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Move an EndNote library to Zotero without EndNote (Beta)

Convert your .enl or .enlx library into a file Zotero imports with all fields, groups and PDFs, no EndNote licence needed.

Opens: ENL, ENLX, sdb.eni
Saves: EndNote XML, RIS, BibTeX, CSV

Convert

EndNote library
Choose files… or drop them here
.enlx, .zip, .enl, .eni · up to 200 MB each, 10 files max
    Add more files

    Upload the compressed library (.enlx), a .zip of the folder containing “Name.enl” and “Name.Data”, or the file Name.Data/sdb/sdb.eni. Libraries from EndNote X8 and older: the .enl file alone is enough.

    Options

    Adds “EndNote group: …” keywords so you can rebuild your groups in Zotero or Mendeley.

    Your files are deleted after processing.

    Zotero's recommended way in from EndNote is an EndNote XML export, which normally means opening the library in EndNote first. This page writes that XML file straight from the library files, so you can switch to Zotero after your EndNote licence has lapsed, on a new computer, or when your old EndNote version no longer starts.

    How to move an EndNote library to Zotero

    1. Find the library on disk: a file Name.enl with a folder Name.Data next to it (EndNote's default is My EndNote Library, usually in Documents). Zip the folder that holds both and upload the zip. A compressed .enlx library works as well.
    2. Leave Keep EndNote groups as keywords ticked.
    3. Download Everything with attachments (ZIP) and unzip it. Inside are the .xml file, a PDF folder and a short README.
    4. In Zotero, choose File → Import…, pick A file, and select the .xml inside the unzipped folder. Zotero finds the PDFs through their relative paths and copies them into its own storage, so the folder must stay unzipped and in place until the import finishes.

    If you only uploaded sdb.eni, there are no PDFs to bundle; import the plain .xml download instead.

    Rebuilding your groups as collections

    EndNote XML has no place for groups, so each reference gets a tag such as EndNote group: Methods, or EndNote group: Thesis / Methods for a group inside a group set. In Zotero, create a collection, click the tag in the tag selector at the bottom of the left pane, select all the items it shows and drag them onto the collection. Repeat for each group, then delete the helper tags if you no longer need them.

    Worth checking after the import

    • References in EndNote's Trash are skipped unless you tick Include references from the Trash.
    • Italic or superscript formatting inside titles arrives as plain text.
    • When Zotero's item type has no field for a value (a DOI on a magazine article, for example), Zotero keeps it in a note on the item instead of dropping it.
    • If the result mentions newer or custom reference types, look at those items' types in Zotero.

    Moving to Mendeley, Citavi or another manager instead? Use the RIS export.

    More about what this tool reads and writes: EndNote Library Rescue.

    More with EndNote Library Rescue