Mendeley Desktop 1.19.8 was one of the later stable releases before Elsevier officially deprecated the classic desktop app in favor of the new Mendeley Reference Manager. For researchers who relied on it for years, version 1.19.8 represents the end of an era—feature-rich, reliable, but starting to show its age.
Mendeley Desktop 1.19.8, released on March 29, 2021, is the final stable version of the legacy Mendeley Desktop application. While it remains functional for existing users, Mendeley has transitioned its development focus to the newer . Key Features and Updates in v1.19.8
: There is no new feature development. Current support is limited to essential maintenance and critical security patches. mendeley desktop 1.19.8
This version primarily addressed stability and compatibility issues rather than introducing new features:
Review based on testing Mendeley Desktop 1.19.8 on Windows 11 Pro (22H2) and macOS Ventura 13.2. Mendeley Desktop 1
Mendeley has officially entered a maintenance phase for the Desktop application:
For more information, please visit the Mendeley website. While it remains functional for existing users, Mendeley
: Resolved a specific "Word cannot change the function of the specified key" error within the citation plugin for Mac users.
| Feature | Mendeley Desktop 1.19.8 | Zotero 6 | Mendeley Reference Manager (new) | |--------|----------------------|----------|----------------------------------| | Full offline access | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ Requires occasional online | | Custom CSL styles | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ Limited | | PDF annotation sync | ✅ Manual | ✅ Automatic (via Zotero cloud) | ✅ Yes | | Browser extension | ❌ Discontinued | ✅ Connects live | ✅ Basic | | Plugin for Word | ✅ Works | ✅ Better formatting tools | ✅ Buggy in older Word |
: Users are encouraged to migrate to Mendeley Reference Manager, which uses the Mendeley Cite add-in for Microsoft Word. Pros and Cons of Mendeley Desktop