Getting Started

Getting Started

1. Make a worksheet

File → New Excel Template → save an .xlsx file.

This is your article list. One row represents one article.

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2. Fill in PubMed info

1. Open the worksheet in Excel.
2. Type PMIDs in the Ref column (or select cells that already have them).
3. In Pub-Xel, click Import PubMed Data.

Pub-Xel fills in title, journal, abstract, and other columns you turned on in Preferences.

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3. Set your folders

File → Preferences → Library

• Main library — folder where you keep article PDFs

Click Save and Exit, then restart Pub-Xel when asked.

Name your PDFs PMID.pdf (e.g., 33301246.pdf), and save them all in your Main library. Don't worry about losing them. As long as you have your Excel Worksheet, you can access the files freely.

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4. Save your PDFs

Download articles from PubMed and save the PDFs in your Main library folder. Use the PMID as the filename (e.g., 33301246.pdf).

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5. See what you have

Select PMID cells in Excel → click Check if Files Exist.

Cells with a matching PDF turn blue.

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6. Open PDFs quickly

1. Copy PMID cells in Excel (Ctrl+C).
2. Press Alt+Shift+K (or click Open Files in Pub-Xel).

Works from Excel, Word, PubMed, and more — see Clipboard Actions.

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7. Inspect Window

Copy IDs → click Inspect Files (or Alt+Shift+J).

See which PDFs you have, read PubMed info, open or export files, or make a new worksheet.

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Background use

Pub-Xel often stays in the system tray after you close the window. Hotkeys still work.

• Tray icon → Restore — show the window
• Tray icon → Exit — quit completely