A CiteKey (called Access keys in previous versions of Citation) is a link between your document and a specific record in your datafile. Cite Keys in a document are enclosed in curly braces, and contain one or more CiteKeys from a Citation record (called Access Phrases in previous versions of Citation) for the work(s) cited. Specific page references can be included in the Key, for footnotes and short form in text citations.

When Generate Citations is run, Citation replaces these Keys with footnotes, endnotes, reference numbers for a list of works cited, or short form citations.

For example: To cite page 920 in the article by Patterson, entered here as a Citation record: The following Cite key would need to be placed in our document: {Patterson 2016: 920} When we run Generate Citations, this key will be replaced by a reference, that might look like this: L. Ray Patterson, Legal Ethics and the Lawyer's Duty of Loyalty, 29 Emory L.J. 909, 920 (2016).

Example of a document with cite keys:

Recently it has become clear that AIDS is a profoundly controversial legal issue, having the potential to challenge the basic tenets of our penal system. According to one study, AIDS is fourteen times more prevalent in our prison systems than in the general population. {Mayer 2015: 520} In various articles and essays published in recent years, it has been argued that these statistics compel us to rethink the implications of sentencing in general, {Jurgens 2011} and perhaps even the constitutionality of incarceration. {AIDS in Prison 2016; Boyne 2014; Vaid 2016}

Note that cite keys can be entered directly into footnotes with other explanatory text.

To insert a CiteKey in your document from the Main Edit

1. Position the cursor in your word processing document at the point for the in text citation.
2. Locate the Citation record for the work you want to cite.
3. Click the Cite button. Citation will display the Cite dialog.
4. Enter a specific page reference, if that is appropriate, and click OK to insert the Cite Key into your document.
5. You can edit the Cite key for multiple references, to suppress the Author name(s) or Year of publication. See the instructions below for more information.

To insert a CiteKey in your document from the Short List

1. Position the cursor in your word processing document at the point for the in text citation.
2. Click View, Shortlist, and locate the Citation record for the work you want to cite.
3. Click the Cite button on the Short List to display the Cite dialog.
4. Enter a specific page reference, if that is appropriate, and click OK to insert the Cite Key into your document.
5. You can edit the Cite key for multiple references, to suppress the Author name(s) or Year of publication. See the instructions below for more information.

Guidelines

Specific page references and pinpoint cites
Specific page references for footnotes, endnotes, and short form in text citations should be included, preceded by a colon, and a space:

{Wesley 1994: 224}

Multiple citations
When you are citing more than one work, separate the keys for each work with a semi-colon:

{Wesley 1994: 224; Woods and Jones 1993: 431}

Placement
Keys should be placed, preferably, at the end of sentences, following the period.

Several studies have furnished groups with information concerning serious infractions of the legal guidelines for waste disposal in this country {Wesley 1994; Woods 1993}.

Works consulted but not actually cited
You can include Keys in your document for works you want included in your reference list as sources you have consulted, but not actually cited, by prefacing the Cite Key with an asterisk:

Several studies have furnished groups with information concerning serious infractions of the legal guidelines for waste disposal in this country {Wesley 1994; Woods 1993}.

{*Torres 1988; Byers 1991; Wesley 1992}

Author's name mentioned in preceding sentence
If you have mentioned the author’s name in the preceding sentence, it is often the case that the short form cite should not repeat the author's name. To suppress the author's name in the citation, add an exclamation point to the beginning of your key:

The significance of these . . . projects lies not only in their own accomplishments but in the new questions they lead us to ask. First, they all call attention to history, but not history as "one damned thing after another," as Leslie White used to say. "History," says Marice Godelier, "does not explain: it has to be explained" {!Godelier 1977:6}.

When Citation generates the intext citation for this key, the author's name will be omitted.

The significance of these . . . projects lies not only in their own accomplishments but in the new questions they lead us to ask. First, they all call attention to history, but not history as "one damned thing after another," as Leslie White used to say. "History," says Marice Godelier, "does not explain: it has to be explained" (1977:6).

Year of publication mentioned in preceding sentence
If you have mentioned the year of publication in the preceding sentence, it is often the case that the short form cite should not repeat this date. To suppress the publication year in the citation, add an "@" at the beginning of the Cite Key:

The most recent of these studies, published at the end of 1996, attempts to describe the manner in which societies maintain social order in the absence of a state {@Taylor 1996}.

When Citation generates the intext citation for this key, the publication year will be omitted.

The most recent of these studies, published at the end of 1996, attempts to describe the manner in which societies maintain social order in the absence of a state (Taylor).