Manfred Kuechler
Hunter College
Last
update: 4 Jan 2007
EndNote Version Comparison
All students, faculty, and staff at Hunter have access to a free
copy of EndNote for home use via a download from the Hunter
library web
site and proper authentication using the Hunter e-mail
address user
name and password. However, the most recent version X (10) of EndNote
requires Windows XP, but earlier versions (7 and 8) are
available
for users with other/older operating systems. In particular, Win98/Me
users can install EndNote 7.
This leads to the question of how these versions differ or what a
user with an older computer will miss. I was not
able to
locate a complete version comparison, but the information
below
(excerpted from the vendor's press releases) provides a good idea what
the new features in version 8 and 9 are. In a nutshell, a user of
version 7 will face
- lack
of "unicode support"
-- which is important for references in non-English languages
- limitations
in the size
of "libraries" and the lengths of texts entered in the various fields
(important for "abstracts" and "notes")
- no
Palm pilot support
- no
option to save references on a web server
All in all, nothing truly essential if the focus is literature in
English or in languages not requiring special characters beyond the
standard character set. But, of course, newer versions always include a
multitude of smaller improvements, bug fixes, etc.
In addition, there are tip sheets
(on
how to do basic tasks) separately for each version on the vendor's web
site.
Here are some more details:
New in Version 8
(excerpted from an
EndNote press
release -- June 2004)
"EndNote 8 offers Unicode support for any language,
unlimited
library size, new reference types and fields, and enhanced support for
electronic resources."
....
Unicode Support
EndNote 8
implements support for the Unicode standard, providing users with a
solution for processing and displaying multilingual text. Unicode
covers all principal languages of the Americas, Europe, the Middle
East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim. With EndNote 8 researchers and
students can cite references and create bibliographies for their papers
using any language.
Expanded Library Capabilities
Now with
EndNote 8, users have unlimited storage capacity as well as additional
ways to collect and organize references. Working in EndNote users can:
- Create EndNote libraries of unlimited size
- Enter long abstracts and notes—50KB or
approximately 10 pages of
text in each
- Use new reference types and fields—enhanced
support for
electronic sources.
In response to the increasing variety of electronic resources EndNote 8
provides new reference types including Electronic Book, Electronic
Journal and Online Database as well as new reference fields such as
Link to PDF, Electronic Resource Number and Last Modified Date.
Additional Connectivity for EndNote
References
EndNote 8
users can move an EndNote library to any handheld device running
Palm® OS 4.1 – 5.x and can locate references easily
with the new
“find reference” function. Version 8 now provides
over 2,200 ways to
connect EndNote with bibliographic databases and publishing styles.
New in
Version 9 (excerpted
from an EndNote press
release -- June 2005
“With a new database engine, performance improvements and
Unicode, we
have built a solid product for research communities
worldwide.”
.....
Expanded Unicode Support and
Increased Connectivity
Using
EndNote 9 with enhanced Unicode support researchers and scholars can
import, export, cite references and create bibliographies for their
papers in any language. Users can connect to data sources around the
world with expanded record syntax and text encoding, and EndNote 9
contains 20 new MARC formats that support native language libraries
worldwide.
Enhanced Performance and Library
Sharing
New
benchmarks optimize performance in EndNote 9 for sorting, importing and
exporting large reference libraries. EndNote 9 offers easy portability
of customized reference field and type information for collaboration
with colleagues. These new features along with other enhancements make
EndNote the bibliographic solution for the entire spectrum of
international users—from students to professional researchers.
New in Version X (excerpted
from an EndNote press
release -- June 2006)
“With EndNote X users can drag and drop a
PDF directly onto a reference and never break the links, making EndNote
the central repository of reference information and accompanying full
text articles.”
....
Expanded
PDF Management
EndNote X introduces a new way to manage PDFs. Simply drag and drop a
PDF file onto an EndNote record. EndNote stores the file with the
EndNote references, and creates a link automatically. Existing PDF
links in an EndNote library can be converted to the new PDF management
system in one step. And the new compressed library option creates a
single-file backup for easy transport of an EndNote library between
computers. These time-saving features make it easy to share an EndNote
library, including the linked PDFs, with colleagues.
Increased
Flexibility in Handling Reference Information
EndNote X provides users with more flexibility in how they work with
their references. Users can view up to eight fields in the reference
list display, and click-sort column heads to locate records quickly.
PDF links are identified easily with a new PDF icon. The reference edit
window now includes a new option to “show and hide empty
fields” to reduce scrolling through reference detail. And in
response to user requests, new reference types are
available—Grant, Ancient Text, Dictionary and Encyclopedia.
New in Version
X.0.2 (October 2006)
"EndNote X.0.2 is an update patch for EndNote version X. It contains several system enhancements and bug fixes including:
- A
new 'Transfer References' feature that enables one to easily move and
share references on the Internet with connectivity to 'EndNote Web'
- The ability to automatically convert EndNote version 4-7 libraries to version X format (Macintosh)
- Improvements to pasting from the Library Preview Pane (Windows)
- Updated Cite While You Write™ interaction with Microsoft Word
- Improvements to Drag & Drop handling
- Correct reference type assignments– "Journal" and others are no longer interpreted as "Ancient Text" (Windows)"