I wanted to take a quick second to mention how much I like using Endnote X6 these days. I started with X4 about 2 years ago, and I really haven’t looked back. Now, there are a number of things that Endnote doesn’t do as well as other programs – like creating a reference automatically from an imported PDF as easily as Mendeley does, nor do I think that the ability to capture information from the web is as good as Zotero. It also doesn’t have the ability to map out ideas like Citavi does. It doesn’t have the smooth UI that Mendeley does. It also costs a few bucks more.
However, it integrates directly with Pubmed and many other databases. You can handle huge libraries with ease – my full library absolutely crawled in Zotero and Mendeley. The search capabilities for within your library- by author, by title, by keyword etc are great. The new “Find reference updates” feature is awesome as well. Endnote even provides you with 5 gigs of sync storage with purchase of the software. The sync abillity works just as well as Zotero or Mendeley in my opinion (except that it doesn’t sync in the background). Endnote also shines with the ‘Cite while you write’ abilities in Microsoft Word – it is fast, easy and very rarely do I have issues with it. It is also a full toolbar tab in Word.
Even if you don’t have to write often, or at all, if you read research, and want to be able to keep track of it, I highly recommend purchasing Endnote. For students, it runs about $115 – you won’t be disappointed.