• Create your account at www.mendeley.com.
• Install Mendeley Desktop or Mendeley Reference Manager from Mendeley's website.
  • If you are using a university computer, you'll need to install Mendeley from the university's Software Center.
  • Library recommends downloading the older version of the desktop program, titled Mendeley Desktop, because the newer version, titled Mendeley Reference Manager, is still missing some important features.
• Install the Web Importer from the Mendeley website.
• Install Mendeley Cite or MS Word Plugin or LibreOffice Plugin from the Mendeley Desktop (or Mendeley Reference Manager).
• Also read Mendeley's privacy policy: https://www.elsevier.com/legal/privacy-policy.

At the moment there are two different versions for the Mendeley desktop application: The older Mendeley Desktop, and the new Mendeley Reference Manager, which will eventually replace the older Mendeley Desktop once the missing features are added to it.

University of Turku's staff can download the older Mendeley Desktop and the newer Mendeley Reference Manager to their work computer via Software Center.

If you have any questions about Mendeley, please contact:

tietopalvelu@utu.fi

Turku University Library's Privacy Notice

Mendeley’s Web Importer is able to import single citations from the article information pages in EbscoHost databases. Import multiple references into Mendeley as RIS files.

EbscoHost databases include Academic Search Premier, Business Source Complete, Cinahl, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Eric, Historical Abstracts, MLA International Bibliography with full text,  Philosopher's Index, etc.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export. You can add the references first to a temporary folder in Ebsco by clicking on the blue folder icon on the right of the citation in the results list.

2. Open the Folder at the icon on top of the page.

3. Choose Select all.

4. Click Export.

5. Check that the option Direct Export in RIS Format is selected. Press Save on the left of the page.

6a. From the pop-up window select Open with > Mendeley Desktop. Press OK.

OR

6b. Save the file. Go to Mendeley and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

7. The references will import to Mendeley’s All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work with Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

You can import references directly to Mendeley from Elsevier’s Scopus and ScienceDirect databases, because Mendeley is also an Elsevier product.

1. Log in to the database with your Mendeley credentials. Do a search and choose the records you want to export.

2. Click on Export, select Save to Mendeley and click Export.

4. Records will be saved to the online version of Mendeley. Go to Mendeley Desktop and click on Sync to view the records in the desktop version.

Mendeley's Web Importer should work with JSTOR, but your experience may vary. You can import multiple references into Mendeley as a txt file.

Importing references as txt files

1. Select the references you want to export.

2. Select Export Selected Citations and then Export a Text file.

3. In the next window, select Open with > Mendeley Desktop. Press OK.

OR

4. Save the file. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > BibTex (does not matter which format you choose, the selection will be changed later).

5. In the next window, choose Text (*.txt) from the dropdown menu in the bottom right corner and browse for your saved file. Press Open.

6. The references are now saved in Mendeley.

NOTE: These instructions work with Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

Importing references as RIS files from Melinda

1. Do a search and choose the references you want to export.

2. Choose from the bottom of the page Selected, RIS-format, and To Screen.

3. Click on Submit and a page will open displaying your references as text. Right-click on the page and select Save Page as (note, browser: Firefox).

4. Save the file as a text file .txt.

5.  Go to Mendeley Desktop and select File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris).

6.  Fom the Files as type menu at the bottom of the pop-up window, select Text (*.txt) and browse for your saved file. Click Open.

5. References are now saved to Mendeley.

You can import single records using the Web Importer from the article’s abstract page in Ovid databases, if you have installed the importer to your browser. The library recommends you to import multiple records into Mendeley as a RIS file.

Ovid databases include, for example, Ovid MEDLINE, JBI, and Biological Abstracts.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export to Mendeley.

2. Choose Export.

3. Check that the option RIS is selected in the Format menu and press Export at the bottom of the screen.

4a. In the next window select Mendeley Desktop from the Open with menu. Press OK.

OR

4b. Save the file. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse to find your saved file.

5. The references will import to Mendeley’s All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

Mendeley's Web Importer is currently not working in Project Muse. You can import references into Mendeley as RIS files.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export by clicking Save. The references are saved in a temporary MyMUSE library folder.

2. Go to MyMUSE library. The link is in the dropdown menu.

3. Select Cite Library Items from the left and select the citations you wish to export.

4. Select Export to EndNote.

5a. In the next window, select Mendeley Desktop from the Open with menu. Press OK.

OR

5b. Save the file. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

6. The references are saved into Mendeley's All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

ProQuest databases include, for example, ABI/INFORM, Eric, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA), ProQuest Historical Newspapers, and the Vogue Archive.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export.

2. Click on the three dots icon on top of the results list and select RIS - EndNote, Citavi, etc.

3. Make sure that in the next window in Output to has RIS (works with EndNote, Citavi, etc.) and press Continue.

4a. In the next window, select Mendeley Desktop from the Open with menu. Click OK.

OR

4b. Save the file. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

5. The references will import to Mendeley’s All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

You can import references from (the new) PubMed using Mendeley's Web Importer, if you have installed the importer into you browser. You can also import references as PubMed files.

Importing references as PubMed files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export.

2. Click on Save.

3. Choose from the Selection dropdown menu: Selection.

4. Choose Format > PubMed.

5. Click on Create file and save the file.

6. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

7. Click Open.

You can import references from other reference management programs into Mendeley. The migration guide below will provide you instructions for migrating from RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, or Papers reference management softwares to Mendeley.

If you want to keep the folder system in the new reference management system, follow these instructions folder by folder. If you want to export the whole reference library without the folder system, export the references from the All References folder. Note: The PDF's you have saved to RefWorks will not be exported with the reference information to the new system!

Mendeley Desktop

1. Go to the folder in you Refworks account where the references you want to export are (All References or a specific folder).
2. Click on the Share icon and then Export references.
   
    
3. In the Export references menu choose RIS Format from the Format list. Then click on Export.
   
    
4. Depending on the browser follow either instructions:
   1. If you get a pop-up with an Open with option, you can choose from the menu directly that you want to open the file in Mendeley Desktop.
      
       
   2. If the file downloads to your computer, go to Mendeley Desktop, click on File and choose Import from the drop-down menu and RIS -Research Information System. Search for the recently saved file.
5. The references you exported will be saved to your library. All recently saved references are in the Recently Added folder and from there you can save them to their own folders, if you wish.

Mendeley Reference Manager

1. Go to the folder in you Refworks account where the references you want to export are (All References or a specific folder).
2. Click on the Share icon and then Export references.
   
    
3. In the Export references menu choose RIS Format from the Format list. Then click on Export.
   
    
4. Regardless of browser follow these instructions: When the file has saved to your computer, go to Mendeley Reference Manager and click on Add new, choose Import Library from the list and choose RIS. 
   
    
5. Search for the recently saved file.
6. The references you exported will be saved to your library. All recently saved references are in the Recently Added folder and from there you can save them to their own folders, if you wish.

If you want to keep the folder system in the new reference management system, follow these instructions folder by folder. If you want to export the whole reference library without the folder system, export the references from the All References folder. Note: You can only export 200 references at a time!

Mendeley Desktop

1. Go to the folder in you Refworks account where the references you want to export are (All References or a specific folder).
2. In the References menu, click on Export.
3. Select from the menu that appears next what references you wish to export and select Bibliographic Software from the Select an Export Format dropdown menu.
   
    
4. When the export has finished, a notification and a link to download the file appears at the bottom of the page.
   
    
5. If the references open in a new browser tab, save it as a file (Ctrl+S). Give the file a name and add to the end: .ris
   
    
6. Select All files as save type.
7. Go to Mendeley Desktop and open File menu, select Import, and select RIS -Research Information System. Search for the recently saved file.
8. The references you exported will be saved to your library. All recently saved references are in the Recently Added folder. From there you can save them to specific folders, if you wish.

Mendeley Reference Manager

1. Go to the folder in you Refworks account where the references you want to export are (All References or a specific folder).
2. In the References menu, click on Export.
3. Select from the menu that appears next what references you wish to export and select Bibliographic Software from the Select an Export Format dropdown menu.
   
    
4. When the export has finished, a notification and a link to download the file appears at the bottom of the page.
   
    
5. If the references open in a new browser tab, save it as a file (Ctrl+S). Give the file a name and add to the end: .ris
   
    
6. Select All files as save type.
7. Go to Mendeley Reference Manager, click on Add new, select Import Library from the list, and select RIS. 
   
    
8. Search for the recently downloaded file.
9. The references you exported will be saved to your library. All recently saved references are in the Recently Added folder. From there you can save them to specific folders, if you wish.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select the references you wish to export.

2. Choose Export. The button is located below your name on the right hand corner of the page.

3. Check that the options chosen in the pop-up window are Selected and Citation export format (*.ris). If you wish, you can give the file a new name. Click Export.

4a. In the next window, select Mendeley Desktop from the Open with menu. Click OK.

OR

4b. Save the file. Then go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

5. The references will import to Mendeley’s All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

You can export multiple references from Volter as a RIS file. Note that international article (Primo) records can be exported using the Web Importer.

Importing references as RIS files

1. Do a search and select references by clicking on the number.

2. Click on the three dots above the search results and select Export RIS.

3. Select Encoding > UTF-8 and click on Download.

4a. In the next window, select Mendeley Desktop from the Open with menu. Click OK.

OR

4. Save the file. Then go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > RIS Research Information Systems (.ris) and browse for your saved file.

5. The references will import to Mendeley’s All Documents folder.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

The Web Importer should work in Web of Science, even with multiple references. You can also import multiple records into Mendeley as a BibTex file.

Importing references from Web of Science Core Collection as BibTex files

1. Do a search and select the references you want to export.

2. Choose from the dropdown menu above Export > BibTex.

3. From the next window select how many records you want to export from Record options and from Record content > Full Record. Click Export.

4. Save file.

5. Go to Mendeley Desktop and choose File > Import > BibTex (*.bib).

6. Browse for your saved file and click Open.

NOTE: These instructions work on Firefox, on other browsers the downloaded file may act differently.

You can set Mendeley to watch a specific folder on your computer. Mendeley will then automatically import all PDF files saved in that folder into your personal Mendeley library.

Using Mendeley’s Watch Folder feature

1. In Mendeley Desktop, choose File > Watch Folder.

2. From the menu, check the box for the folder you want Mendeley to watch.

3. Now all new PDFs added to the folder will be automatically imported to your personal library in Mendeley.

4. When you want to disable the Watch Folder function, remove the check mark from the folder.