Capturing Web Page Data With RefGrab-It

RefGrab-It works with your browser to capture bibliographic information from web pages giving you the option to import that data into your RefWorks account.

Here's how it works -- after you install RefGrab-It (as a bookmarklet in your browser OR as a plug-in, depending in which option you prefer)  when you click on the RefGrab-it Link or Icon, it will look for information on the web page.  If an ISBN number, PubMed ID, DOI (digital object identifier) or COinS (ContextObjects in Spans -- special coding embedded in the web page that RefWorks will read) are on the web page, RefGrab-It will automatically take that information search various web resources (behind the scenes) to get supplemental information that may be of interest to you that you can also import.  RefWorks may even locate RSS feeds related to that web page that you can invoke and import information from.

When you use RefGrab-It on a web page, it automatically opens a "temporary results page" in a new window.  You can view the information and additional resources first, then decide if you want to import the data.

There are two versions of RefGrab-It -- bookmarklet versions (for IE and Firefox) and plug-in versions (for IE and Firefox).  Note:  RefGrab-It is not currently compatible with Google Chrome.

Some of the optional features of RefGrab-It include:

RefWorks Association – You can associate your RefWorks account with RefGrab-It. Doing so will give RefGrab-It the ability to identify and flag references it finds that already exist in your RefWorks account as well as enable a direct export from RefGrab-It to an account.   A RefWorks icon with a green checkmark image7.gif  displays in the RefGrab-It results list indicating the reference is already in your RefWorks account.

Embedded Mode – RefGrab-It has two different modes. Embedded mode makes the RefGrab-It window pop up inside the current web page. RefGrab-It will float on top of the current web page and allow you to see both the web page and data it is displaying. If this box is unchecked, RefGrab-It will pop up in a new browser window or tab, depending on your browser settings.

The plug-in version has an additional feature:

Export RIS Format Files  – This feature allows users to override a direct exports from certain data vendors who have direct export options to EndNote.  This feature will re-direct the export into a RefWorks account.

Installing and Using RefGrab-It as a Bookmarklet:

Note:  The instructions below allow you to place the RefGrab-It icon in your browser's toolbar.  If you do not wish to have the RefGrab-It icon always visible, you can simply add RefGrab-It to your bookmarks or favorites list and select it there.

Important:  If you access RefWorks via proxy server for off-site access, please install the RefGrab-It bookmarklet AFTER logging in to RefWorks through your proxy server.

Windows Users

Internet Explorer Users:

1. Enable the Links toolbar in IE by selecting the View menu option, then Toolbars.  If Lock the Toolbars is checked, click on it to de-select it.  Then, from View, Toolbars click on Links.  A checkmark will appear next to Links indicating that this feature is active.  The Links toolbar should now be visible at the top right of your browser (it may appear in a slightly different position).

2. Navigate to www.refworks.com/refworks and log in to your account.

3. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and right-click on RefGrab-It bookmarklet link. A menu will appear.

4. Select Add to Favorites. You may get a security challenge telling you that you may be adding something that is unsafe.  Please say "yes".

5. The Add Favorite box opens and RefGrab-It should appear in the name box.  Click the Create-In button to the right of the name box.

6. The Add Favorite box expands and you should see the Links folder.  Click on Links, then click on OK.  A RefGrab-It button will appear in your Links area of the IE toolbar.

7.  Close your browser and re-open before using RefGrab-It for the first time.

Note:  If you do not want the RefGrab-It link in your toolbar, you can simply hide the Links area of the toolbar -- select View, Toolbars and de-select Links.

Firefox Users:

1. Enable the Links toolbar in Firefox by selecting the View menu option, then Toolbars.  Click on Bookmarks Toolbar.  A checkmark will appear next to Bookmarks Toolbar indicating that this feature is active.  The Bookmarks toolbar should now be visible.

2. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and right-click on RefGrab-It bookmarklet link. A menu will appear.

3. Right-click on the RefGrab-It bookmarklet link. A menu will appear.  

4. Click on Bookmark This Link.

5. The Add Bookmark box opens and RefGrab-It should appear in the name box.  Click the Create-In drop-down to expand the list.  Click on Bookmarks Toolbar.  A RefGrab-It button will appear in your Bookmarks area of the Firefox toolbar.

6. Drag and drop the RefGrab-It link to your personal toolbar.

7.  Close your browser and re-open before using RefGrab-It for the first time.

Netscape Users:  

Unfortunately, RefGrab-It is not currently compatible with this browser.  

Mac Users

Firefox and Netscape Users:

Customizing the RefGrab-It Bookmarklet

The bookmarklet version of RefGrab-It includes the ability to associate your RefWorks account so RefGrab-It will display an image7.gif icon indicating the reference is already in your account as well as the option to have RefGrab-It display in embedded mode.

To customize the RefGrab-It Bookmarklet:

1.  Click on the RefGrab-It icon from your browser toolbar (or select it from your Bookmarks list.

2.  In the upper right-hand corner, click on the wheel icon image8.gif to open the customized window.

3.  Mark the checkbox next to the preference(s) you wish to enable.  

4.  Close the window when you have finished.  Your selections will automatically be saved.

To use the RefGrab-It Bookmarklet:

1. Navigate to any web site.

2. Click on the RefGrab-It bookmarklet link/button.

3. The RefGrab-It window will open with references it has found.

4. You can expand or collapse the results by clicking on the plus or minus icon.

5. To view the full reference, click on the Show Details link.

6. To export a single reference, select the record and click on the export to RefWorks icon  image3.gif.

7. To export multiple references, select the records (or the Select All in Section option(s) or the All option at the top of the list to include all references on the page regardless of the section) and click the Import to RefWorks button at the top of the page.

8. If you are already logged into RefWorks, your references will appear in the Last Imported Folder.  Otherwise you will be prompted to log in and your references will then import.

Installing and Using RefGrab-It as a Plug-In

To Install RefGrab-It as a Firefox Plug-in:

Important:  If you are installing the RefGrab-It plug-in from off-site via a proxy server, click here for installation instructions.  The steps below should be used only when you are on-site at your Organization or off-site using the RefWorks Group Code.  

1. Navigate to www.refworks.com/refworks and log in to your account.  

2. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and click on RefGrab-It Firefox Plug-In link.

3. Click the Save button to save a file named Install.xpi to your computer.

4. Drag the file into an open Firefox window; Firefox will install the plug-in for you.  Firefox may also install the plug-in when you begin downloading it, depending on your Firefox setup. You may be prompted to restart your browser.

5. After you re-start your browser, the Firefox Add-on box will appear with RefGrab-It listed.  If you click on the Options button, you can enter your RefWorks login information for direct export of references you wish to import into your RefWorks account.  You can also enable an option to export RIS formatted files into RefWorks.  By enabling this option (disabled by default) RIS format files which are downloaded will be automatically imported into RefWorks.  Click here for information on setting the Options.

6 Installing the Add-on will add a RefGrab-It icon in the bottom-right corner of the browser (on the right side of the status bar).

To Install the RefGrab-It Plug-In for FireFox While Logged Into a Proxy Server:

1. Navigate to www.refworks.com/refworks and log in to your account.  

2. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and click on RefGrab-It Firefox Plug-In link.

3. Click the Save button to save a file named Install.xpi to your computer.

4. Drag the file into an open Firefox window; Firefox will install the plug-in for you.  Firefox may also install the plug-in when you begin downloading it, depending on your Firefox setup. You may be prompted to restart your browser.

5. After you re-start your browser, the Firefox Add-on box will appear with RefGrab-It listed.  If you click on the Options button, you can enter your RefWorks login information for direct export of references you wish to import into your RefWorks account.  You can also enable an option to export RIS formatted files into RefWorks.  By enabling this option (disabled by default) RIS format files which are downloaded will be automatically imported into RefWorks.  Click here for information on setting the Options.

6.  The RefGrab-It Settings box will display:

image3.jpg

Change the RefGrab-It URL to the URL which your proxy server would use to access RefGrab-It (you may need to contact your librarian or IT Department for proxy information).

7. Restart Firefox.

8.  The RefGrab-It Firefox Add-on will now be using your proxy to connect to RefGrab-It.

Note:  Make sure you are logged in to the proxy server prior to using RefGrab-It.

Customizing the RefGrab-It Firefox Plug-in:

You can customize the RefGrab-It Firefox Plug-in to import information directly into your RefWorks account.  You can also configure RefGrab-It to notify you if references displayed in the results list already exist in your RefWorks account.   

There is also an option to change display modes.  By default, RefGrab-It will display your results as a window on top of the web page you are viewing.  You can disable this embedded mode option and have the RefGrab-It results display in a new window or tab (depending on your browser settings).

You can enable an import RIS files directly into RefWorks (for web site that have a direct export option that produces only a .RIS file).

1. Log in to your RefWorks account using Firefox as your browser.

2. Open another tab in Firefox and navigate to any web page.

3. Right mouse-click on the RefWorks icon in your browser’s lower right-hand corner and select Preferences or click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the RefGrab-It results window.

4. Select the Associate RefGrab-It with my RefWorks Account option to automatically export selected references into your RefWorks account and enable RefGrab-It to identify references that are already in your RefWorks account.  A RefWorks icon with a green checkmark  image4.gif will display in the RefGrab-It results list indicating the reference is already in your RefWorks account.

5. By default, the Embedded Mode option is selected. You can disable the Embedded Mode option that displays your RefGrab-It results within the same window as the original web site.  If you disable this option, your RefGrab-It results will open in a new window or tab.

6. Select Export RIS Format Files to RefWorks if you want to automatically import .RIS format files from data vendor websites.  

7. Click the close button to close the window.  Your entries have been saved.

Using the RefGrab-It FireFox Plug-in:

1. Navigate to a web site

2. Left-click on the RefWorks icon in the bottom right-hand corner to capture the data.

Note:  You can also right-click on the RefGrab-It icon and select Grab References.

3. RefGrab-It will begin searching the current page for reference data.

4. A new browser window will open and in the main window, RefGrab-It will display what it identifies as the main reference first.  Additional information found by RefGrab-It will be categorized and displayed below the main reference.  

5. To view the details of the main reference, click on the Show Details link.  To import the reference into your RefWorks account, click on the  image5.gif icon.  

6. Additional results are displayed in collapsed groups below.  Expand the group you wish to view the results of and view and select references like as directed above in #5.  If you wish to import all the references in a group, click on the Select All in Section link or the All option at the top of the page.  

7. Click the Import to RefWorks button from the top of the page.

To Install RefGrab-It as an Internet Explorer Plug-In:

Important:  If you are installing the RefGrab-It plug-in from off-site via a proxy server, click here for installation instructions.  The steps below should be used only when you are on-site at your Organization or off-site using the RefWorks Group Code.  

1. Navigate to www.refworks.com/refworks and log in to your account.  

2. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and click on RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-In link.

3. Click the Save button to save a file named Setup.msi to your computer.

4. Click on the Setup icon on your computer and follow the installation prompts.

To Install the RefGrab-It Plug-In for Internet Explorer While Logged Into a Proxy Server:

1. Navigate to www.refworks.com/refworks and log in to your account.  

2. Go to Tools, RefGrab-It and click on RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-In link.

3. Click the Save button to save a file named Setup.msi to your computer.

4. Click on the Setup icon on your computer and follow the installation prompts.

5. Locate the directory folder on your computer where the RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-in is installed.  Here is a typical location:  T

c:/Program Files/RefWorks/RefGrab-It

6. Open the text file RequestUrl.txt.  

7.  Modify the URL in the text file to include the configuration for your proxy server (you may need to contact your librarian or IT department for this information).

image4.jpg

The RefGrab-It IE plug-in will now be using your proxy to connect to RefGrab-It.

8.  Select File, Save to save the change to the URL and close the file and associated folders.  

Note:  Make sure you are logged in to the proxy server prior to using RefGrab-It.

Customizing the RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-In:

You can customize the RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-in to import information directly into your RefWorks account.  

There is also an option to change display modes.  By default, RefGrab-It will display your results as a window on top of the web page you are viewing.  You can disable this embedded mode option and have the RefGrab-It results display in a new window or tab (depending on your browser settings).

You can enable an import RIS formatted files directly into RefWorks (for website that have a direct export option that produces only a .RIS file).

To Customize the RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-In:

1. Log in to your RefWorks account using Internet Explorer as your browser.

2. Open another tab in Internet Explorer and navigate to any web page.

3. In the IE menu bar, select Tools, RefGrab-It Preferences.  

4. Select the Associate RefGrab-It with my RefWorks Account option to automatically export selected references into your RefWorks account and enable RefGrab-It to identify references that are already in your RefWorks account.  A RefWorks icon with a green checkmark image4.gif  will display in the RefGrab-It results list indicating the reference is already in your RefWorks account.

5. By default, the Embedded Mode option is selected. You can disable the Embedded Mode option that displays your RefGrab-It results within the same window as the original website.  If you disable this option, your RefGrab-It results will open in a new window or tab.

6. Select Export RIS Format Files to RefWorks if you want to automatically import .RIS format files from data vendor websites.  

7. Click the X button to close the window.  Your entries have been saved.

Using the RefGrab-It Internet Explorer Plug-In:

1. Navigate to a web site.

2. Right-click with your mouse and select the RefGrab-It link.

3. RefGrab-It will begin searching the current page for reference data.

4. A new browser window will open and in the main window, RefGrab-It will display what it identifies as the main reference first.  Additional information found by RefGrab-It will be categorized and displayed below the main reference.  

5. To view the details of the main reference, click on the Show Details link.  To import the reference into your RefWorks account, click on the image6.gif icon.  

6. Additional results are displayed in collapsed groups below.  Expand the group you wish to view the results of and view and select references like as directed above in #5.  If you wish to import all the references in a group, click on the Select All in Section link or the All option at the top of the page.  

7. Click the Import to RefWorks button from the top of the page.