Skip to Main Content

Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Mendeley Reference Manager

This guide helps you step-by-step use Mendeley to manage your sources/references.

Migrate to Mendeley

Export from RefWorks

You may export the complete library

  1. Log in to your RefWorks account.
  2. Select the project in which you have the references to export.
  3. At the top left, click on All References, and select the references you wish to export.
  4. Click on Share.
  5. Select Export references.
  6. Under References to export / From select either:
    - All References to move all references in this project.
    - Selected references
  7. Under Format select the type of file (RIS/BibTeX...).
  8. Click Export; the file will download automatically.

 

Attachments in RefWorks will not be exported. You will need to save these individually to your computer and then import them into Mendeley. Once imported, Mendeley Desktop will attach them to the appropriate references. Once migrated, your RefWorks descriptors will appear as Mendeley keywords.

Import into Mendeley Reference Manager

  1. Click on Add new on the left pane.
  2. Select Import Library.
  3. Select RIS (or other format, according to the format of the export file downloaded from RefWorks).

Export from Zotero

Export your references from Zotero as a file (RIS, XML, BibTex..)

  1. Under File, select Export Library.
  2. Choose RIS from the Format option.
  3. Select the checkbox next to Files and/or Annotations if you wish to export them.
  4. Click on OK.
  5. Save the file when prompted.

 

 

Import into Mendeley Reference Manager

  1. Click on Add new on the left pane.
  2. Select Import Library.
  3. Select RIS.

Export your references from EndNote

  1. Select the references that you wish to import.
  2. Under File menu, select Export.
  3. Under Save as type, select Text File (*.txt).
  4. Under Output Style, select RefMan (RIS) Export.
  5. Rename the file by adding .ris as a file extension at the end.
  6. Click Save.

You could also export your EndNote library as an *.XML file. Both Zotero and Mendeley accept XML format as well as *.RIS. To do this, follow steps 1-2 above, but in Step 3, select Save as type XML and add the extension .xml at the end of the file name.

Import into Mendeley Reference Manager

  1. Click on Add new on the left pane.
  2. Select Import Library.
  3. Select RIS and then the file that you exported from EndNote and Save/Open.

Remove Codes in Word Document

If you started your document and cited your sources using a different citation management tool (RefWorks & Endnote), and for some reason you need to continue writing your document using Mendeley, you need to remove the field codes used by the first program so you would be able to use Mendeley Cite plugin, following the steps below:

  1. Open the Word document.
  2. Press CTRL+A on your keyboard to select all the text within the document.
  3. Right-click, then select Remove content control or Toggle Field Codes.
  4. Press CTRL+SHIFT+F9 on your keyboard. This will remove the field codes, replacing them with the text they contained.
  5. Save the document with a new name.
  6. Re-insert each in-text citation using Mendeley Cite.

Copyright ©2025 All rights reserved to Hamad Bin Khalifa University.