Getting Started

To get started with VOSviewer, you may want to take a look at some of the sources of information listed below.

VOSviewer manual

The VOSviewer manual provides detailed and up-to-date information on the functionality of VOSviewer. The manual can also be accessed using the Manual button in VOSviewer.

Open VOSviewer manual

 

VOSviewer book chapter

VOSviewer is discussed in detail in a recent book chapter. The chapter provides a tutorial in which the use of VOSviewer is demonstrated in a step-by-step manner. The chapter is based on VOSviewer version 1.5.5. Some of the improvements and extensions introduced in the most recent versions of VOSviewer are therefore not covered in the chapter. In addition to VOSviewer, the chapter also discusses the CitNetExplorer tool for visualizing and analyzing citation networks of publications.

Open VOSviewer book chapter

VOSviewer paper

VOSviewer was originally introduced in a paper published in Scientometrics in 2010. In the meantime, VOSviewer has been improved and extended in many ways, so the paper is not fully up-to-date anymore. However, it still provides a useful introduction into the main ideas underlying VOSviewer.

Open VOSviewer paper

AIDA bookletAIDA booklet

The AIDA booklet introduces diverse case studies on research positioning and trend identification. These case studies are relevant for PhD candidates, researchers, group leaders, and policy makers. Many of the case studies make use of VOSviewer.

Open AIDA booklet

Comments

Mandatory fields
  • JESUS TRUJILLO October 10th, 2024 12:18 am
    Reply
  • Lucia October 4th, 2024 2:23 pm
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  • ashish aggarwal October 3rd, 2024 9:22 am
    Reply
  • Jen H October 1st, 2024 6:21 pm
    Thanks so much for all your work on VOSviewer. I'm working with an .ris file to construct a co-authorship network of 925 citations, I’m interested in visualizing a network of not only authors (.ris tag AU) but also editors (.ris tag A2). Is this possible?
    Reply
  • Aguer Rual September 28th, 2024 4:04 am
    Dear Team Manager
    I hope this email will find you well
    I am asking your esteemed office to allow me to permit me to
    download the app into my computer.
    Aguer
    Reply
  • Ezinne Chukwuma September 6th, 2024 11:26 pm
    Hello Team,
    I'd like to congratulate you on such a tremendous project, I think you guys are doing great work putting this amazing software out there. I'd like to navigate this further but I've encountered a bit of a challenge using your product. After downloading it I tried to launch the app but keep getting the error message "Unable to load Java runtime environment. I downloaded the MacOS version because my laptop is a Macbook Pro 2. Please can you help me to rectify this issue?
    Reply
    • Miriam Muñoz September 18th, 2024 1:20 pm
      I have the same problem. I am unable to use VOSviewer in my laptop which is also a Mac (Apple M1). I have the same error message when trying to open it: "Unable to load Java runtime environment"
      Reply
      • Kiara Peter September 22nd, 2024 3:16 pm
        Unfortunately I have the same problem :( is there a way to fix it?
        Reply
    • LyuHao October 12th, 2024 2:55 pm
      I met the same problem. Finally, I fixed it. When you install Java, choose "Java for macOS Intel" even if your mac is M series.
      Reply
  • budiawan August 29th, 2024 12:35 pm
    Dear VOSviewer Support Team,
    I hope this email finds you well.
    I am currently using VOSviewer on my MacBook for analyzing data, but I am encountering an issue with reading CSV files. Specifically, when I upload a Scopus CSV file into VOSviewer, I consistently receive a warning message that says "incorrect use of quotes."
    I would greatly appreciate your assistance in resolving this issue. Could you please provide guidance or suggestions on how to address the problem with CSV file formatting?
    Thank you very much for your support.
    Best regards,
    Budiawan
    Reply
  • Lahkimi Soumaya August 14th, 2024 9:14 pm
    Reply
  • Lalu Erwan Husnan August 14th, 2024 11:55 am
    Reply
  • Sandunika herath July 25th, 2024 5:48 am
    The impact of tiktok on consumer purchase intention among generation Z in the western province, with special reference to small and medium enterprises
    Reply
  • Sandunika herath July 25th, 2024 5:41 am
    The impact of tiktok on consumer purchase intention among generation Z in the western province, with special reference to small and medium enterprises
    Reply
  • susana July 15th, 2024 5:35 pm
    Reply
  • Zhao Xin July 11th, 2024 4:10 am
    good
    Reply
  • Pajaree Ackaradejruangsri July 9th, 2024 6:23 am
    Hi, I am now learning how to use VOSviewer for systematic literature review, but I encounter some issues. I download cvs file from Web of Science and remove the funding information already, but when I upload the cvs file on VOSviewer, I received an error message "cannot find author (AF/AU), address (C1), cited reference (CR), author keyword (DE), or Keyword plus (ID) field”.
    Could you please help?
    Reply
  • Prista Nurmazidah July 6th, 2024 7:24 am
    Reply
  • sylvia setubal July 3rd, 2024 1:16 pm
    sou aluna do doutorado em Ciencias do Ambiente pela UFT
    Reply
  • sylvia setubal July 3rd, 2024 1:11 pm
    sou aluna do doutorado em Ciencias do Ambiente pela UFT
    Reply
  • Anna Wilner June 25th, 2024 11:22 am
    Hi, I'm helping a researcher with Vosviewer. She wants to get a list in csv of the references with title, author, journal, year etc. of the clusters she has produced. We try, but only succeed in getting out what is visible in the cluster, eg authors, in a text file. Is there a way to get a list of all information about the references in a cluster?
    Thanks in advance!
    Reply
  • claudia serpa June 19th, 2024 4:11 pm
    i can t to install software into my computer. Please help me
    Reply
    • SonaFathi July 29th, 2024 9:22 am
      it does not need to install. it is portable exe file which you can run just by double click
      Reply
  • khoirul mubin June 17th, 2024 5:01 am
    Reply
  • SHEILA June 16th, 2024 11:36 pm
    Reply
  • ARVI June 2nd, 2024 1:30 pm
    How to analyze merged data of web of science and Scopus database on VOS Viewer, Finding error on uploading merged data file extracted from R-Biblioshiny.
    Reply
  • alim June 2nd, 2024 7:07 am
    I just find a great tool for doing journal review
    thank you VOSviewer
    Reply
  • Merging data from WoS and Scopus then remove duplicates to run on VOSViewer June 1st, 2024 11:23 am
    It seems that there're many youtube informations on how to merge data from WoS and Scopus removing duplicates in bibliometrix to run on biblioshiny. But there's no info. on how to do exact same thing in VOSViewer!!
    Can anyone help on this problem? any idea?
    thanks in advance.
    Reply
  • Zilke Claessens May 28th, 2024 9:05 pm
    Hi,
    I tried to upload a RIS file from a library in Scopus. However, I keep getting an error that the file contains an incorrect number of columns. I have no idea how to solve this issue. I hope someone can help?
    Reply
    • SonaFathi June 5th, 2024 9:27 pm
      I export file in csv format from scopus and did my analysis in vosviewer.
      Reply
  • Charles Aaron Adams Ekuban May 28th, 2024 5:42 am
    Citations, bibliographic buttons become inactive when i upload my file for analysis.
    Help me
    Reply
  • PARAISO Halile May 23rd, 2024 2:13 pm
    Errer while reading wef of science file ..... (line 1) : Multiple AU fields
    How to deal with this issue
    Reply
  • Azwan MH April 29th, 2024 10:36 am
    I'm trying to open the AIDA booklet, but got this error page instead:
    AccessDenied
    Access Denied
    7GSB8CSEN3DYKTAM
    A0Q28sk/PX805y14iG1Wv3ZV2qWVVEXYzY9/o6LuD4V0rIiVdAAZ8nB8dvXNgeyj533Ks7pZp3E=
    Reply
  • SUNAM NANDI April 23rd, 2024 1:00 pm
    I installed version 1.6.20. Most features are locked and do not function! What should I do?
    Reply
  • Myriam April 22nd, 2024 11:17 pm
    A good tool but it will be useful in spanish too.
    Reply
  • Ying Wang April 22nd, 2024 7:49 am
    我想用
    Reply
  • Chandu Tadanki April 12th, 2024 7:54 pm
    (1) I am using scopus to create a map based on bibliographic data. (2) I have chosen "type of analsysis = Bibliogrpahic coupling", and "unit of analysis = Authors".
    Given this, what does "clustering" mean? What is the criteria used to assign an item (an author) to a cluster?
    Reply
  • mustapha mustapha April 9th, 2024 5:14 pm
    I installed version 1.6.20. Most features are locked and do not function! What should I do?
    Reply
  • Chris Hicks April 5th, 2024 6:29 pm
    HI,
    I am working with the current version of EndNote, which does not support the export of .enw files. It can produce .enl files, .txt or .xml files. Please is it possible to import any of these formats in to VOSViewer.
    Many thanks,
    Chris.
    Reply
  • Colab April 4th, 2024 8:30 am
    Hi,
    Just wondering If I could use VOSveiwer to visualize the already downloaded papers to see the relation between them. I have gathered those papers from different databases and want to visualize them in one plot.
    Reply
  • Vickey March 22nd, 2024 10:44 pm
    10 Tell-Tale Signs You Need To Buy A UK Pornstar British porn Star
    Reply
  • Valeria Reyes March 20th, 2024 4:52 pm
    Hi everyone! I'm trying to analyse a database from WOS however when I try to use it at VOSviewer I got this message "multiple AU fields". How can I solve it?
    Reply
    • Laura April 8th, 2024 5:29 pm
      The same happens to me, could someone give us a solution?
      Reply
    • SonaFathi June 5th, 2024 9:32 pm
      maybe you choose wrong file format while exporting. I use .txt and it works with out problem
      Reply
  • Valeria March 14th, 2024 5:25 pm
    Hola a todos! Intento analizar una base de datos de WOS, sin embargo al ingresarla a vosviewer me sale el siguiente error "multiple AU fields". ¿Cómo lo resuelvo?
    Reply
  • MOHAMED MOUSTAFA YOUSSEF March 10th, 2024 9:42 pm
    Thank you so much for your efforts
    Reply
  • Marijane White March 1st, 2024 3:27 am
    Have the developers noticed that the red/green/blue columns in map files are being ignored in versions 1.6._19 and 1.6.20? I have tried to submit a message about this bug via the contact form twice but I am not confident it is submitting successfully, it just loads a blank page. Does anyone have a macOS installer for version 1.6_16 they might be able to share? That's the last version where this feature was still working, but I've unfortunately uninstalled it from my computer.
    Reply
  • Magdalena Z February 29th, 2024 3:24 pm
    Dear all, is it possible to save our results with VOSviewer and open them later in the program?
    When I save the file with "save...." after opening it in VOSviewer, it is not possible to see the lines connecting the keywords. I can only see certain keywords
    Reply
    • Marijane White February 29th, 2024 11:43 pm
      Magdelena, what format are you saving to? I believe if you save your work to the map and network files, reopening these should reproduce the graphs exactly as they were when you saved them.
      Reply
  • Amber C February 18th, 2024 8:36 pm
    Hello, when I select the files, an error of "multiple AB fields" pops up, but I don't know how to amend the ris. text, or is there any other solution? Many thanks.
    Reply
  • ian February 16th, 2024 4:24 pm
    Perhaps you can consider open-sourcing this awesome software so that we can assist you in completing compatibility upgrades and issue fixes
    Reply
  • Natcha Poonsiri January 31st, 2024 5:43 pm
    I already successfully installed Java 8 Update 401 in my mac but the VOSviewer still show that it's unable to load Java Runtime Environment. What can I do?
    Reply
    • Devon Whetstone March 27th, 2024 6:39 pm
      I am experiencing the exact same problem. Did you every find or receive a solution?
      Reply
      • Serena April 2nd, 2024 12:56 pm
        me too on Macbook M1 Sonoma.. any solution?
        Reply
        • Cesc May 21st, 2024 2:50 pm
          Same here
          Reply
    • Stephen McAleese July 11th, 2024 10:06 pm
      I had this problem and I got it working by downloading Java for macOS intel.
      Reply
  • Marcelo Oliva January 30th, 2024 3:56 am
    Hi Nees Jan van Eck and Ludo Waltman. Just trying to download AIDA booklet and it appears that the download link provided does not work anymore. Here is (I guess) the updated working download link. Thanks for your valuable work developing VOS, and cheers from Chile! https://pure.tudelft.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/40154954/AIDA_Booklet_V2.2.pdf
    Reply
  • Seung-Hyun Lee January 22nd, 2024 5:49 pm
    Hi, I'm trying to import Lens data (.csv) but it keeps saying 'Error while reading Lens file: Cannot find Author/s, keywords, MeSH Term, or References field'. But I didn't edit anything since I downloaded the data from Lens. and it happens with all my files I downloaded from Lens. What can be done? thanks in advance!
    Reply
    • Peerasin April 8th, 2024 4:36 pm
      I am experiencing the same problem as you.
      Have you found a way to fix it yet?
      Reply
      • The same error from my side... May 8th, 2024 2:04 pm
        Any detail about how to fix it?
        Reply
    • john August 4th, 2024 3:56 am
      I have the same error,
      Reply
  • Bastian Weck January 22nd, 2024 1:08 pm
    I can't open VOSviewer anymore after I worked a couple of weeks with it. This Error code appears always: "unable to load Java Runtime environment".
    I've updated the program, java and my mac, but it doesn't helped at all. I've also deleted and reinstalled.
    Does someone might have a solution for that?
    Reply
    • Carol May 24th, 2024 9:31 pm
      Same problem, it just doesn't open
      Reply
  • Darren McCard January 22nd, 2024 8:19 am
    Anyone had any success using Endnote to create a map based on bibliographic data? When choosing data source, VOSviewer looks for an EndNote file type of .enw but Endnote now uses .enl file type. Tried using a .enl file but a get an error "error while reading Endnote File.
    Reply
  • Georges Casamatta November 26th, 2023 2:42 pm
    Hello,
    While I have successfully run vos viewer a number of times, I just received the following error message when trying to create a citation map:
    An unexpected error has occurred (java.lang.NegativeArraySizeException: -2052726983 at line 206 of Arrays.java). VOSviewer will be terminated.
    Any help is appreciated!
    Reply
  • Wilbur November 24th, 2023 5:35 am
    Hello. I am trying to export a graph as an SVG file . However, I am getting the following error many times:
    "This page contains the following errors:
    error on line 16 at column 7: Encoding error"
    For other format like PNG, jpg do not have this issue. Please help me with this, thank you!
    Reply
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