What Are the Differences Between RefWorks and Legacy RefWorks?
Differences Between RefWorks and Legacy RefWorks
The following table details features that are available only in RefWorks and features that are available in both versions but with different names.
| Feature | RefWorks (blue interface) | Legacy RefWorks (orange interface) |
|---|---|---|
| User Interface |
Modern and intuitive Ongoing accessibility enhancements |
Outdated and less responsive Accessibility issues remain unaddressed |
| Reference organization options | Folders & sub-folders Projects: separate reference collections, each with its own set of folders References can be viewed by tags |
Folders & sub-folders Separate reference collections in a single account not supported References can be viewed by tags, called descriptors |
| Editing reference metadata | Multiple reference editing using Bulk Edit Metadata rich text formatting support Users can add up to 15 custom fields |
Multiple reference editing using Global Edit Metadata rich text formatting not available Users can add up to 15 custom fields, called user fields |
| Finding reference matches | Can search for reference matches in the Ex Libris database of over 4 billion records | Not available |
| PDF management | View PDF attachments using integrated PDF reader When uploading a PDF file metadata is extracted and enhanced from the Ex Libris database of over 4 billion records |
View PDF attachments only by downloading the files Metadata enhancement not available |
| Import references from websites that do not support direct export or export to reference file | Using Save to RefWorks | Using RefGrab-It |
| Collaboration options – folder sharing | With entire institution With specific users, with various permission levels; including collaborative pdf annotation (comments and notes) With non-RefWorks users via link |
With specific users or with non-RefWorks users, via link only |
| Collaboration options – Project sharing | Share Projects with RefWorks users | Not available |
| Collaboration options –writing | Project co-owners using RefWorks Citation Manager can each contribute to the same Word document | Not available |
| Writing tool add-ons | Available for Word, Google Docs and Hangul | Available for Word and Hangul |
| Copy citations into a document | Supported (not available for numbered styles) | Supported |
| Citation view, for viewing a formatted reference in a selected citation style | Shows the formatted citation and highlights missing metadata required by the selected style | Shows the formatted citation only |
| Citation style management |
Quick access to Favorite, Custom, Recent, and Institutional styles via dedicated dropdown lists Style customization using the Citation Style Editor |
Favorite styles management using the Output Style Manager Style customization using the Output Style Editor |
| Export Ref IDs | Ref IDs included in all reference export formats for easy reference identification | Not available |
| Deduplication | Choice of three deduplication algorithms Can de-duplicate a specific folder |
Choice of two deduplication algorithms Cannot de-duplicate specific folders, only All References |
| Admin Features | ||
| Accessing admin features | Via Admin section of RefWorks, available to users designated as Admins | Via Admin Tool using institutional admin credentials |
| Viewing user data | Export user data to CSV file for easy searching and sorting. | In Admin Tool (under Account Activity/Inactivity) using institutional admin credentials; data cannot be exported. |
| Viewable user information |
Name Customized information can be added to account creation (for example, Campus Name) |
Name Type of User (Role) Creation Date Last Login Date Additional info: UserID, # Logins, Login, Last RefID, Browser/OS Info |
| Syncing with external storage system | Enable/Disable DropBox sync | Not available |