Using Papers: Editing & Organizing References

There is no guarantee that the citation data from a database or website will import your references' data 100% correctly. A reference may import without a DOI or PMID. Or edits may be required for the citation style you need. For example, the capitalization of titles may need to be changed.

Edit reference data by right clicking on a reference:

1. Click Update details to start Paper's Article Matching to populate any missing metadata fields.
2. And/or click Edit details to make changes to data fields yourself

Besides right clicking on a reference, you can also edit references by clicking on the title of the reference

1. In your Papers Library, click on the title of the reference you wish to edit. 
2. At the top of the information panel, click on the second icon . 
3. Make the edits you wish and click Save at the bottom. 

Papers uses lists to organize references by project, subject, etc. My Papers is the default location if references are not placed in a specific list. 

1. Click the gear icon near My Papers. 
2. Select Create List. 
3. Name the list.
4. Click Create.
5. Go back to My Papers to prepare to move references. 
6. Select the articles you'd like to move.
7. Click and drag the articles to the desired list. 

Note: you can nest a list under others to create sub-lists by clicking and dragging a list under another list.

Smart lists is a useful features in Papers. Instructions and information about using Smart Lists. 

Create up to 5 shared libraries in Papers to collaborate with colleagues.  Share notes and co-write together. Keep in mind, each shared library can have nested sub-lists. 

1. In Papers, click + Create Library under Shared Libraries. 
2. Enter the emails of the collaborators, and make sure to hit Enter/Return after each email so a grey box appears around the email. 
   • Note: collaborators need to have a Papers account either through MWU, their institution, or individually. 
3. Choose the permissions for users: admin, member, or viewer. 

Learn more about collaboration with Papers. 

You may occasionally come across resources or articles that have an organization as an author which Papers will incorrectly format in its automatic citation generation. To address manually, this follow the instructions below:

1. Click on the desired reference in your Papers Library to open the side panel.
2. Click the Edit button [] and locate the section containing the reference's authors.
3. Add a tilde ("~") to the end of the organization listed as an author.
   • For example, "Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group" would be modified to "Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group~"
4. Click the Export button [] to check that Papers is now formatting the organization's name in a citation correctly.

Learn more about Listing/Citing Organizations as Authors.

Papers Sidepanel Buttons:

 Details

 Edit

 Share

 Notes

 Metrics

 Files

 Export

Smart Lists will auto populate a collection of articles that match your search terms from references that you add to your library. 

Public Lists allow anyone with the link to see the saved references.