share list of sources in Word

Margot Schwass 40 Reputation points
2026-08-17T23:53:58.4233333+00:00

Can a list of sources created in one Word document be shared with other users and documents?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
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Charles Kenyon 170.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-08-17T23:59:50.73+00:00

Yes.

Save your list as an AutoText entry or Quick Part.

This should be saved in a template that can be loaded as an Add-In by putting it in the Word Startup folder.

It will then be available in all your documents and in documents for users with whom you have shared the global template.

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Marcin Policht 107.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-08-17T23:58:23.81+00:00

Yep - when you add a source to a document, Word automatically saves it to a global Master List on your computer. To reuse sources in another document, open the References tab, select Manage Sources, and choose the desired source from the Master List on the left. You can then click Copy to add it to the Current List of the new document.

Word stores the Master List in an XML file named sources.xml, typically located at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Bibliography\sources.xml. You can share this file with another user, such as by email or using a flash drive. The other user can then open Word, go to References > Manage Sources > Browse, and select the sources.xml file to load the sources into Word.

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hth

Marcin

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  1. Stefan Blom 351.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-08-18T10:13:34.6033333+00:00

    Are you using a references manager tool to create those lists? The built-in Citations & Bibliography feature in Word (found on the Review tab) offers the possibility to save a master list, as Marcin Policht pointed out. Other reference tools will likely provide similar functionality.

    If you have created a manual list of references, you can store it any way you like, for example as an AutoText entry, as Charles Kenyon suggested.

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