RefWorks: Using RCM in Microsoft Word

Find the right RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM) writing tool for you based on your operating system and version. 

Windows 10

Windows 11

MacOS Versions 10.15+

iOS (iPad)

RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM) is an add-in for Microsoft Word that enables you to run a simplified version of RefWorks inside Word. 

To use RCM for Word, Microsoft requires that Microsoft Edge (or Internet Explorer for older Windows versions) is installed for Microsoft Windows users and that Safari is installed for macOS users. See Web Add-ins for details.

Features:

• Provides read-only access to your RefWorks account, enabling you to view and insert your references into your document, formatted using previously defined citation styles. Changes to references can be done only from your RefWorks account.
• You can add in-text and footnote citations. You can configure RCM to add new citations to a bibliography at the end of the document. As you add or remove references, RCM automatically updates the bibliography.
• Every time you log in to RCM, it is automatically updated to show your your RefWorks references. You can also update manually by clicking the refresh icon or selecting the Refresh and Update option in the Main Menu.
• RefWorks users who wish to collaborate on writing a document in Word Online using RCM can share Projects to fully collaborate. When the document is edited by multiple users, all must have access to RCM in Word Online.

Installing RefWorks Citation Manager

You do not need administrator access to install RefWorks Citation Manager.

1. In Microsoft Word, select Add-Ins > + More Add-ins and search for RefWorks, or go to https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200007520.

   

2. On the RefWorks Citation Manager tile, click on Get it now to install. Follow the installation steps required by Microsoft.
3. In Word, select the RCM tab and click the RW button. The RCM pane opens on the right side of the document.

   Due to a Microsoft limitation, when using a desktop version of Word (not Word Online), the tab appears only when using Word version 16.0.6769.0000 or later. If the tab does not appear, RCM can still be accessed from the My Add-ins menu.

   

   RefWorks Citation Manager - Not Logged In

4. Log in to RefWorks, this may take a few moments, especially on your first login. Once you are logged in, the add-in updates with your references with an icon to the Main Menu on the top left and a refresh icon on the bottom right.
   
   If another user was logged into this instance of Word, select Log Out in the Main Menu and log back into your account.

   

   RefWorks Citation Manager - Logged In

Managing RefWorks Citations in RCM

This section describes the actions you can perform in RefWorks Citation Manager.

• Insert a citation – Do one of the following:
  • Place your cursor in the document where you would like to insert citation. Select the checkbox of the reference, or hover over a reference and click on Cite icon on upper right corner of the reference. That reference is added as an in-text citation in your document.
  • Select the checkboxes for one or more references. A preview of the citation displays. For citation styles that support both inline and footnote styles, select the relevant option. Click Insert Citation. For citations in footnotes, first create a Word footnote, and then place the citation in it.

  If configured, citations are also added to a bibliography at the end of the document.

• Edit a citation before inserting it by performing the following:
  1. Select checkbox next to the reference and click Edit in the preview, or click Edit icon on the upper right corner of the reference. The Edit pane displays. The reference's citation preview displays at the top and its bibliography preview displays at the bottom.
     
     Preview and Edit
      
  2. Select Insert Citation to insert the citation in-text, select Footnote to insert as a footnote citation.
     1. Optionally configure whether to add or replace page numbers, format as a narrative citation, include/hide the author, include/hide date, or add a prefix or suffix to the citation. The preview of the citation and the bibliography entry refreshes accordingly.
     2. Select Insert Citation. A citation is added and, if configured, a bibliography entry.

• Edit an existing citation – Click on the in-text citation or find it in My Citations tab. The citation editor opens automatically.

  

  Editing Existing Citations

  Edit the information and click Update Citation.

  We recommend editing citations using the RCM Edit pane. However, edits that cannot be made with this pane can be made directly in the citation content controller. These edits are not synced with RCM and therefore are overwritten when the document is updated (for example, when a new citation is added or when the RCM refresh button is selected). We recommend making manual edits when document writing is completed.

• Delete a citation – Select Delete Citation. The citation is deleted.
• Edit citation font – The citations and bibliography font is based on the document font (displayed in the Word ribbon) and is updated whenever the document font is changed. If you are using more than one font in your document, see Updating RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM).
• Add references to a citation – Select Add references to the citation, select references from the list, and click Add. The references are added to the citation.