Skip to Main Content
LSS Logo

Referencing Management Software: Migrating from RefWorks

Important notice

RefWorks Access Ends: September 2025 Migrate your references before this date to avoid losing your library. Follow the step-by-step instructions below or attend a drop-in session for support.

RefWorks is being retired at DMU. If you’re currently using RefWorks to manage your references, don’t worry — it’s straightforward to move your references to a new tool.

This page will help you

  • Export your references from RefWorks and 
  • Import them into Zotero or Mendeley.

📁 Attachments won’t transfer: Full-text PDFs in RefWorks won’t transfer automatically. See the “PDFs and Word Citations” tab below for how to move them.

⚠️ Using RefWorks in Word? RefWorks citations in Word won’t update in new tools. Manual replacement is needed —check the “PDFs and Word Citations” tab below.

Still using RefWorks until the end of September? You can access the previous RefWorks guide here for reference.

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Choose What to Export

Before you begin, decide whether to:

🗂 Export your full library

  • Exports all your references at once, which is faster and easier

  • However, this method does not preserve your folder structure

  • Everything will appear in one list when imported into Zotero or Mendeley

📁 Export folder by folder

  • Takes more time as you’ll need to export each folder individually

  • But it allows you to rebuild your folder structure (collections or groups) in your new reference manager

  • Recommended if you rely heavily on folders to organise your work

 

💡 Tip: If you go with folder-by-folder export, name your .ris files clearly (e.g. “Criminal Law.ris”) so you can recreate the structure easily.

 

Step 2: Export Your References

  1. Log into RefWorks (new version).

  2. Go to either All Documents (for full export) or open a folder (for folder export).

  3. Click on the Share or Export icon.

  4. Select Export references.

  5. Choose RIS Format (compatible with Zotero and Mendeley).

  6. Save the file(s) to your computer.

 

🔍 Important: if you have full-text PDFs saved to your RefWorks account, those will not transfer with the export/import process. 

 

🔗 Helpful links:

RefWorks Export Guide (from UWM libraries)

  1. Open Zotero.

  2. Go to File > Import…

  3. Select your .ris file and click Continue.

  4. Choose whether to place items in a new collection.

  5. Click Done.

📎 Attachments: Zotero does not import attached PDFs from RefWorks. You’ll need to save those separately and drag them into your new Zotero library.

 

🔗 Helpful links:

  1. Open Mendeley Reference Manager.

  2. Click Add New > Import Library.

  3. Choose RefWorks (.ris) and upload your file.

  4. Your references will appear in Mendeley — check for missing metadata.

 

📎 Attachments: Mendeley does not import attached PDFs from RefWorks. You’ll need to save those separately and drag them into your new Mendeley library.

 

🔗 Helpful links:

Exporting and Transferring PDFs

Problem: PDFs stored in RefWorks don’t export with references in RIS format.

Solution:

  • Identify PDFs in RefWorks:
    • Go to Advanced Search in RefWorks.
    • Select Has Attachment as a criterion to find references with PDFs.
    • Optionally, add a tag (e.g., #attachment) to these references for easier tracking.
  • Option 1: Download All PDFs at Once:
    • In RefWorks, go to Share > Export Attachments.
    • Save all PDFs to your computer in one go.
    • Note: File names may not match reference titles, making it harder to link PDFs to references in Zotero or Mendeley. Use this to secure PDFs for later use.
  • Option 2: Manual Transfer:
    • In Zotero or Mendeley, use “Find Available PDFs” (Zotero) or “Add Files” (Mendeley) to retrieve open-access PDFs automatically.
    • For PDFs not found automatically:
      • In RefWorks, search for the reference by title/author in Advanced Search (use the #attachment tag if added).
      • Download the PDF to your computer.
      • In Zotero: Drag the PDF into the corresponding reference.
      • In Mendeley: Drag the PDF or upload via “Add Files.

 

Note: Zotero has a 300 MB free storage limit (~200-250 PDFs). Mendeley offers 2 GB free. Plan storage needs accordingly.

🔗 Resource: Utrecht University LibGuide (check the tabs under the 'Changing from Refworks to another tool' heading)

Replacing RefWorks Citations in Word

Problem: RefWorks citations in Word (via Citation Manager) won’t update in Zotero or Mendeley.

Solution:

  • Install the Zotero or Mendeley plugin for Word.
  • Remove RefWorks field codes:
    • Save a copy of your Word document to avoid data loss.
    • Select all text (Ctrl+A).
    • Right-click the selected text and choose Remove Content Control (or “Remove Field Codes” in some Word versions). This unlinks citations from RefWorks, leaving plain text.
  • Replace citations manually:
    • Insert new citations using the Zotero or Mendeley plugin.
    • Delete old RefWorks citations.
  • Rebuild the bibliography using the new tool.

Note: This process is manual and time-consuming. Start early if your document has many citations.

🔗 Resources:

Removing the RefWorks Add-in: To uninstall the RefWorks Citation Manager from Word, go to Insert > Add-ins > My Add-ins, click the three dots next to RefWorks Citation Manager, and select Remove.