Mendeley Desktop for Windows

User Reviews

• By far the best I have used

  9/24/2014

  Pros

  With its easy to learn user interface, Mendeley offers solutions to every situation I have thus far encountered when dealing with references.

  Cons

  I'm sure there is something, but nothing that I can think of currently. Though it would be useful if I could print references from the Mendeley library itself.

  Summary

  Amazing!

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• When it works it's great. When it works.

  NanoProfessor10/11/2013

  Pros

  It has a lot of really useful features. It has a great interface for reading and annotating pdfs. It works with LibreOffice which is great for linux users. It lets you organize your files into handy folders. And it backs up your pdfs online.

  Cons

  This program crashes *constantly*. I just updated to v1.10.1 and I think it crashes even more than it used to. I work in this every day and it crashes at least 3x per day, most often when I'm attaching a file to a citation. And you have to attach files a lot because it has another problem where it reports "broken chains" to where files are stored. This is really surprising because I have it set to keep its own copy of all the pdfs I add. When I go to fix the broken chain issue I have to point the program to where *it* stored the file. In its own structure. Then it crashes. You can avoid this by having Mendeley backup all your pdfs online, but you eventually run out of space and have to pay for it. I also had to learn not to go through a folder and open everything I might want to read. Because inevitably it crashes and I then have to do this sorting job again (2 or 3 times). You also cannot create a backup that includes your pdfs.

  Summary

  This would be an excellent program if it worked properly. I've also noticed that if you google something like "Mendeley crashes daily" you'll find a support post from two years ago with comments closed. Just in my workplace (academia) it is now common knowledge that Mendeley has these issues. That makes me think that they spend a lot of time cleaning up their online presence. Even for a good program you'd expect more critical posts and questions than you find for this not-good program. I have too much invested in this to stop using it right away. I'm transitioning to Zotero even though it doesn't have as nice of a reading/annotating interface.<br /><br /><span class='notifyMsg'> Updated </span>on Oct 25, 2013<p/>Update: Also make sure to be online when you do work in Mendeley. I sometimes turn off the wifi on my laptop so I can work more dilligently. I recently lost all the work I did one day when Mendeley synced the pdfs I read to the un-annotated version in its cloud-storage, erasing all of my notes and highlights. Back up, back up, back up if you use Mendeley (and probably just use Zotero).

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• Good features, unreliable software

  ouch21129/12/2011

  Pros

  The tagging feature is excellent if you can figure out the syntax (I could find no examples online except for one, which turned out to be wrong). The automatic citation extraction is getting better, too.

  Cons

  Desktop software crashes a lot, difficult to figure out how to edit settings. Not a lot of online documentation or support. Email-based customer support is patchy. Lots of problems with syncing, especially annotations.

  Summary

  Wish I hadn't invested so much time tagging things, or else I would try a different product. The search features just aren't worth the hours I've spent fighting with the software. Don't believe the hype! Spend $100 one time and get EndNote.

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• If you only want to keep track of references, maybe

  1w2e3r4t5y8/21/2011

  Pros

  Free. Keeps track of things tidily.

  Cons

  Does a great job of storing information. Good luck if you want the OO plugin to work or want to just export your bibliography. Get EndNote.

  Summary

  Don't bother

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• Very good product

  ermete226/14/2011

  Pros

  It is perfect for documents and academic preprints management

  Cons

  does not help so much for pictures

  Summary

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• Great product

  basilisk_abc3/22/2011

  Pros

  PDF metatada import, web storage/sharing of papers/citations

  Cons

  Lacks some functionality such as taking snapshots of figures, easily editable citation formats

  Summary

  The best citation/reference software I've ever used

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• Using a huge amounts of documents? Try this product

  mmccleaf11/9/2010

  Pros

  Easy importing of documents (I exported over 200 docs in under a minute!) Well organized format...similar to many academic databases (i.e. Ebsco) You can view list in many citation formats (I use APA)

  Cons

  Not all information exports Using the Google Scholar for correction does not seem to work

  Summary

  If you have high volumes of documentation, including other than PDF, this product is great! It is a qualitative researcher's dream! I highly recommend!

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• An easy way to search for PDF articles on your computer

  Nick36368/12/2010

  Pros

  I have well over 3000 PDF articles, books, and papers on my computer. And Mendeley Desktop makes it easy to search for them using keywords. All I need to do is choose 'Watch Folder' and this program catalogues all PDF files in that folder.

  Cons

  None that I can think of.

  Summary

  Most of my PDF files aren't related to scientific research. And I have no intention of sharing them over the internet with others. But this program is good for organizing and searching any kind of PDF files on your computer. And it's a real help for anyone who has a lot of PDF files on various subjects.

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• Superb Product!

  mscheka7/26/2010

  Pros

  I'm a FT Ph.D. student with 250 articles archived. Keyword search scans whole article, including elec. sticky notes. Integrates w/Word. Free online access to list. Automatic file search. Auto data completion using online scholar databases.

  Cons

  By the time I found this product I had over 200 articles. Going through each record to ensure the information is correct was tedious but well worth it. Not for mind mapping. A little bland in appearance.

  Summary

  As a full-time Ph. D. student with full-time job and family, I've found this software to be a life-saver. I used to sit on the floor shuffling through papers and skimming for familiar phrases. I now have a complete electronic database that's a breeze to to use. I use it to keep track of ALL of my research articles. I don't share my library because I have personal notes on many of the articles, and I track have my unpublished articles with it too. However I discovered it's completely portable on my jump drive. So I take it where ever I go without having to download the software on the host computer. I do have to have the articles on the jump drive as well. I would like to see mind mapping capabilities added. This is a wonderful product and I strongly recommend it.

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• simple-yet-powerful!!

  cryogenous6/14/2010

  Pros

  it help to automatically arrange references in library, you can add pdf file manually or add watch folder. if you're working with hundreds of pdf such as journals, books or theses, the software is proven to be very beneficial through keyword search.

  Cons

  you cannot automatically export the library together with your offline reference collection, hope this feature will be there soon!!

  Summary

  did you have a problem in finding specific topic or statement from the journal you have read? and you will search each one of the journal, folder by folder. it's really tiring and time-consuming! but, with this software, offline searching will be very easy and fast!! the searching will include the whole body of your pdf collection. add your pdf manually into library, or choose add watch folder for automatic update. you will see all your reference listed in order, with respective title, author, year of release, journal title, etc. citation and bibliography was well-supported with MS word 2010 by special plugin.

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