Make one author's name bold every time it shows up in the bibliography

Question

I'm working on a CV. I'd like to highlight my name in every entry in the bibliography. I've tried simply replacing {myname} with {\bf myname} or {{\bf myname}}, but they fail with various errors, particularly when sorting.

This post gives a solution that's nearly what I'm looking for. The solution in the linked post is to use:

\newcommand{\myname}[1]{\textbf{#1}}

to wrap all instances of the name in question.

EDIT: Removed error example because it was caused by an unassociated error in a .bst file. The answer selected below now directly answers the only question posed above.

Answer 1

In the solution I found, you need to modify your bibtex style file for this and implement a new TeX macro. Suppose you use the plain bibliography style. Locate plain.bst (you can use the command kpsewhich plain.bst for that) and copy it to your local tex directory as, say, myplain.bst. In myplain.bst locate the function format.names. In this function replace the line

{ s nameptr "{ff~}{vv~}{ll}{, jj}" format.name$ 't :=

by

{ "\FormatName{" s nameptr "{ff~}{vv~}{ll}{, jj}" format.name$ * "}" * 't :=

Now in your tex file, first change the style to myplain.bst and insert the following macro definitions:

\def\FormatName#1{%
  \def\myname{Elmar Zander}%
  \edef\name{#1}%
  \ifx\name\myname
    \textbf{#1}%
  \else
    #1%
  \fi
}

This should work now. (And, of course, don't forget do replace my name by yours ;-)

Note1: format.name$ is a builtin function that takes the preceding three arguments, which are: a string with the author names (s), the number of the name to be formatted (nameptr) and a formatting string ("{ff~...") and formats the author name according to this format string. As bibtex is stack oriented the arguments need to be pushed first on the stack, then format.name$ pops them off the stack, computes the result and pushes it back onto the stack. The "ff,ll,vv,jj" in the format string stand for first name(s), last name, stuff like "von" or "de", and stuff like "jr./junior" respectively (see btxhak.pdf included in the bibtex distribution). The single letter versions "f", "l" etc. would give you abbreviated forms. The * operator in bibtex concatenates two strings. Again, the strings need to be on the stack first, and the result is pushed back on the top of the stack.

Note2: You can have the FormatName macro in your bst file: modify the begin.bib function in myplain.bst in the following way

FUNCTION {begin.bib}
{ 
  "\def\FormatName#1{%" write$
  "  \edef\name{#1}%" write$
  "  \ifx\name\myname" write$
  "  \textbf{#1}%" write$
  "  \else%" write$
  "  #1%" write$
  "  \fi" write$
  "}" write$
  preamble$ empty$
    'skip$
    { preamble$ write$ newline$ }
  if$
  "\begin{thebibliography}{"  longest.label  * "}" * write$ newline$
}

Just keep the \def\myname{...} macro in your tex file. So that you can change the name to be highlighted (if any) easily.

Note3: the FormatName command can have problems with the spaces between a first name and last name, and it will also not find both 'Elmar Zander' and 'E. Zander'. If the above does not work for you, you can use the xstring package and then define FormatName as follows:

\def\FormatName#1{%
  \IfSubStr{#1}{Zander}{\textbf{#1}}{#1}%
}

Answer 2

You can do this with BibLaTeX without much hackery by putting the following in your preamble:

\newcommand{\makeauthorbold}[1]{%
\DeclareNameFormat{author}{%
  \ifnumequal{\value{listcount}}{1}
    {\ifnumequal{\value{liststop}}{1}
      {\expandafter\ifstrequal{##1}{#1}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}
      {\expandafter\ifstrequal{##1}{#1}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}}
    {\ifnumless{\value{listcount}}{\value{liststop}}
      {\expandafter\ifstrequal{##1}{#1}{\textbf{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}
      {\expandafter\ifstrequal{##1}{#1}{\textbf{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}%
    }%
}%
}
\makeauthorbold{Smith}

By using \IfSubStr from the xstring package in place of \ifstrequal one can also make multiple names bold with something like the following:

\usepackage{xstring}
\newcommand{\makeauthorsbold}[1]{%
\DeclareNameFormat{author}{%
  \ifnumequal{\value{listcount}}{1}
    {\ifnumequal{\value{liststop}}{1}
      {\expandafter\IfSubStr{#1}{##1}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}
      {\expandafter\IfSubStr{#1}{##1}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}}
    {\ifnumless{\value{listcount}}{\value{liststop}}
      {\expandafter\IfSubStr{#1}{##1}{\textbf{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}
          {\expandafter\IfSubStr{#1}{##1}{\textbf{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}%
    }%
}%
}
\makeauthorsbold{Smith,Doe}

The only caveat is that this will also make authors bold whose name is a sub string of one of the given names. For example "Do" will also end up being bold.

Update: For biblatex 3.3 and above use the answer by Lawrence Crosby below.

Answer 3

As of biblatex 3.3 cgogolin's answer no longer works. This is due to changes in the \DeclareNameFormat macro (see https://github.com/plk/biblatex/issues/372 for a discussion). I was eventually able to modify cgogolin's macro to work, with the following as the solution:

\newcommand{\makeauthorbold}[1]{%
  \DeclareNameFormat{author}{%
    \ifthenelse{\value{listcount}=1}
    {%
      {\expandafter\ifstrequal\expandafter{\namepartfamily}{#1}{\mkbibbold{\namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}{\namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}
      %
    }{\ifnumless{\value{listcount}}{\value{liststop}}
        {\expandafter\ifstrequal\expandafter{\namepartfamily}{#1}{\mkbibbold{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}
        {\expandafter\ifstrequal\expandafter{\namepartfamily}{#1}{\mkbibbold{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni\addcomma\isdot}}{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni\addcomma\isdot}}%
      }
    \ifthenelse{\value{listcount}<\value{liststop}}
    {\addcomma\space}{}
  }
}

This is my first attempt to write LaTeX macros, so I hope the code style doesn't deviate too far from convention. Hopefully this will help those who are using newer versions of the biblatex package.

(edit: added else block to last ifthenelse)

Answer 4

I think a simpler method contained within the .bst file works as follows (i.e., take your favorite .bst, create a duplicate, and add this code to that as in the previous answer).

1. Create a function that returns your name:

   FUNCTION {cv.author}
   { "Doe, J." } 
   

2. Create a function that highlights stuff (here, bold and small caps)

   FUNCTION {highlight}
   { duplicate$ empty$
         { pop$ "" }
         { "\textbf{\textsc{" swap$ * "}}" * }
      if$
   }
   

3. Create a function that highlights your name

   FUNCTION {highlight.if.cv.author}
   { duplicate$ purify$ cv.author purify$ =
       { highlight }
       'skip$
     if$
   }
   

4. Finally, in the function FUNCTION {format.names}, add a call to this new function after the line format.name$, i.e.

         FUNCTION {format.names}
         ...
         format.name$
         highlight.if.cv.author
         remove.dots
         ...
   

Run bibtex as normal and your name should be highlighted in any way you want.

Answer 5

user2087764's multiauthor case needs to be updated, combining with Lawrence Crosby and Werner's correction:

\usepackage{xstring}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\newboolean{bold}
\newcommand{\makeauthorsbold}[1]{%
  \DeclareNameFormat{author}{%
  \setboolean{bold}{false}%
    \renewcommand{\do}[1]{\expandafter\ifstrequal\expandafter{\namepartfamily}{####1}{\setboolean{bold}{true}}{}}%
    \docsvlist{#1}%
    \ifthenelse{\value{listcount}=1}
    {%
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\mkbibbold{\namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}{\namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}%
    }{\ifnumless{\value{listcount}}{\value{liststop}}
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\mkbibbold{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}}%
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\mkbibbold{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni\addcomma\isdot}}{\addcomma\addspace \namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni\addcomma\isdot}}%
      }
    \ifthenelse{\value{listcount}<\value{liststop}}
    {\addcomma\space}{}
  }
}

\makeauthorsbold{Smith,Doe}

Answer 6

It is possible to do this without introducing any special commands and just changing how the name is entered in the bibtex file.

You can simply use ... and {\bf first name} {\bf last name} in the author list in the bibtex file or ... and {\bf last name}, {\bf first name}.

You mentioned errors occurring during sorting. I suspect this is because you did {\bf first name last name}, in which case it treats this as if it's just your last name. In my experience (at least using natbib) I don't see any errors.

---

If you do have error in sorting, then use \noopsort: at the very beginning of your bibtex file, put

@PREAMBLE{"\providecommand{\noopsort}[1]{}"}

then do something like this in the author name:

author =     {{\noopsort{Hofstad}}{\bf van der Hofstad}, {\bf R.}}

This would cause the name to be alphabetized by "Hofstad" and then put the name in bold

I have to use \noopsort often because many Dutch authors write in my field, and by Dutch convention, "van der Hofstad" is alphabetized with "H". See for example https://www.nas.ewi.tudelft.nl/people/Piet/Eigennamen.html (note - there are exceptions to this rule, particularly if the name is actually Belgian)

Answer 7

For reference, another approach to doing this is with Bibulous in place of BibTeX or Biblatex, and is worth noting because the implementation is straightforward. In order make a given author bold, all that is needed is to apply a "substring replace" operator into the author list variable. For example, to replace the author "J. W. Tukey" with its bold version "\textbf{J. W. Tukey}" we can change the <au> variable in the Bibulous templates. Thus, in the "SPECIAL TEMPLATES" section of the *.bst file, we can change the <au> and <ed> variable definitions from their defaults of

au = <authorlist.format_authorlist()>
ed = <editorlist.format_editorlist()>

to their new forms of

au_orig = <authorlist.format_authorlist()>
au = <au_orig.replace(J. W. Tukey,\textbf{J. W. Tukey})>
ed_orig = <editorlist.format_editorlist()>
ed = <ed_orig.replace(J. W. Tukey,\textbf{J. W. Tukey})>

Note that this approach closely follows that of the answer posted here, where the OP aims to underline an author name rather than use boldface.

Answer 8

Iterating on the great answer by cgogolin, here is a macro to put in bold multiple authors. I solved the caveat of "Do" ending bold if "Doe" is in the author list by using the package etoolbox that allows to loop over items in a comma separated list.

\usepackage{xstring}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\newboolean{bold}
\newcommand{\makeauthorsbold}[1]{%
\DeclareNameFormat{author}{%
    \setboolean{bold}{false}%
    \renewcommand{\do}[1]{\ifstrequal{##1}{####1}{\setboolean{bold}{true}}{}}%
    \docsvlist{#1}%
    \ifnumequal{\value{listcount}}{1}%
    {\ifnumequal{\value{liststop}}{1}%Single author
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}
      %first author
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}}
      %last author
    {\ifnumless{\value{listcount}}{\value{liststop}}
      {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\addcomma\addspace \textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4}}
      %middle author
          {\expandafter\ifthenelse{\boolean{bold}}{\addcomma\addspace \textbf{##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}{\addcomma\addspace ##1\addcomma\addspace ##4\addcomma\isdot}}%
    }%
}%
}
\makeauthorsbold{Smith,Doe}

Answer 9

You can try a simple search and replace it as \textbf{A. Name} in your BibTeX file as below I have to bold the first author named Prateek Raj Gautam

in BibTeX entry, it is written as Gautam, Prateek Raj or some times as P. R. Gautam

and in the final output it is shown as P. R. Gautam so take this name and enclose it in \textbf{} as\textbf{P. R. Gautam}

original BibTeX entry

@article{Gautam2019,
author = {P. R. Gautam and Kumar, Sunil and Verma, Akshay and Rashid, Tarique and Kumar, Arvind},
    doi = {10.1109/TII.2019.2908437},
    journal = {IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics},
    number = {11},
    pages = {5827--5836},
    publisher = {IEEE},
    title = {Energy-Efficient Localization of Sensor Nodes in WSNs Using Beacons From Rotating},
    volume = {15},
    year = {2019}
    }

edited BibTeX entry

@article{Gautam2019,
    author = {\textbf{P. R. Gautam} and Kumar, Sunil and Verma, Akshay and Rashid, Tarique and Kumar, Arvind},
    doi = {10.1109/TII.2019.2908437},
    journal = {IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics},
    number = {11},
    pages = {5827--5836},
    publisher = {IEEE},
    title = {Energy-Efficient Localization of Sensor Nodes in WSNs Using Beacons From Rotating},
    volume = {15},
    year = {2019}
    }

for me, it works like charm no fuzz with bst file or complex macro needed

Answer 10

the following solution worked with biblatex while I automatically imported the references from Mendeley to the overleaf:

\usepackage{biblatex}
\addbibresource{References.bib} % your bibliography file


\DeclareSourcemap{
  \maps[datatype=bibtex]{
    \map{
      \step[fieldsource=author,
            match=\regexp{LastName,\sFirstName},
            replace=\regexp{\\textbf{FirstName} \\space \\textbf{LastName}}]
    }
  }
}

Answer 11

Modified Lawrence Crosby's answer, which matches names only based on the family name. And I also simplified the code to make it easier to modify and extend

\newcommand{\mynameformat}{\namepartfamily\addcomma\addspace \namepartgiveni}
\DeclareDelimFormat{andothersdelim}{et al.}
\newcommand{\makeauthorbold}[2]{
  \DeclareNameFormat{author}{
    \ifthenelse{\equal{\namepartfamily}{#1} \AND \equal{\namepartgiven}{#2}}
    {\mkbibbold{\mynameformat}}
    {\mynameformat}
    \ifthenelse{\value{listcount}<\value{liststop}}
    {\multinamedelim}
    {\ifmorenames{\andothersdelim}{}}
  }
}

To make author bold, add the following command

\makeauthorbold{Doe}{John}