TC Technology Knowledge Base

Create Smart Groups in Endnote (Mac)

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Smart Groups are normal groups with the addition of criteria that a reference must meet in order to be auto-sorted into the group. These criteria are set by generating a list of search terms that EndNote will look for in each reference in the library. If a reference is a fit, it is auto-added to the respective Smart Group. You can use multiple Smart Groups, and if a reference is a fit in multiple groups, it will be added to each group for which it meets the criteria.

1. Click on Groups tab and select Create Smart Group.

2. Give your smart group a name in the Smart Group Name box.  

Specify from the drop-down menus on the left the field the term(s) should appear in (e.g., Title, Author, etc.). This smart group rule will apply not only to references currently in the library but also any references you add to the library from that point forward.

4. Find the smart group on the left under My Groups.

In the example above, the smart group has been automatically populated with three references that have Covert in Any Field written in any field (either Author, title, publisher, etc.)