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CiteFlow guide

Create a Bibliography from PDF Sources on Windows

Turn the PDFs in a CiteFlow project into a reference list. Choose a citation style, check the source details and review the finished bibliography.

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Short answer

Open Bibliography in your CiteFlow project, choose the citation style you need and generate a reference list. If the app asks you to review source details, compare the marked fields with the paper, save your corrections and continue. Check the finished list before adding it to your document.

This guide covers CiteFlow. Check requirements and download options before you begin.

Before you start

  • CiteFlow on Windows and a project containing the PDFs you want to cite.
  • The citation style requested by your school, journal or other recipient.
  • The papers themselves so you can check the author, title and year.

Start here

  1. Open the project and let preparation finish

    For a first try, use a project with two or three papers. Wait while CiteFlow prepares their source details. You do not need to import the PDFs again if preparation is still running. Before adding private papers, check Network & data: preparation can request source details and title translations online.

  2. Choose the style and sources

    Open Bibliography and choose the citation style you need. Review the option to include uncited sources. For a list of every paper in this small project, include them; for a list limited to cited sources, leave that option off. Generate the bibliography.

  3. Check any details that need attention

    If Some sources need attention appears, choose Edit sources. Use Open PDF or the original publication record to check the author names, title, year and source type. For example, the title printed on a paper is a better starting point than a filename such as download-2.pdf. Leave uncertain details for review instead of guessing.

  4. Save the corrections

    Use Save and next for each source, then Finish review for the last one. If a field still needs work, read its message and check it against the paper. If you want to stop, cancel the review; corrections you already saved remain saved.

  5. Read the reference list in your document

    Check that the intended sources appear in the generated list. Compare names, dates and titles with the papers. Copy or export the list, then review it where you will use it. A formatted bibliography is a draft to check, not proof that every source detail is right.

Check your result

  • The list includes the papers you intended to cite.
  • Author names, titles and years agree with the papers.
  • The citation style matches the recipient’s requirements.
  • The copied or exported list still reads correctly in your document.

If you are not ready to include a source

Skip these sources in this output leaves them out of this bibliography but keeps them in the project. You can check them and generate a new list later.

Remove these sources and continue removes them from the project. To keep everything and finish another time, cancel instead.

Check source details before the deadline

You can edit an individual source before generating a bibliography. When several sources need attention, Review sources lets you work through them together.

A saved quotation and its source details are separate. You can keep reading and taking notes, then correct the source and check its citation before using it in your final document.

If the PDF is a scan

A scanned paper may need OCR to make its words searchable. OCR reads words from an image; it does not confirm the author, publication date or citation style. Check those details against the paper.

OCR is optional and separate from the bibliography review. An available PDF can still be read without OCR. A canceled OCR job has not finished processing the document.

If review cannot finish

If Open PDF is unavailable, check whether the local source file still exists. Use a reliable publication record for the details rather than guessing. A validation message may concern title capitalization or language, not just a blank author or year.

Canceling output review does not undo earlier saved corrections or project removals. If removing sources fails, inspect the project before trying again: some removals may already have completed. Regenerate after the project is in the state you intend.

The app used in this guide

CiteFlow

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