EndNote X9

Backing up your EndNote library

 ​Backing up your EndNote library is very important - we recommend keeping several copies in different places.

Compressed Library

You can save an EndNote library, including the .enl file, the associated .DATA folder, and all of its contents, to a single compressed file. The compressed file may also be included as an attachment if you wish to send to a copy to someone. 

1. Open the library in EndNote.
2. From the File menu, select Compressed Library (.enlx) to display a Compressed Library dialog.
3. Use the radio buttons to determine options
4. Click Next to display a file dialog. Save to an EndNote Compressed Library (filename.enlx). This compressed file contains both the library and the data folder.

To restore a compressed library file, in EndNote, go to File > Open Library to open the filename.enlx file, which will extract the .ENL file and the .DATA folder to the same folder where the. enlx file is located.

Note: EndNote libraries larger than 4 gigabytes or 65,535 files cannot be compressed with EndNote’s Compressed Library command.

Review best practices for backing up

Top Tips when backing up an EndNote library

• Make regular backup copies of your Library (and documents). Use the File | Compressed Library command, or File | Save a copy command. We recommend giving the backup a different name so it is obvious and you don't accidentally think it is your primary Library, e.g. Endnote.Backup.ddmmyy.
• Ensure that the Endnote Library .ENL file & associated .DATA folder always stay together – never ‘move’ them separately. Don’t move or modify files inside the DATA folder – EndNote looks after it.

Dropbox and EndNote (in)Compatibility

• Dropbox (and other cloud drives like OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive and iCloud) are cloud based file sharing services. EndNote was not designed for compatibility with cloud based storage. While you can use these services to keep a backup copy or share a compressed copy of your database file(s), we do not recommend opening and/or using the database from that location.
• If you have your EndNote files or working Word Documents saved to Dropbox or any cloud storage, we recommend you copy/move the files to another location on your computer or remote drive before you open them.