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#Prerequisites
I use TexMaker Editor with the MikTex distribution (OS Windows XP) I want to. And you've probably need to refresh the database as well.
- have LaTeX with MikTex installed
- have Texmaker installed
- (have an Internet connection...)
#IntroductionA bibliography becomes useful as soon as you begin some serious project and need to quote people. For that particular 'problem', LaTeX provides a super-powerful solution... Biber!! (which is in fact an over-layer of Bibtex)
So without going too deeply into the quotation process and LaTeX, just know that Biber is a really powerful tool that allows a lot of flexibility and once you try it out, you won't be able to LaTeXize around without it!
So I will try to explain how to install Biber (which format bibliographical entries in a LaTeX document) and another tool called Zotero that will help you a lot to create the entry database (it's an open source Firefox add-on).
#Biber
##PreparationFirst of all, let's create a small bibliography file to later be able to test if the installation work correctly!
In your LaTeX directory, create a .bib file and open it with Texmaker (or whatever you want).
Now, let's add a simple bibliographical entry to that file. All entries have the same syntax:
Please, note that entryType and the options aren't just random, they are all predefined by Biber. But you won't have to learn them if you install Zotero! We'll see that later. Otherwise, if you really want to know them by heart, you will have to read the package documentation.
Warning: the last line doesn't have a comma at the end!
##Installing Biber
Now that we have an entry, we can install Biber. If you have MikTex installed, you only have to add those lines to your project:
Note: As you see, the command addbibressource take the bibliography file as input. If you haven't put this file in the same directory as your LaTeX project, be sure to indicate the correct path to it.
Preparing the document
If you compile now, Biber will be downloaded and installed but nothing else will change... No bibliography!
But don't worry, that's normal! You still need to do two or three things before it appears:
In our case, we will use the command cite{mittelbach_latex_2004}. 'mittelbach_latex_2004' is what I called the entryName earlier. This name is really important because it is the value you use in the cite command so make sure to use some clear and easy-to-remember name (or much better, use a naming convention as shown!). And, last remark, all those names must be unique. Otherwise LaTeX will return an error.
Note that LaTeX will only print the entries you've used in the document in the bibliography.
Compiling
The document is now ready. Let's compile! Here is the procedure:
Warning: You only compile the .tex document! The .bib file is never compiled (even with Biber)!
I know this might seem exhausting but it is not! Compiling with LaTeX (at least in TexMaker) is a really simple and quick process so the first and third step aren't that much of a problem. And concerning the second one, you only need to do it if you change something in your quotes (so not that often...).
To compile your document with Biber in TexMaker, change the compilation option to Bibtex (compilation option = drop-down menu right to the first blue arrow in the window's buttons), then go the option menu - configure TexMaker - commands and in the Bibtex option, delete the previous text to paste this one: Biber %. This only tells TexMaker to call the Biber command when asked to compile the bibliography instead of Bibtex. And here you are, you can now compile with Biber.
If you want, you can redefine the quick build command ('compilation rapide' in French) to always compile the bibliography. The big problem with it is, that it slows down the compilation process a lot (down to 3 times slower than usual)...
Anyway, to make it: option menu - configure TexMaker - quickBuild and then choose the PdfLatex + Bib(la)tex + PdfLaTeX (x2) + see pdf option.
In case you didn't understand any of the steps above, here is the page explaining it (French).
##Customization
If what you have now is enough for you, don't read this. But if you want to have full power over quotes, go on!
With Biber, you can customize several things:
- the appearance of the quote in the text
- the appearance of the bibliography
To quote, several dozens of different commands do exist, each having a different look. If you want to know them all, go see the package documentation. But here is a list of some useful ones:
![Comoverleaf Comoverleaf](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125451158/842483552.png)
- cite{} put a number between square brackets
- parencite{} put parentheses instead of square brackets
- footfullcite{} write the complete quote in the footer
Now, to customize the bibliography style, you need to put the following command in the preamble bibliographystyle{myStyle}. And here are some possible styles:
- plain: entries are listed alphabetically by author name and order consequently
- abbrv: as shown above but some elements are abbreviated
- unsrt: entries are listed depending on their appearance order
And there are a lot more of them if those above don't suit you. You can even create your own style if you want (but this goes far from the goals of this tutorial).
##Conclusion and summary
As said before, LaTeX only prints the entries you used in your document in the bibliography. This allows you to create one gigantic .bib file containing all your entries (one file is much easier to handle) and always use this file knowing that only the needed parts will be printed.
And that's it, we are done! You can now add bibliographical entries, quote them and create the bibliography! But just for you to remember, here are all the commands you need:
Zotero is a free Firefox add-on designed to help you manage your bibliography database which has the big advantage to be compatible with Biber.
##Installation
You can download it from the download page. It is available in two versions, the browser add-on or the standalone. If you use Firefox, I would recommend the add-on. In case you don't use Firefox, there are connectors for Safari, Chrome and Opera (I hope you are not using IE!) or you can install the standalone (it's fine to).
Once it is installed (you need to restart Firefox), you will see a small Z icon beside the research bar. When you click on it, it will open the Zotero tab.
##Functionalities
From the Zotero tab you can create a bibliography reference for the webpage you are visiting, organize your references in collection, register a book from its ISBN, etc.
One really useful functionality of Zotero is its ability to automatically grab information about a book from Amazon, Google Scholar or eBay. To do that, go to Amazon/Google scholar/eBay, search for your book, open the webpage describing/selling it and click on the small icon that just appeared in your address bar. This will automatically add an entry with all the book information.
If you want to further explore the possibilities of Zotero, here is the documentation.
##Compatibility with Biber
![Texmaker Refresh Database Texmaker Refresh Database](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125451158/302099494.png)
Now, let's get back to our point... LaTeX! Zotero has the really big advantage of being able to export its database to a Bibtex file (remember, Biber is only an over-layer of Bibtex). And it does a really good job doing so!!!
To export, right-click on one of your collections or the entire database (in the left-pane) and select export. As format choose Bibtex and then click Export. That's it, you know have a Bibtex version of your bibliography that you can use with LaTeX!!
##Conclusion
This small tool allows you to automate the information grabbing process. Used in connection with LaTeX and Biber, you are a God behind a keyboard (OK, it might be a bit exaggerated...)
I hope it will be useful!
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