Citation Software

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Everyone,

I am interested in learning your comments about citation software. Do
you have favorites?

Anyone with comments, advice, etc. please post follow-ups to this thread.

The reason I ask is that it appears it will be a long time before
EndNote is compatible with Office 2004. What other software have you
tried? Is it as good? Better?

Thanks in advance to anyone who posts.

-Jim

 

[Sam Elowitch]

I'm fond of EndNote <http://www.endnote.com/enmac.asp>.

-Sam

 

[Sam Elowitch]

Oops. You already mentioned EndNote. Sorry.

I'm fond of EndNote <http://www.endnote.com/enmac.asp>.

-Sam

 

[Ronald Florence]

The reason I ask is that it appears it will be a long time before
EndNote is compatible with Office 2004.

Endnote 8 for Mac, which is compatible with Office 2004, is currently in
beta-testing; it probably will not be "a long time" before it is released.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Ron,

I've heard two different stories about EndNote 8 for the Mac. One story
I heard is that EndNote 8 will not support "Cite While You Write" with
Word 2004, so I am seeking alternatives. What do you mean by "compatible"?

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVP FAQ
<http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;mvpfaqs>

 

[Ronald Florence]

Jim Gordon MVP wrote:

I've heard two different stories about EndNote 8 for the Mac. One story
I heard is that EndNote 8 will not support "Cite While You Write" with
Word 2004, so I am seeking alternatives.

I can't say much more, because of the NDA, but EndNote 8 for Mac does
support CWYW with Word 2004, along with Unicode.

 

[Sam Elowitch]

Wow! Unicode support is a great thing.

-Sam

Jim Gordon MVP wrote:



I can't say much more, because of the NDA, but EndNote 8 for Mac does
support CWYW with Word 2004, along with Unicode.

 

[Jonas W]

Hi Everyone,

I am interested in learning your comments about citation software. Do
you have favorites?

Anyone with comments, advice, etc. please post follow-ups to this thread.

The reason I ask is that it appears it will be a long time before
EndNote is compatible with Office 2004. What other software have you
tried? Is it as good? Better?

Thanks in advance to anyone who posts.

-Jim

An alternative to Endnote is Bookends. I have been using Bookends for a
while and am quite happy with it. It might not have as many features as
Endnote, but does not have as many bugs either.
When Word 2004 arrived a free update was out almost instantly, while we
are still waiting for an update of Endnote, which will not be free.
On the other hand Bookends does not support Unicode as Endnote 8 will.

Jonas

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Ronald,

Well if what you say is true, then you probably already did break an
NDA. Since it is in the best interest of EndNote I would hope they
forgive you if they call you on it.

The fact that you mention an NDA adds credibility to your comments. I
had heard the opposite on both CWYW and Unicode for v8. Switching a few
hundred users from EndNote to BookEnds or some other product will be a
large chore for us if either CWYW or Unicode support is a no-show in v8.

Still, I am interested in comments from people who have used both
products in case we do have to make a switch.

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVP FAQ
<http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;mvpfaqs>

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

No, ISI announced that EndNote 8 will support Word 2004 (I'm pretty sure).
So no NDA issue, though I give Ronald Florence lots of credibility anyhow
when it comes to Word/EndNote. That was ISI's response to the cries of
dismay that CWYW in EndNote 7, which was fairly recent, didn't work with
Word 2004. Probably your informant got confused--certainly right now a lot
of people are holding off upgrading to Office 2004 because EndNote won't
work with it. Or there's the Corentin method--run both programs and open up
Word X just to do the EndNote formatting. ISI also announced EndNote 8 Mac
would be out in the fall, though that was a while back.

So far as I can tell, the only Mac options for bibliographic management
software, aka BMS, are EndNote and Bookends. If collaborating, EndNote
might be your only option, as its use is far more widespread, and Bookends
is Mac-only. Both programs have free 30-day trial downloads (endnote.com
and sonnysoftware.com). I haven't explored Bookends, but plan to soon--I
think Corentin has and found it limited. But it really depends on what you
are using it for--my workflow doesn't take advantage of lots of EndNote
features, which are geared toward scientists, so I might switch. (Or I
guess it depends on what your users are using it for--I strongly suspect
that among a few hundred users, many will be unable to use Bookends. If you
need one size fits all, I think EndNote is all you got.)

EndNote 8 for Windows is apparently a whole new database type, **not
backwards compatible,** plus the Unicode support. I assume the Mac version
will match those features. But the drastic changes had some trade-offs, and
the Win users are up in arms about EndNote 8, and many are waiting on the
first patch to upgrade, and have been told a patch is waiting on getting the
Mac version out. (This is rumor off the EndNote mailing list). I venture
to say that switching hundreds of users to EndNote 8 will be a chore, even
if they are already EndNote users.

Side note--EndNote has always struck me as very FileMaker Pro-like....I
wonder if the whole new database type is the same as FMP's whole new
database type.

Dayo

 

[Tony]

Jim,

No doubt about this. Hands down, EndNote is by far the best citation
software money can buy for Mac (or any other platform).

EndNote 8 will be fully savvy with Word 2004. Expect the commercial
products by October 2004.

Regards,

 

[Gene van Troyer]

No doubt about this. Hands down, EndNote is by far the best citation
software money can buy for Mac (or any other platform).

Bookends is cheaper, almost as good, and has far better tech support. It's
not quite as flexible as Endnote in terms of user definable fields, but it
is headed in that direction. Version 8 will be Unicode savvy.

Gene van Troyer

 

[Tony]

Hi,

When you use EndNote, you do not want anything else. I have tried all
reference tools out there including Bookends. EndNote is much much
easier, powerwul and best overall.

That is.

---

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Hey Tony,

If you don't mind, and if you remember, I would be interested in hearing
some of the specifics of what you found lacking in Bookends, or what you
require that only EndNote has.

Side note: ProCite is apparently also available for the Mac, though since
it's made by the same company as EndNote, not sure how it differs....

Dayo

Hi,

When you use EndNote, you do not want anything else. I have tried all
reference tools out there including Bookends. EndNote is much much
easier, powerwul and best overall.

That is.

---

 

[Tony]

Dayo,

In my opinion EndNote is the best because first and foremost it is the
easiest to use. It is truly Mac look and feel. Then it is also powerful.

Both ProCite and Bookends are complicated to use.

Both EndNote and ProCite are now from the same company, but that was
not always the case. EndNote was the leader and thus was purchased by
the company making ProCite (which is more a Windoze-like product).

Thus, my preferences go: EndNote > Bookends > ProCite.

My two cents,

---

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Thanks, Tony. I have EndNote3, 5 and 6, but I hear 6 is a mess, am sure the
add-in won't work with Word 2004, and am unsure whether I really want to pay
for EndNote for a *third* time as I switch to OS X....and I'm pretty sure I
don't take advantage of all the powerful features. Guess I'll be running
some trials.

Dayo

 

[Tony]

Dayo,

As far as I know, the new EndNote 8 for Mac to be released soon will
fix all problems with Word 2004 and will also support Unicode.

In any case, you should be able to download a fully functional trial
version and test drive it for up to 30 days from:

http://www.endnote.com/endemo.asp

As said, for us it is the best bibliographic package hands down.

Regards,