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EndNote for Mac

Guide to using EndNote on Mac computers

The one-behind strategy

There are often issues with third-party programs when a new Mac OS is released. This can require those programs to develop "patches" or "updates." Due to these problems, many users run one operating system behind. For example, as Catalina became available, EndNote trainers updated to Mojave from High Sierra. This is a strategy that you may want to use.

  • Apple menu > System Preferences
  • App Store

You can still automatically check for updates, but disable the automatic download and install. This gives you more control over when you make changes. You can also make sure that security updates are an exception.

What version should I download?

If you are on Mac OS High Sierra or Mojave, we recommend staying with EndNote X9.2.

If you are on Mac OS Catalina YOU MUST use EndNote X9.3 or later.

If you are on Catalina, Monterey and/or use an M1 chip Mac you should not have difficulties with EndNote 20.x.

If you are on Big Sur, we recommend EndNote 20.x

We don't recommend updating to OS Ventura until it has been out 4-8 weeks. A new OS may have glitches, and it's troublesome to have to go back down a version once you've updated. (Ventura estimated to come out in September or October. Currently on 4th Beta. (9/3/22)

Older OS compatibility

Mac OS MojaveX9 (10.14)

Known issues: When attempting to insert a citation into Word, you are returned to the library window or receive an Error message. This problem occurs because Mojave’s Security & Privacy functions can prevent EndNote from being able to correctly automate. To correctly set these options:

Go to: >System Preferences >Security & Privacy >Privacy tab >Automation options, then turn on both "Microsoft Word" and "EndNote X#".

Mac High Sierra (OS 10.13)

Compatibility report as of July 2018. Check this link from Thomson-Reuters for more information on OS 10.12 and lower.

We suggest that you not run EndNote on OS systems Mac Sierra or older, as you will likely need a version of EndNote that we no longer provide. You may want to consider a cloud-based citation manager, such as RefWorks.