Introduction to RefWorks: Organizing and Managing Your References

One way of arranging the data in your database is to organize it into folders. You can have a single reference in multiple folders -- no need to duplicate the reference. You can also have sub-folders of references.

There are a number of places where you can change the folder in which a reference is contained.  

When you edit a reference in one folder those edits also appear when you view the reference in another folder (since you have only one copy of the reference itself!).

You can also have references that are not placed in any folder.

RefWorks comes with two folders set up, Last Imported and References Not In A Folder.

• Note:  You can see which folder(s) a particular reference is in by choosing the Show Folder Information option in the Customize area in RefWorks. The folder names will appear from all Views with the exception of One Line Cite view.  Alternatively, you can open a record by clicking on the View icon  and the folder name(s) will be displayed.  

To manage your folders, click on the Organize & Share Folders or Organize tab (depending on your permissions set by your local administrator). TheOrganize & Share Folders area displays a list of folder names, the number of references in each folder and the total number of references in the database. From here you can create a new folder, create a sub-folder, rename a folder, delete a folder, clear the contents of a folder, and perform a duplicate check on a folder (or subfolder).

Creating a New Folder

1. Click on the Organize & Share Folders tab (or Organize tab) from the main viewing area of RefWorks.

2. Click the New Folder button.

3. Type the folder name.

4. Click Create.

The new folder appears in all of the folder lists throughout the program.

Creating a New Subfolder

1. Click on the Organize & Share Folders tab (or Organize tab) from the main viewing area of RefWorks.

2. Locate the parent folder you wish to create the subfolder under.

3. Click the Folder   icon to the right of the parent folder name.

4. Select Create Subfolder from the list of options.

5. Type the subfolder name.

6. Click Create.

The new folder appears in all of the folder lists throughout the program.

You can also create a subfolder by clicking on the New Folder button:

1. Click the New Folder button.

2. Click the Create Subfolder link.

3. Select a Parent folder from the drop-down list.

4. Enter the name of your subfolder in the New Folder Name box.

5. Click the Create button.

Your subfolder is displayed below the parent folder and is slightly indented.  You can expand and collapse subfolders by clicking on the triangle to the left of the parent folder name.

You can add or remove a reference from a folder one at a time by clicking on the Edit or View  icons or when you manually add a new reference.

You can add groups of references to folders from any of the view options - All References, View by Folder, Duplicates (Exact or Close) or any Search Results view.

To add references to a folder:

1. Select the references you want to add using one of the following methods:

   • Click the box next to Ref ID to select a specific reference or references. These selections are not saved when you go to the next page. So be sure to add the references to a folder before moving to another page.

   • Under the References to Use option, select Page selection to perform the edit on the entire page.

   • Under the References to Use option, select All in List to select the entire list of references.

2. Click the Add to Folder icon  and select the folder (or subfolder) you want the references added to.

To remove a reference from a folder:

1. Open the folder (View, View Folder, <Folder Name>).

2. Select one or more references (as described above).

3. Click the Remove From Folder icon .

If you have a reference filed in multiple folders, the reference is only removed from the folder you are viewing.  

When you delete references from your account, they are automatically moved to the Deleted References area which you get to from the View menu option.  References in the Deleted References area will be automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days.

You can restore references from the Deleted References area to your RefWorks account.  Any restored references will be returned to your account with any folder information, attachments and RefShare comments.

To Restore Deleted References:

1. Select View, Deleted References from the toolbar.

2. Select the references to be restored.

3. Click the Restore icon .

4. Your references are returned in their original state to their original location in your database.