Sciwheel : Create and Set Up Account

New users 

1. Access Sciwheel using this link: UNC Sciwheel Access 
2. Select the “No, I’m a new user” option and enter your UNC email address. Signing up with your UNC email address will connect your account with our institutional subscription, providing you premium access to Sciwheel for free.  
   • It is best to use your primary UNC email account rather than an alias. You can check for your primary account at  https://selfservice.unc.edu/ under "My Aliases." Your password will be newly created for Sciwheel and will not be your Onyen password.
3. You will receive an email with a link to click to confirm your account and will be re-directed back to Sciwheel.

Returning Users 

1. Access Sciwheel using this link: UNC Sciwheel Access 
2. Select the “Yes, I have a password” option and sign in with your UNC email address and Sciwheel password.  

Browser extensions and add-ins

Sciwheel uses browser extensions and add-ins to make it easier to use. We suggest you download both the browser extension and the add-in for the word processor of your choice to take full advantage of Sciwheel.  

Why download the browser extension?   

The Sciwheel browser extension is a powerful add-on available for most popular internet browsers. It allows you to:

• save articles quickly and easily as you search  
• add notes (highlights and comments) to web pages or PDFs 
  • Members of a shared project can share their annotations making the process of collecting relevant references much more efficient. 
• Add articles/web pages directly to your account

Download browser extension 

1. After logging in to your account, click the "Tools button" in the header then click "Browser extension" and follow the instructions.

2. Download both the browser extension and add-in of your choice. Please note, if you use multiple browsers, you will need to repeat these steps inside each browser to download the extension specific to each.

   • The browser extension is compatible with Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Please note that it isn't compatible with browsers for mobile devices, and Sciwheel no longer offer the extension for Internet Explorer, Edge Legacy and Opera browsers. More information can be found at https://sciwheel.com/work/faq/checking-compatibility

Why download the Word or Google Docs add-in 

With the Sciwheel Word add-in you can easily cite any references saved in Sciwheel. You'll get smart citation suggestions and be able to search PubMed or expert recommended articles in Faculty Opinions without leaving Word or Google Docs. 

Download the Word or Google Docs add-in 

Option 1: Download Add-in via Sciwheel

1. Click the "Tools" dropdown in the Sciwheel menu.
2. Click "Word add-in".

Option 2: Download Add-in via Microsoft Word 

The Word add-in is currently available via the Microsoft Add-in store. There are 2 ways in which you can install this: 

1. Directly from the Microsoft Add-in store inside Microsoft Word: 
   Open Microsoft Word, click on the "Insert" tab at the top, and then click "Get Add-ins". Once the Microsoft Add-in store opens, simply search for "Sciwheel" and click "Add". 
2. From the Microsoft Add-in store listing: 
   The add-in can be installed by following the instructions on the store listing here. 

Once the add-in is installed, a new tab on the far right called "Sciwheel" will appear. Clicking on the Sciwheel logo will prompt a right-hand side panel to open. You will be prompted to login with your Sciwheel credentials. 

Google Docs 

If you have our browser extension you will automatically see an Sciwheel menu in Google Docs, click there to install the add-on. If you don't then click  Add-ons, select  Get Add-ons and search for Sciwheel. Once installed the Sciwheel add-on will be visible in the Add-ons tab. 

Alternatively, you can visit the Chrome store directly. 

Please note that the add-on may not function correctly if you are logged in to Google with more than 1 account. If you're experiencing problems, please ensure that you only have 1 account logged in to Google and try the addon again.

Add UNC’s proxy URL to your account so Sciwheel can automatically attach PDFs of articles added to your account. Please note, this feature will not add PDFs for all articles, just ones that are freely available or included in UNC’s subscriptions. For PDFs not found, you may need to request the item through Interlibrary Loan. 

1. Sign in to Sciwheel  
2. Click your initials in the top right corner. 
3. Click “Account” in the menu that appears 
4. Navigate to the “Proxy settings” section. You can insert the Proxy URL here (UNC affiliates only): https://login.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=$@ 
5. Click “Save” to keep the proxy code in your account. 

If you use Sciwheel off-campus, you will need to reauthenticate access every 120 days to keep your account active. If you begin to see an account expiration count-down message, you will need to reauthenticate by logging into your account from on-campus or by logging in using this HSL Sciwheel link. If your account expires, it will revert to a basic, free account. 

Remember to log in from campus or from an HSL Sciwheel link at least once every 120 days to keep your account active.