Biology 415   Winter Term, 2001
Step-by-Step Instructions for Using ProCite (Version 5)

  1. To import your downloaded text file into ProCite, open ProCite 5 and go to the File menu. The Open window will appear. Navigate to the text file you saved from Medline or Current Contents, select it and open it.
  2. A new window will appear showing your text file with the parts of each record distributed on different lines (fields).
  3. Next, you will need to use one of ProCite's configuration filters to convert your download file to ProCite files.
    For Medline download files, navigate to the OVID OVID configuration filter in the File Format box near the top and select it. Alternatively, for Citation Index download files, navigate to the ISI CE configuration filter and select it.
  4. In the Target Database menu, select the database (e.g., a:---) where you want to send the citations.
    If you want to change the target from those given here or create a new file, click on the little button with 3 dots to the right of the Target Database menu. This will give you a new menu with options to make changes or create a new file.
  5. Now, click on the Transfer button. You should now see a message stating your citations have been transferred properly. These will be ProCite (.pdt and .pdx) files. With Medline-Ovid, you will get a box titled NO Database Identifier Found; click on the Default button.
  6. To view your references in the ProCite file, you need to open ProCite 5 (earlier versions will not work).
  7. In ProCite, go to the File menu, and select Open. In the Look In window, you will be offered some options, but you can navigate within this window to others. You will be able to look at the files on your floppy disk (a:---) using this menu.
  8. Once this file is open and displayed, you can mark indiviual records to make a reference list by clicking on the box to the left of the record to make an X in the box to the left of the record.
  9. Then, return to the File menu, and select Print bibliography. A reference list will appear. You can change the style of the references listed by navigating in the Output Style menu. Chicago B is a good style.
  10. To save this reference list, click on the Save button and this will open a dialog box that will give the options of renaming your file and saving it to your floppy disk. It will be best to save this as text only for this exercise.
  11. At this point, you should have all of the needed files on your floppy disk.

More general information on using ProCite can obtained through this link,
    but it is a PDF file, so you need Acrobat Reader to view it.

Return to the Guidelines for constructing a digital bibliography or the Bio 415 home page