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Troubleshooting RefWorks

Page history last edited by Elaine Shallcross 11 years, 7 months ago

This page contains guidance on some of the more commonly reported problems with using RefWorks and RefWorks Write-N-Cite (WNC).

 

General  

I want to write the chapters for my thesis as individual documents, using WNC to insert my references. How can I merge all my documents togther to allow RefWorks to work properly?

There are a couple of options:

  1. In Word work with a master document and subdocuments. You have separate files for the different parts but Word pulls them together automatically with a unified table of contents, consistent page numbering etc.  For more details see the Microsoft pages at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/about-master-documents-HP005234679.aspx. This requires good Word skills though.
  2. Create separate documents, format each of them, and then copy and past the formatted documents into a single and final (merged) document. Jason Harper at the Univeristy of Kent has a good web page that gives you more information on how to do this. See: http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/resources/reference-management/long-docs.html
Can I import references from my Google library into RefWorks?

There is a facility in Google which says export my library but tha tjust creates a “mylibrary.xml” file and I don’t know what to do with that. 

Use RefGrab-It to grab the list in My Library.  The only caveat is that the references may not be imported with the proper reference type, so you may have to use the Global Edit feature.
   

 

 

RefWorks 2.0  

When I use RefWorks 2.0 and Internet Explorer my screen freezes. What can I do?  The problem is probably due to Internet Explorer as it tends to have more caching errors than other browsers and the freezing sounds like a caching issue. You’ll need to clear out the browser cache, temporary files and cookies, then close all browser windows and try accessing your account again.
  1. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options
  2. Choose the General Tab
  3. Under Browsing History, click delete and then select Temporary Internet Files and Cookies in the pop-up window
  4. Click Delete and then click OK to exit
  5. Try accessing your RefWorks account again

Here is a fix for IE v.8:

  1. Click on 'Tools' in Internet Explorer
  2. Choose the 'Manage Add-Ons' option
  3. Scroll down and click on the 'Sophos Web Content Scanner' option under the 'Sophos Plc' heading
  4. Click on the 'Disable' option displayed on the bottom right of the menu and click on 'Close'
  5. Restart your PC
  6. Try accessing RefWorks 2.0 again. 

Alternatively, try using a different browser such as Firefox. 

When you delete a citation in a subfolder is it also deleted in the principal folder? 

The “principal folder” in RefWorks 2.0  does not automatically contain *any* of the citations in the “subfolder”.  A citation can be in both principal and subfolder only if you add it to both folders. Therefore, if you *delete* a citation from your database it is moved to the Deleted Items folder and is no longer present in any other folders. If you *remove* a citation from a folder (or subfolder), it will remain in any other folders that it has been placed in, or in your RefWorks database among the references that are not in a folder. If you have not added it to the principal folder before removing it from the subfolder, it will not be in the principal folder after you make the edit.
   
   

 

RefWorks Write-N-Cite (Windows) 

When I try to format my bibliography in Vancouver style using WNC v.III I get a 'null and void' message, but I can format the same document in Harvard style with no problem.

If you are on a PC and using Write N Cite III, here is what I suggest:

  1. Open your document and log in to Write N Cite. 
  2. Click on Tools > Revert to WNC V.2 Document and revert the document. 
  3. Then save the document. 
  4. Go back to Write N Cite, click on Tools > Convert to WNC III Document > Convert. 
  5. After the document is converted, save the document. 
  6. Then try creating your bibliography again.

When I try to open Write N Cite from within Word I'm asked to put in my Institution Group Code (University of Aberdeen) rather than being able to put put in my own account details. Even when I put in the Group Code, I get a message saying "invalid".

I'm using a PC with a similar spec to University PCs, using the same anti-virum software (SCEP), W-N-C version III, Windows 7 and Office 2007.

Typically when the group code is not being accepted the Canadian version of Write N Cite is installed by mistake.

  1. You should uninstall Write N Cite from the computer
  2. Delete the RefWorks folder from the computer. 
  3. Once removed, log in to yourr RefWorks account, click on Tools > Write N Cite. From there, click on the Previous version link and install Write N Cite III.  
My Write and Cite stopped working out of the blue. I can’t even open it anymore. It just does nothing. I tried re-installing Write-N-Cite but nothing really helps. BYW I installed Cytoscape recently. 

Try uninstalling Cytoscape and then run the bibliography again. 

I am having problems loading Write-and-Cite on my computer. I've tried uninstalling it and then re-installing it, but when I try to open the program with a Word document it doesn't load at all, or loads an Internet Explorer page that says that the page isn't loading. Has anyone else had this problem, and how can I resolve it? I use Word 2007 and Windows XP. IE 7 or 8 does not have to be configured for WNC, but there may be several reasons why you are experiencing difficulties in opening WNC: 
  1. If you are running a security software called Kaspersky, WNC will not run at all. Kaspersky has a blanket policy that disallows the above mentioned behaviour. 
  2. Windows Firewall and other firewalls must be configured to allow WNC to get to the www.refworks.com/refworks<http://www.refworks.com/refworks servers. These polices have to be configured by your IT staff.
  3. If WNC and Word are open and WNC does not recognize an open document, this is a network setting that your IT staff will have to configure in order to allow the 2 programs to talk to each other.
  4. Launching WNC from Word is a Word macro, more often than not macros settings are turned off across your network. While it is a nice to have, WNC can be launched from your Start Menu which directly launches the program without Word's macro feature.
  5. Network polices, WNC must be on your institutions "white" list. 
  6. VPN's can lose the WNC cookie information and cause the program not to run correctly or not at all. This is another case of WNC being cleared through your networks policies.

When I try to to create a bibliography with Write N Cite, I get the following error message:
Error w07FormatDocument System error: -1072896759

What does this mean?

The 'Event ID' errors are server-generated and do not point to any specific type of error in WNC. It is more indicative of an error caused by a miscommunication between your computer and RefWorks servers. The best course of action is to try again.
I want to use Write-N-Cite with Word 10 - are there any compatibility issues?

WNC III is compatible with MS Word 2010. There are some differences if you are installing WNC III with Word 2010. First Word 2010 must be completely installed on the local computer and then the computer must be restarted before Write-n-Cite III can be installed.

Additionally, Microsoft now offers a version of Word 2010 called Click and Run that installs a virtualization handler to your local computer and then runs the application on the web. WNC III is not compatible with this version of Word. The full application must be installed on the local computer for WNC III to recognize the installation of MS Word 2010.

 

 

RefWorks Write-N-Cite (Mac) 

I use Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac. When I try to generate my bibliography using W-N-C (for Mac) I get this error message:

'Write and Cite Encountered an Error While uploading the Document to the Server- System Error: 60 

If you have saved the document in the ‘.docx’ format, you may want to try and re-save the document in the compatible ‘.doc’ format. This will help to resolve any possible XML coding issues within the document.

I’m using MS Office 2011 for Mac and I used W-N-C throughout writing my paper but, when I tell it to make the bibliography, I get heiroglyphics instead of a formatted paper. My paper doesn't have images. By the way, some {{curly brackets}} were missing and were added manually. 

Here are some possible solutions: 

  1. If you have MS Word 2007 or MS Word 2008 for Mac on your computer save your document in the .doc file format instead of the .docx file format. Unless you require features or functionality specific to the newer versions of MS Word, this is the best practice in preventing errors from occurring while formatting a document.
  2. Create your bibliography via the Bibliography option in your main RefWorks account if you continue to have difficulty. To do this open the Bibliography menu (or Create Bibliography button) and select the Format Paper and Bibliography option.
  3. Delete the plist from your computer related to Write-N-Cite. Find the file at users/Library/Preferences/com.refworks.wncm.plist using Finder.
  4. To address the missing brackets problem consider replacing your current installation of Write-N-Cite with what is posted at http://www.refworks.com/refworks/WNCDownload.asp.
  5. NOTE: this can happen with long papers containing a lot of images. Add the images after processing the paper through RefWorks.  
   
   

 

 

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