A plugin must be installed before you are able to use Mendeley with Microsoft Word. Mendeley plugin is also available for other word processing softwares, and the setup should be very similar. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Step 1: Word Plugin
To use Mendeley and cite your sources directly in your Microsoft Word document, you must install a plugin as below:
Ensure that both Word and Outlook are closed. Then open the Mendeley Desktop, go to the Tools menu and select Install MS Word Plugin.
Step 2: In-Text Citation
After installing the plugin, open Word document (new or document you are currently working on), and follow the steps below to start with in-text citations:
A. From within Word
1. Place the cursor where you would like to insert your in-text citation then go to the References tab and click on the Insert Citation button.
2. Search by Author, Title or Year, and select the relevant article from the list of results. You can search for more articles if you are citing more than one.
3. When done, click on the OK.
4. Select the citation style you will be using in the References tab in Word from the Style drop-down list. If it does not appear in the list, then select the More Styles...
B. From Mendeley
1. Place your cursor where you want the citation to be inserted and click Insert Citation in References tab.
3. Select the reference(s) and click on Cite.
When using "Author-Date" Style, you might need to use only the date in the text, such as "Smith (2009) argued", in that case you enter the citation as explained in the steps above, and you remove the author(s) following the below:
1. Click on the in-text citation so that it is highlighted, then click on Edit Citation ["Add or Edit Citation" in Mac] in the References tab.
2. Click on the author name so that it is highlighted, then tick the Suppress Author box, and click OK.
Follow the steps of section C right above, and in the editing window, insert the page number(s) and click on OK.
Step 3: Bibliography
You can insert a bibliography at any point in your writing process:
1. Place cursor where you would like your bibliography to be listed.
2. Go to the Reference tab and click on Bibliography.
The bibliography will be generated in the style that you define and it will automatically update whenever a new in-text citation is added.
Before Submitting/Sharing, it is recommended to remove Mendeley coding:
1. Go to the References tab, click on Export then select Without Mendeley Fields.
2. Follow the steps on screen to save a duplicate copy of your document.
Your original document with the Mendeley field codes will remain and can be edited if changes need to be made to your references.
The duplicate document can then be submitted or shared without risking problems with your references.
