Importing from Mendeley (via API)

Starting with Citavi 7.3, you can import references, file attachments, and annotations directly from your Mendeley account. Citavi connects to Mendeley through the Mendeley API. Because Mendeley requires every program to use its own API credentials, you first register a personal Mendeley application to obtain a Client ID and Client Secret, and then authorize Citavi to access your library.

Important:

The files you want to import must be stored in your Mendeley account. You need to be logged in to your Mendeley account to register an application and to authorize the import.

Register a Mendeley application

  1. Open dev.mendeley.com/myapps.html and sign in with your Mendeley account.
  2. Enter a name for your application, for example Citavi Import.
  3. In the Redirect URL field, enter http://localhost:8080/callback/. This value must match exactly, including the trailing slash.
  4. Click Submit to register the application.
  5. Note the Client ID shown for your application.
  6. Click Generate secret and copy the secret immediately — it is only shown once. Store it in a safe place.

Import your Mendeley library into Citavi

  1. Open the Citavi project you want to import your references into.
  2. On the File menu, click Import.
  3. Select Another reference management program. Click Next.
  4. Select Mendeley (via API). Click Next.
  5. Enter your Client ID and Client Secret.
  6. Click Authorize. Your web browser opens. Log in to Mendeley if necessary and allow Citavi to access your library.
  7. When the browser confirms that authorization was successful, return to Citavi. The status changes to Authorized successfully!
  8. Choose whether to Download file attachments and Import annotations (both are selected by default).
  9. Click OK.
  10. In the import window that appears, select the references you want to import and click Add to project.

Please note:

If the Authorize step fails, make sure the redirect URL in your Mendeley application is set to exactly http://localhost:8080/callback/ and that no other program is using port 8080.

See also: