Fix Word Bibliography Showing Article Titles as Authors from Mendeley
Question details
The user is experiencing an issue where Microsoft Word incorrectly displays article titles instead of author names when importing Mendeley XML citations.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Importing citation data via XML from Mendeley into a Microsoft Word document to generate a bibliography.
- Observed behavior
- Word's built-in Citations and Bibliography tool inaccurately parses the Mendeley XML source data, placing the article title in the author field despite the source data being correct in Mendeley.
Ensure that your citation metadata is completely accurate within the Mendeley desktop or web application, and verify that you have an active internet connection to download any required add-ins.
Manage and Insert Bibliography Directly via Mendeley Cite
Bypassing Word's native citation tool prevents XML compatibility issues and ensures accurate academic formatting.
Microsoft Word's built-in Citations and Bibliography tool has limited compatibility with exported Mendeley XML data and often misinterprets data fields. To maintain perfect citation formatting, you should rely on the official Mendeley Cite plugin to insert citations directly into your document.
Go to the 'Insert' tab in Microsoft Word, click on 'Get Add-ins', search for 'Mendeley Cite', and click 'Add' to install the plugin.
Navigate to the 'References' tab and click on the 'Mendeley Cite' icon to open the citation panel on the right side of your screen. Log in to your Mendeley account.
Place your cursor where you want to cite, select the appropriate references from the Mendeley Cite panel, and click 'Insert Citation'.
Move your cursor to the end of your document where the bibliography should appear. In the Mendeley Cite panel, click the 'More' (three dots) menu and select 'Insert Bibliography'.
Manually Correct Word's Citation Source Data
If you are required to use Word's native bibliography tool, you can manually fix the swapped fields in the Source Manager.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft Word swap the author and title fields from Mendeley XML?
Word's built-in Citations and Bibliography feature uses an older XML parsing method that struggles to accurately read metadata from modern reference managers. This limitation often causes it to misinterpret data tags, subsequently placing titles into author fields.
Can I export a correctly formatted bibliography from Mendeley to Word without using a plugin?
Yes. In the Mendeley Desktop application, you can highlight the desired references, right-click, select 'Copy As' followed by 'Formatted Citation', and then paste the fully formatted text directly into your Word document.
Will updating Microsoft Word fix the XML citation import issue?
While keeping your Office suite updated is recommended, this specific issue is a known limitation of Word's native citation tool parsing logic. Using the dedicated Mendeley Cite add-in remains the most reliable long-term solution.
How do I change citation styles using the Mendeley plugin?
Open the Mendeley Cite panel in Word, navigate to the 'Citation Settings' tab, click on 'Change citation style', and select your preferred academic format (such as APA, MLA, or IEEE) to instantly update your document.
