RefWorks: Importing References

Most article databases have a link or button to add citations directly to RefWorks.

This link may be labeled "Export" or "Save" and generally you can import a set of citations all at once:

You may next get a screen that asks you if you want to export to Legacy RefWorks or ProQuest RefWorks.

Select ProQuest RefWorks: Access to Legacy RefWorks will terminate June 2023.

You can check the "Don't ask me this again" box (at the bottom of the page) if you wish:

RefWorks has an easy to use tool that installs in any web browser called the Save to RefWorks button (aka "bookmarklet").  The Save to RefWorks button grabs information from any web page – in some cases a complete article – and adds it to your RefWorks library. 

To add the Save to RefWorks button to your browser, click on the More icon  and select Tools.   Simply drag the Save to RefWorks button to your browser's bookmarks toolbar.  Once you’ve installed it, go to any web page and click the Save to RefWorks button to capture the information.

You can save a set of search results or an individual article - the choice is yours.  You can easily edit metadata prior to importing into RefWorks.

Important: Make sure that your references are being saved as individual citations and not as a web page. Check your citations after they import into RefWorks. Having trouble? See Save to RefWorks Best Practices.

1. Select the citations you wish to export to RefWorks as you search PubMed
2. Use the Send to option, and select Clipboard
3. Click the Clipboard: # items link in PubMed (top right)
4. Click the Save to RefWorks button in your browser's bookmarks toolbar
5. Select Select all then click Save to RefWorks (bottom right)
6. Click View in RefWorks to make sure your citations imported correctly.