Are you a user of the Mendeley reference management software tool and its add-in for Microsoft Word?
Did you upgrade Mendeley Desktop to Mendeley Reference Manager and then tried to install and use Mendeley Cite, the citation tool that is used for automatic citing and referencing in Microsoft Word?
Then you most probably have encountered the problem that you are actually not able to activate and use this tool like you used to do with Mendeley Cite-O-Matic, the previous plug-in.
After installing, the following message may appear:
This is because the ICT department of TU Delft has decided to block all Office 365 related apps from Microsoft, following the nationwide advice given by the SLM Rijk (Strategic Supplier Management for the Dutch Government).
ICT recently communicated this to the Library and informed us that they have completely closed the Microsoft AppSource and that they for the moment cannot make exceptions and whitelist add-ins.
Subsequently, the Library contacted Elsevier, the supplier of Mendeley Reference Manager and its associated add-in Mendeley Cite. We confronted them with this issue and asked if there was any alternative way for TU Delft users to obtain and install this tool. Unfortunately, Elsevier informed us that due to security reasons, it was not possible for them and also not in the pipeline to consider offering the tool in any other way than through Microsoft AppSource.
This means that for now we have a stalemate.
At this moment there are still a few other options if you really need a citation tool for Microsoft Word:
- You might go back to using Mendeley Desktop and the associated plug-in Mendeley Cite-O-Matic, However, Elsevier has stated that both will be phased out, so it is uncertain how long this will keep working.
- You might also consider switching to EndNote, available through TU Delft Software, and its accompanying plugin Cite While You Write (CWYW). For both EndNote and Mendeley TU Delft has a subscription in place and both tools are supported by TU Delft Library.
- There is also other reference management software that you can use, for example the freely available Zotero. Be aware that such software is not supported by the Library.
In the meantime we will keep discussing the matter with ICT and keep stressing the importance of having Mendeley Cite or any other crucial apps available to the TU community.
We sincerely hope that we soon will be able to find a satisfactory solution for all TU Delft users. If there are any updates on this we will of course inform you immediately!
Finally, if you have any questions or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us at library@tudelft.nl
Jorden Esser & Dirk Jan Ligtenbelt