BIBVIEW(1) | General Commands Manual | BIBVIEW(1) |
NAME¶
bibview - an X based graphical user interface for manipulating BibTeX databases
SYNOPSIS¶
bibview [standard options] [-file <bib file>] [-rcfile <conf file>] [-bibdir <directory>]
DESCRIPTION¶
Bibview facilitates the manipulation of BibTeX databases
(in the following called BiB). It supports the user in making new entries,
searching for entries and moving entries from one BiB to another. It is
possible to work with more than one BiB simultaneously. New types can be
defined and new fields can be added to existing types in a configuration
file.
There are six types of windows in bibview:
The main window contains menus for customizing bibview and for
working with BiBs on the file level.
The bibliography window (one for every open BiB) contains commands for
manipulating the BiB.
The list window (at most one for every open BiB) shows a list of
entries. It displays the fields author, title, year, category and type. The
fields that are displayed and the layout of the fields can be changed in the
configuration file. The entries of the list window can be sorted by all
field by default. The fields by which a list can be sorted can be set in the
configuration file.
The card window (at most one for every entry) helps editing an entry.
It contains boxes for each field of the entry (according to the type). The
fields can be edited by putting the mouse cursor into the card window. The
field with the input focus has no border. The input focus can be changed
using the <tab> key (move to next field), the <esc> key (move to
preceding field) or by clicking the right mouse button in the new input
field. You can change this behaviour in the resource file or in the file
.bibviewrc. In this case input will go to the field in which the mouse is
placed.
The annote field of an entry can be edited in a separate window after clicking
'annote' in the card window. The required fields are marked by bold lines. A
card window is displayed after clicking an entry in the list menu (left
mouse button), selecting a type in the `New` menu of a bibliography window
or duplicating an entry with the `Duplicate' menu of the card window.
The macro window (at most one for every open BiB) helps editing the
STRING and PREAMBLE parts of a BiB.
The error window (at most one for every BiB) is displayed if a BiB
cannot be opened because of syntax errors. The line with the error is
marked. The file can be edited and opened again.
Main Window¶
The main window is displayed at the start of
bibview. It offers the following menus.
File: Load and save BiBs. For choosing a name a file select box is
displayed. The file select box initially shows the content of the current
working directory or of the default directory defined in the configuration
file. A file is chosen by clicking a filename and the OK button of the box
or by entering a filename.
Services:
- Consistency Check
- Entries that don't contain all required fields for that type are shown in
the list window. If an entry contains a crossreference, it is regarded as
complete. (The crossreference is not checked)
- Unify
- Insert all entries of one BiB in another. If there are key conflicts, a
new key is generated by appending a letter to the inserted key so the the
new key is unique.
- A LaTeX file with the entries of a BiB is created.
- Edit Macros
- Open macro window for editing the macros of a BiB.
- Load Configuration
- Load a configuration file.
Options: Change default options
- Beep on Errors
- Beep in case of an error (default: TRUE).
- Backup
- Before writing a BiB on disk, a backup of the file with the ending
'.bak,i' is created, where is is a number so that existing backups are not
deleted (default: TRUE).
- Icons on Desktop
- Icons of list and card windows are layed down on the corresponding
bibliography window (default: FALSE). This option doesn't work with all
window managers.
- Autom. Check
- A consistency check takes place if a new BiB is loaded (default: FALSE).
- Required Fields
- When saving an entry, a warning is displayed if it doesn't contain all
fields required by
BibTeX (default: FALSE).
- Ignore Case
- When searching for entries, uppercase/lowercase distinctions are ignored
during comparisons (default: TRUE).
- Print As Bib
- When printing a file, a LaTeX file containing 0cite commands is created,
otherwise the format of the LaTeX file is fixed (default: TRUE). The
default style file is alpha. This default can be changed in the
[StyleFile] part of the configuration file.
- Display Error Window
- An error window is displayed if a syntax error occurs (default: FALSE).
Window:
- Cascade
- The windows belonging to the same BiB (bibliography window, macro window, card windows) are grouped together. This doesn't work with all window managers.
Help:
Help texts are offered to the following topics:
Main Window
Bibliography Window
List Window
Card Window
Macro and Error Window
Program Info
Bibliography Window¶
The menu bar of the bibliography window contains functions for manipulating the corresponding BiB:
- New:
- Create a new entry. The type of the entry must be chosen from a pulldown menu. An entry of a type different from the standard BibTeX types can be made with the item 'OwnType' of this menu. The type can be entered in the field 'Owntype' of the card window.
- Search:
- Search for all entries that fullfill certain conditions. A window is
displayed in which for every field a regular expression can be entered.
The result of the search (the entries that match all regular expressions)
is shown in the list window.
If a regular expression is entered in the field Allfields, the entries matching the expression in any field are displayed.
A search for user defined fields can be made by entering a field name (no regular expression allowed, case not ignored) and a regular expression.
- List:
- All entries of the BiB are shown in the list window. The
card window is displayed after clicking the corresponding
entry.
- Macros:
- The macro window for editing STRING and PREAMBLE macros is
displayed.
- Print:
- A LaTeX file with the entries of the list is created
- Save:
- Save the BiB on disk. The BiB remains loaded.
- Close:
- Close the BiB.
List Window¶
The list window is displayed after clicking the menu item
list of the bibliography window, as result of a search or as result
of a consistency check. The menu bar of the list window offers the
following commands:
- Save:
- The entries of the list are saved as a new BiB.
- Sort:
- The entries of the list are sorted. The way in which the list is sorted
can be chosen from a menu.
- Copy:
- The entries of the list can be inserted into another BiB.
- Print:
- A LaTeX file with the entries of the list is created.
- Close:
- The list window is closed.
Card Window¶
The card window is used to create new entries or to edit existing
entries.
The field with the input focus has no border or (in the colour version) a red
border. It can be moved using the <tab> and <esc> keys or by
clicking the right button of the mouse in a field.
You can change this behaviour in the resource file or in the file .bibviewrc.
The contents of the fields are entered without the surrounding brackets. If
you want to enter a macro, '@' or '#', you have to use a preceding '@'.
You can change this behaviour in the resource file or in the file .bibviewrc.
The menu bar of the card window offers the following commands:
- Duplicate:
- A new card window is opened in which the field contents (except mainkey)
are taken from the actual card window. The actual card window must have
been saved, otherwise the new card window is empty.
- User Data:
- The card window is extended with the fields defined by the user.
- Annote:
- The annote field of an entry can be edited in a window.
- Delete:
- The entry is deleted from the BiB.
- Save:
- The entry is saved in the BiB.
- Copy:
- The entry is copied into another BiB.
- Crossref:
- Open the card that contains the entry pointed to by the crossref field.
- Close:
- Close the card window.
Macro Window¶
The menu bar of the macro window offers the following
commands:
Error Window¶
The menu bar of the error window offers the following
commands:
Configuration File¶
With the configuration file it is possible to customize
bibview. The standard configuration file is the file
.bibviewrc in the home directory of the user. The configuration file
can contain the following parts:
[Options]: Lines of the form <option name> : <bool>
can be used to set the default of the options.
<option name> can be BeepOnError, IconsOnDesk, MakeBackups,
AutoCheckBib, RequiredFields, IgnoreCase, PrintAsBib, Focus or
DisplayErrWin.
<bool> can be true or false.
[Types]: This section of the configuration file is used to define new
types, change existing types or add fields to all types.
Type definitions start with lines of the form t : <type name>
(define new type <type name> or add fields to the existing type <type
name>) tc : <type name>
(define new type <type name> or add fields to the existing type <type
name>, clearing already defined fields) t : all
(add the following fields to all defined types).
A type definition is followed by a number of field definitions of the form
f : <field name>
(add <field name> to the newly defined type or to all types (if `all' is
specified)) rf : <field name>
(add <field name> as required field to the newly defined type or to all
types (if `all' is specified)).
[UserFields]: This section is used to define user defined fields for
certain types or for all types. It contains lines of the form <type
name> : <field name>
or all : <field name>
[SortFields]: This section is used to define the fields by which a list
can be sorted. A sort order can be specified. The section contains lines of
the form <field name>
or <field name> : <sort order>
If $clear$ is used as <field name>, all already defined sort
fields are discarded.
<sort order> can be n for names or d for dates. If
no sort order is specified, lexicographic order is used.
[SearchFields]: This section is used to define the fields which are
displayed in the search window. The section contains lines of the form
<field name>
If $clear$ is used as <field name>, all already defined search
fields are discarded.
[ListFields]: This section is used to define the fields which are
displayed in the list window and the layout of the list window. The section
contains lines of the form <field name> : <field width>
<field name> can be mainkey, cardtype or the field names
defined by BibTeX or in previous [Types] sections.
<field width> is the number of characters that is used to display the
field.
[Predefines]: This section is used to define data that can be used in
the search window. It contains lines of the form <field name> :
<data>
<field name> can be allfields, mainkey, cardtype or
a field defined by BibTeX or in previous [Types] sections.
[LatexHeader] and [LatexFooter]: In these sections header and
footer of the LaTeX file produced by the Print command can be
defined.
[BibDir]: This section contains the absolute pathname of the directory
where the BibTeX files are.
[StyleFile]: This section contains the style file that is used in the
LaTeX file produced by the Print command.
[AnnoteField]: This section contains the name of the field with
annotations.
[SortedBy]: This section contains the name of the field by which a list
is sorted by default.
[Indent]: This section contains information concerning the layout of
the BibTeX file produced by bibview.
It contains lines of the form <parameter> : <number>
<parameter> can be FldIndent (number of characters by which the
field names are indented), ContIndent (number of characters by which
the first line of the field content is indented), NewlineIndent
(number of characters by which the following lines of the field content are
indented) and MaxLinelen (maximum length of a line when printing
files as LaTeX files with 0cite commands).
The Options part is not evaluated if a configuration file is loaded by 'Load
Configuration'. Options can be changed using the 'Options' menu.
Resource File¶
The resources (width and height of windows, foreground, colours, texts,...) can be customized with a file BibView in the home directory. A sample file is included.
OPTIONS¶
standard options:
The standard options are -display, -geometry, -iconic and others.
-file <bib file>:
The BibTeX database <bib file> is loaded at the start of bibview.
-rcfile <configuration file>:
Instead of .bibviewrc in the home directory the file <configuration
file> is used.
-bibdir <directory>:
A search for BibTeX files starts in <directory>.
LIMITATIONS¶
Because of a bug in the Athena List Widget there are problems with
files with more than ca. 1000 entries. The consistency check is not
sophisticated enough. Entries are sorted only by BibTeX key.
Ideas for more features are welcome.
COPYRIGHT¶
Copyright 1992 Technische Universitaet Muenchen
AUTHORS¶
Holger Martin, Peter Urban and Armin Liebl.
Send bug reports and ideas for enhancement to
liebla@informatik.tu-muenchen.de
Jun 1993 |