Upgrading to the (New) RefWorks (User)
Overview
The latest version of RefWorks (referred to simply as RefWorks) offers an efficient and intuitive way to collect, share, and cite references.
After your institution enables an upgrade to RefWorks, both legacy RefWorks and RefWorks remain available to you as long as the institution maintains its subscription. You see a link in the legacy UI enabling you to upgrade.
Before Upgrading
- Familiarize yourself with RefWorks by reading the RefWorks User Guide.
- Documents created in legacy RefWorks can be upgraded to be compatible with RefWorks. Always save a copy of your documents before upgrading them.
- While the upgrade process is simple, we recommend that you do not perform the upgrade if you are actively working toward a close deadline. Perform the upgrade when you have ample time to learn the new interface before your next project is due.
Upgrading to RefWorks
Once your institution subscribes to RefWorks, there are two ways to upgrade your account:
- If the institution enabled upgrade, an upgrade link appears in the legacy UI. See Upgrade Link to RefWorks.
- If the institution did not enable upgrade (but has a RefWorks subscription), create a RefWorks account as described in Creating an Account. You can then export your references from legacy RefWorks and upload the export file to RefWorks as described in Importing References. If you have multiple legacy accounts, export your references from each of them separately. You can upload the files into different projects in the same (new) RefWorks account.
Upgrade to RefWorks Link
After your institution enables an upgrade to Refworks, a link to upgrade your account appears at the top of the page when you are logged into legacy RefWorks. Select this link and follow any on-screen instructions. Your account is automatically upgraded and your references, file attachments, folders, and custom citation styles are moved to your upgraded account. You can choose to import the references into an existing project or into a new one. (For more information on Projects, refer to Working with Projects).
If you have multiple legacy accounts, upgrade each of them separately. You can import references from different accounts into different projects in the same (new) RefWorks account.
After upgrading your account:
- Log in to your account.
- Install the Save-to-RefWorks browser bookmarklet available in the Tools section.
- Install the relevant writing plug-ins. Refer to the Tools section for details about the different available plug-ins and installation instructions.
- Re-share any shared folders (formerly called shared collections). RefWorks has more folder sharing options than legacy. For more information, see Sharing Folders of References.
- Upgrade your documents from legacy RefWorks to (new) RefWorks. Always save a copy of your documents before upgrading them.
Additional information:
- Update your contact list to include RefWorks Tech Support: RefWorks.Support@exlibrisgroup.com. Contact your administration or tech support if you have any questions or experience any difficulties.
- Visit our YouTube channel to view short basic and advanced features and tutorial videos.
Logging In to RefWorks
To log in to RefWorks, navigate to http://refworks.proquest.com (unless you access RefWorks using Summon's saved folder feature). If you have a RefWorks bookmark, update it to this URL (which is different from the legacy RefWorks URL).
Upgrading Documents from Legacy RefWorks to RefWorks
You can upgrade documents created in legacy RefWorks to be compatible with RefWorks. Always save a copy of your documents before upgrading them.
When opening a document created using legacy RefWorks (with Write-n-Cite or RefWorks Citation Manager) while logged into RefWorks, you are prompted to upgrade the document.

You can upgrade documents that have citations from a single legacy RefWorks account. If there are citations from more than one legacy RefWorks account, for example, if multiple people are working on the document and adding references from their own legacy RefWorks account, you cannot upgrade the document.
Upgrading a document is available with Write-n-Cite version 4.5.1645 for Windows and 4.5.1683 for Mac or later and all RefWorks Citation Manager versions.
Single Sign-On users need to log into (new) RefWorks before clicking Upgrade Document.
Troubleshooting Upgrading Documents
If the upgrade is unsuccessful, RefWorks notifies you as follows:

In the document, log out of (new) RefWorks and log in to your legacy account. This prompts RefWorks to sync the references in your document and prepare your document for upgrade. Log back into (new) RefWorks from within the document. The upgrade restarts.
If the upgrade is still unsuccessful:
- Re-upgrade your RefWorks account in one of the following ways:
- Log in to your RefWorks account and upgrade your account. Re-upgrading ensures there are no missing references in your (new) RefWorks account.
- Import your references and styles from legacy RefWorks to (new) RefWorks:
- Log in to (new) RefWorks.
- Select +Add > Import References, select Legacy RefWorks, and when prompted to confirm, select Authorize.
- As part of the authorization process, RefWorks prompts you to log in to your legacy account. Enter your credentials and select Login.
RefWorks imports your references and any custom citation styles from your legacy account to your RefWorks account. RefWorks notifies you when the process is complete.Imported records appear in the Last Imported folder.
- Open your document, log in to (new) RefWorks, and try upgrading the document again.
- If the upgrade is still unsuccessful, delete the missing references from your document, save the document, close the document, reopen it, and try upgrading the document again.
If you continue to experience problems, contact your administrator or RefWorks Tech Support for assistance.