Why when importing a PDF file, does EndNote sometimes only import the attachment and not the bibliographic information?
Understanding how EndNote works to import PDF files and the bibliographic information into the EndNote library helps uncover the mystery. When importing PDF files, EndNote scans the metadata and the first two pages of the PDF file to locate a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). If a single DOI is found, that DOI is sent to the CrossRef system. If CrossRef recognizes the DOI, the bibliographic information is imported into EndNote.
For bibliographic information to be entered automatically into EndNote when importing PDFs, only one DOI must be present in the article, and that DOI must be on a single line. Sometimes, bibliographic information is missing when PDF files are imported. This is especially true when the imported PDF file is a scanned document. To correct this, do the following:
- Start from your EndNote Library
- Double click the file that only imports the PDF attachement
- Manually enter the bibliographic information
- Save
