Field codes and the traveling library
Field codes are placed in and around all formatted citations and the bibliography. They allow EndNote to format, unformat and reformat citations within a document.
Normally they are hidden, their appearance is controlled by settings within Word. If inadvertently displayed, press Alt+F9.
You may need to remove field codes from your document:
- If requested by a publisher before submission
- If sharing the document with a colleague using an incompatible word processor
To remove field codes:
- From the EndNote ribbon Bibliography group, expand Convert Citations and Bibliography and select Convert to Plain Text
- If you have not already saved your document you will be prompted to do so
- You will be asked to confirm that you wish to proceed
- EndNote will create a copy of your document, identical in format, but without field codes or the traveling library
When you format a citation, EndNote adds field codes containing reference information to the document. This reference information forms a traveling library that contains all the references cited in the document.
When citations are reformatted, the traveling library will be used only if the EndNote library is not open.
If you unformat citations in a document, the traveling library is removed. To reformat the citations you will have to open the EndNote library first.
If you receive a document which includes formatted citations you can export the references from the traveling library into your own EndNote library:
- From the EndNote ribbon Tools group, expand Export to EndNote and select Export Traveling Library
- Specify an existing or new library to export to, then click OK
- You will see a message indicating that the export is complete
- Go to EndNote to see the exported references in your library
