomplete entry.
- An electronic resource number without a DOI — EndNote stores PubMed Central IDs, URLs and other identifiers in the same field as DOIs. A value with no DOI inside is kept as a note rather than guessed at.
- XML problems — a truncated file or a stray tag. The records that could be read are still converted.
What Is Sent, and Where
Nothing. The file is read and converted by code running in your browser; no part of it is sent to CitationEasy or to any other service, and nothing is stored after you close the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I export EndNote references as XML?
- In EndNote, select the references you want, choose File → Export, set Save as type to XML, and save. If you want the whole library, select all references first or export from the All References group.
- How do I convert EndNote to RIS?
- Use this tool on an XML export, or in EndNote itself choose File → Export with the RefMan (RIS) Export output style. Both produce a .ris file that Zotero, Mendeley and screening tools such as Rayyan can import.
- How do I convert an EndNote library to BibTeX?
- Export the library as XML, load it here, and choose BibTeX. The citation keys are built from the first author, year and first significant title word, and made unique with a, b, c suffixes where they repeat.
- Will I lose anything in the conversion?
- Fields that have no equivalent in the target format are dropped, and the warnings list the ones that matter. RIS keeps keywords, abstracts and notes; BibTeX does not. Attachments, groups, labels and custom fields in an EndNote library are not carried over.
- Why is the DOI missing from some records?
- The DOI is read from EndNote's electronic resource number field. If that field is empty, or holds something else such as a PMC ID, there is no DOI to write. The warning names the value that was kept as a note.
- Does Zotero's EndNote XML export work here?
- Yes. Zotero writes the same record layout, so its EndNote XML export converts too. Zotero can also read EndNote XML directly, so you only need this if you want RIS or BibTeX out.
- Is my library uploaded anywhere?
- No. The conversion runs in your browser, and nothing is sent to a server. Very large libraries take a few seconds to convert because everything happens on your own computer.