Supported File Formats
ActiveSLR accepts two standard citation export formats: RIS and NBIB. These are the formats used by the major academic citation databases and reference managers. You cannot upload arbitrary CSV or Word files - your references must be exported in one of these two formats.
RIS (.ris)
RIS is the most widely supported citation exchange format. It uses two-letter field codes separated by dashes, with each record terminated by an ER - end-of-record line.
RIS field codes used by ActiveSLR
| Field code | Meaning |
|---|---|
TY | Type of reference (required - must be the first field) |
TI / T1 | Title |
AU | Author (one per line for multiple authors) |
AB | Abstract |
JO / JF / T2 | Journal name |
PY / Y1 | Publication year |
VL | Volume |
IS | Issue |
SP / EP | Start and end page |
DO | DOI |
UR | URL |
KW | Keywords |
ER | End of record |
Databases that export RIS
- PubMed - Export via "Send to → Citation Manager → RIS"
- Scopus - Export via "Export → RIS Format"
- Web of Science - Export via "Export → Other File Formats → Rich Text Format (Windows)" or direct RIS
- Embase - Export via "Export Citations → RIS"
- CINAHL - Export via "Share → E-mail/Save → RIS Format"
- PsycINFO - Export via EBSCOhost's RIS export option
- Cochrane Library - Export via "Export selected citations → RIS"
Most reference managers (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, RefWorks) can export your library or a selection as a RIS file. If you manage references in a reference manager, export from there rather than directly from each database.
NBIB (.nbib)
NBIB is the native export format of PubMed and NLM databases. It uses a fixed-width tag format with two-letter codes followed by field content.
NBIB field tags used by ActiveSLR
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
PMID | PubMed identifier |
TI | Title |
AB | Abstract |
AU | Author |
TA | Journal abbreviation |
JT | Full journal title |
DP | Date of publication |
VI | Volume |
IP | Issue |
PG | Pages |
LID | Location identifier (DOI or PubMed book ID) |
MH | MeSH heading |
Databases that export NBIB
- PubMed - Export via "Send to → Citation Manager" (selects NBIB automatically) or "Send to → File → Format: PubMed"
- NLM databases - Any National Library of Medicine database using the PubMed interface
NBIB is specific to NLM/PubMed. For non-PubMed sources, use RIS. If you search PubMed directly via ActiveSLR's PubMed integration, no file export is needed - records are imported directly.
File size limits
Individual upload files are limited to 50 MB. For very large searches (tens of thousands of records), split your export into multiple files and upload each separately.