Build with an existing `.bbl` file

Question

I have downloaded the latex source of a monograph from arxiv. This includes the .bbl file they had to submit. However, if I make any changes myself and recompile, I generate a new empty .bbl file, since there is no .bib file included in the submission, causing me to lose all references.

How can I edit/build a latex a document and reuse an already creted .bbl file?

Answer 1

bbl file is just a tex file containing latex code of the bibliography after creating this code via the usage of bibtex or biber etc according to our chosen style.

For example a minimal main file with bibtex usage could be:

main.tex:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
\cite{testcite}
\bibliographystyle{unsrt}
\bibliography{sample}
\end{document}

The bibliography file is:

sample.bib:

@article{testcite,
author={Just Me},
title={No needed},
year={2018}}

Then we compile the file once with:

pdflatex main

Then once with:

bibtex main

This step creates a latex code file like shown below (bbl file):

\begin{thebibliography}{1}

\bibitem{testcite}
Just Me.
\newblock No needed.
\newblock 2018.

\end{thebibliography}

and finally twice with:

pdflatex main

Steps like no bib file exist:

1) Now... lets move all the files except main.tex at a folder (to hide them foom pdflatex)... and run pdflatex main.

A pdf will be created with a [?] instead of citation.

2) Copy just main.bbl in the main.tex's folder and rerun pdflatex main twice.

Output: