SFX FAQs
What is SFX?
Who can use SFX?
Where can I use SFX?
Why didn’t I get a full text link for my article?
Why is there more than one option for full text for some journals?
I clicked on ‘Full text available via…’ but I only got to the journal’s home page. Why?
What do I do when I get a ‘bad URL’ or ‘Error 404’, or some other ‘not found’ message?
Why doesn’t anything happen (or any windows open) when I click on the SFX link?
What does the address ‘about:blank’ mean?
Why didn’t I get a link to download records to EndNote, Reference Manager or RefWorks for my article?
Why does SFX only download the first author for some articles?
Who do I contact for additional help or for answers to questions about SFX?
What is SFX?
SFX is a means of accessing the full text of an article and other resources, where available, from a citation in a database.
Click on the SFX button 
to view the menu of services:
Who can use SFX?
The SFX Link Service is available to all Imperial College London staff and students.
Where can I use SFX?
SFX can be used from any College PC as well as from home. You may need to log in with a College username and password or connect to the VPN (Virtual Private Network), see off-site access.
Why didn’t I get a full text link for my article?
Reasons may include:
- There is no subscription to this journal by Imperial
- The article is not yet available online (either very recent or archived)
- It is not SFX enabled
Why is there more than one option for full text for some journals?
There is some overlap in our access to electronic journals and databases; you may sometimes find that the same journal is available electronically via more than one source. One source may work better off-site.
I clicked on ‘Full text available via…’ but I only got to the journal’s home page. Why?
SFX tries to get as close to the full text of the article as it can; however, some publishers only allow SFX to link to the Table of Contents whereas others may let SFX link to the journal homepage.
What do I do when I get a ‘bad URL’ or ‘Error 404’, or some other ‘not found’ message?
This could mean that the link is wrong or out-of-date. We would like to know of any problems you encounter so that we can correct them. Please use the Feedback form on the menu to report any such problems.
Why doesn’t anything happen when I click on the SFX link?
If you are using a browser which disables pop-ups this will prevent SFX from functioning, as SFX uses pop-up windows.
What does the address ‘about:blank’ mean?
This is just the message which is displayed whilst the full text is loading.
Why didn’t I get a link to download records to EndNote, Reference Manager or RefWorks for my article?
The download option only appears in the menu if there are enough bibliographic details to produce a meaningful reference. The minimum requirement is:
Book: Title, author, publication year.
Article: Article title, journal title, publication year, volume, issue, start page.
Why does SFX only download the first author for some articles?
SFX can only download the bibliographic details it receives from the source. Some sources, such as Web of Science, only send SFX the first author even if there are multiple authors. You should always check the results of the download to ensure the bibliographic record is complete and accurate. As an alternative, you might consider using the direct export option offered by the source (if available).
Who do I contact for additional help or for answers to questions about SFX?
Please send us your feedback, positive and negative, via the Feedback form on the main SFX menu. Alternatively, for further help please contact your Faculty Liaison Librarian.
