RefWorks

CONGRATULATIONS

on your success and new opportunities!

When you graduate, you have approximately a year after graduation before you loose the ability to authenticate for RefWorks via SSO. You can authenticate by password until you lose access to RefWorks via UGA on August 31, 2026. Make any changes anytime before this deadline. 

If you are leaving UGA for a new position, check with your department or HR, as your SSO access time may be shorter.

1. Learn more about your options for alternative citation management programs.

2. Back up your current RefWorks library in an exportable format.

3. Take action! Purchase access to Refworks, or plan migration to another citation manager.

Remain with RefWorks

RefWorks typically provides access via institutions rather than individual accounts, but we are pleased to announce that we have worked with Clarivate to provide you a purchase option. You can purchase access for $109/year, about $9/month.

Move to another citation manager

Take a look at the comparison charts below to consider what will best meet your needs.

UGA Libraries will provide assistance for transferring to EndNote and Zotero. Use the navigation at left to see other options.

Remember to consider storage size. Many citation managers provide a free tier, but require a paid subscription to use additional storage. Some citation managers such as Zotero allow you to use DropBox, OneDrive, or other online storage, but have many steps to follow.

File types

The most common types of files for export are RIS and XML, but you can even export into CSV to have citations that you can read with Excel.

Folder Structure for exports

• To keep your folder structure, export an RIS file for each folder separately. Name each .RIS file the folder name to avoid confusion. 
• You can export all references if your folder structure is not important, or you wish to reorganize.

Instructions for RIS backup or export to new citation manager

1. In your RefWorks account, go to the Share menu and choose Export references

2. Select the references you want to export (e.g., All or Selected references), select RIS Format and click the Export button.

3. Depending on the size of your library, you may need to wait a few minutes, but the export.ris file will download.

4. Save it and make note of the location. If this is for backup and not export, rename with the backup date to avoid confusion.

Before Migrating:

• If you have used custom fields, you may want want to move the information to a standard "Notes" field. Custom fields do not migrate.
• PDFs will not migrate attached to your references.
  • Plan to export your attachments separately, so you will not lose any PDFs.
  • You will have to manually reattach the files in the new citation manager
• To keep your folder structure, export an RIS file for each folder separately. Name each .RIS file the folder name to avoid confusion. 
• You can export all references if your folder structure is not important, or you wish to reorganize.
• Consider options for your Word (or other word processing) docuemnt
  • It is possible to convert Word documents used with RefWorks to be used with EndNote a document at a time.
  • When converting to Zotero, any Word document must be relinked one citation at a time.

Options shown on this site

• RefWorks to EndNote 2025 (program version)
• RefWorks to EndNote Basic (online)
• RefWorks to Zotero

Export RefWorks citations to EndNote

If you export RefWorks to the free EndNote via UGA program before graduation, you will have three years of access. After the three years, you will need to pay, use another institution's site license, or change citation managers,

Decide on whether to keep your folder structure, before you migrate

In RefWorks

Prepare your .RIS backup file or files if you are exporting a folder at a time.

In EndNote

1. Create a new EndNote library, or open an existing one to import the text file.

2. From the EndNote File menu, choose Import.

3. Click the Choose File button to locate the saved export.ris from Downloads folder and on the Import Option drop-down list, choose “Reference Manager (RIS)." The selections for Duplicates and Text Translation do not require adjusting unless your operating system is using a language setting other than English.


4. Click on the Import button. EndNote will present your references in a library window. You may view the imported references by clicking on the Unfiled folder listed under the All References.

Convert documents that you created in RefWorks to work with EndNote

In order to convert a document created using RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM) tools, it needs to be formatted in a custom style. 

Download the PDF with detailed instructions below.

EndNote Basic: Citations Only

EndNote Basic is a free online account with 5 GB of storage. It is a publicly free account, not affiliated with UGA, so you do not have to worry about it timing out. You would need to make a purchase if you exceed 5 GB of storage.

From RefWorks

Use your .RIS backup file or files if you are keeping your folder structure by exporting a folder at a time.

From EndNote Basic

• Go here to create your new EndNote Basic account.
• Go to the grey toolbar and hover over My References > Collect
• Select Import References

• Select RefMan RIS from the Import Option pull-down menu
• The "To" pull-down menu lists any available groups for organization (groups are the equivalent of folders), and let's you make a new group.
• Go to File and Browse to the file location
• Click ok

This will not bring in the PDF attachments. You have to attach the files manually. If you have a large number of attachments, you may want to export them all at one time. See instructions below.

Exporting Attachments

You can export your attachments from the cloud in several ways.

Exporting from a specific reference record

    Click on the reference in library list to open the Reference Preview panel on right
    In Reference Preview panel

• Click to read the attached PDF, which will open the PDF in the Reader
• On top menu, click to Print, or Click to Download
  • If attachment is not a PDF which can be Read in Reworks, click to download

Exporting from specific Folder, or selected group of references

When in specific folder, or when specific references are selected, on Reference and Tools Actions menu, click Share -> Export Attachments

• Note selection on the Export attachments modal and proceed to Export

Exporting all attachments

• On Reference and Tools Actions menu, click Share -> Export Attachments
• Ensure the all references option is selected and proceed to Export

Before you transfer

You can export all your citations from RefWorks , but this will NOT export PDF attachments. 

• You can export all your attachments at one time.
• If you would like to keep your folder structure, we would recommend exporting one folder at a time, and renaming each .RIS file to match the folder as you work to avoid confusion.

In Refworks:

1. Log in to your RefWorks account.

2.Depending on what you would prefer, using the left toolbar, click on one of your folders or click on the tab that says “All References.” 

3. Select “Share” from the toolbar that spans the top of the page.

4. Select “Export references.”

5. On the screen that pops up, select “All references in ...” and then select “RIS Format” as the format.

6. Click “Export.”

7. Note the location where the files is saved.

8. Renaming the file (if desired) by right-clicking the file and selecting “Rename.”

9. Repeat the steps above until all your folders are exported.

In Zotero

1. Open the Zotero app on your computer.

2. Select “File” from the toolbar at the top of the page

3. Click on “Import.”

4. Confirm you would like to import a file.

5. In the file browser box that appears, find a RIS file you saved on your desktop or in your Documents folder. Select it.

6. You are then given options as to how Zotero will handle the file. (Those options should be a  “Place imported collections and items into new collection” and “Copy files to Zotero storage folder.”) In most cases, choose the default.

7. The folder should appear in your Zotero app with the same file name you gave it.

8. Repeat the steps above until all of your RefWork folders are in Zotero.

Instructions modified from work by Bridget Farrell at the University of Denver Libraries. Image credit to Bridget Farrell