How to efficiently cite in the format of MDPI?

Question

The journal I am submitting to requires the papers to be cited in this format:

\documentclass[applsci,article,submit,moreauthors,pdftex,10pt,a4paper]{Definitions/mdpi} 
\begin{document}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Citations and References in Supplementary files are permitted provided that they also appear in the reference list here. 

%=====================================
% References, variant A: internal bibliography
%=====================================
\reftitle{References}
\begin{thebibliography}{999}
% Reference 1
\bibitem[Author1(year)]{ref-journal}
Author1, T. The title of the cited article. {\em Journal Abbreviation} {\bf 2008}, {\em 10}, 142-149, doi:xxxxx.
% Reference 2
\bibitem[Author2(year)]{ref-book}
Author2, L. The title of the cited contribution. In {\em The Book Title}; Editor1, F., Editor2, A., Eds.; Publishing House: City, Country, 2007; pp. 32-58, ISBN.
\end{thebibliography}    
%=====================================
% References, variant B: external bibliography
%=====================================
%\externalbibliography{yes}
%\bibliography{your_external_BibTeX_file}

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\end{document}

But when I try to export citations in Bibtex style, the format is totally different. Is there an efficient way to export the citation in this specified format? Otherwise everytime I have to copy and paste the required parameters needed for the papers I cite. The journal won't accept any other citation style.

If I use the external bibliography using a separate .bib file, I get an error message denoting "something is missing". So, that is not helping either

I found out by some search that this citation style is similar to that of American Chemical Society. Then how do I cite a particular paper in this style?

Answer 1

The class you are using appears to be the MDPI class that can be found here https://www.mdpi.com/data/MDPI_template.zip?v=20180904

By looking in the Definitions folder one can find two .bst files, which define the custom reference styles of this class. Which one is loaded (using Bibtex' \bibliographystyle) depends on the class options.

This means that the class is fully compatible with Bibtex and you should be able to use it (with the required reference formats) as usual. If you do not know how to use Bibtex, have a look at the standard documentation (for example here). In summary, you need to

1. understand how to prepare a .bib file with the data of your references (say mybib.bib)
2. use the "Variant B" (deleting variant A) from the template (replacing \bibliography{your_external_BibTeX_file} with \bibliography{mybib.bib})
3. insert citations in your text with \cite and variants (or add \nocite{*} to just include all references)
4. Compile with latex AND bibtex. My recommendation is to use latexmk -pdf yourfile.tex but you can also do it manually with pdflatex yourfile.tex; bibtex yourfile.tex; pdflatex yourfile.tex; pdflatex yourfile.tex

Alternatively, you may want to use Autorea or Overleaf (as suggested in the publisher's instructions here) as they offer a more intuitive interface, and maybe even templates for articles, which you can submit directly from the platform.

Answer 2

I am using TexStudio. Additionally to what is stated by @Bordaigorl, in Texstudio you should go to Options -> Config TeXstudio -> Build -> Default bibliography tool -> BibTeX, and be sure that in Options -> Config TeXstudio -> Commands BibTeX field is filled with your bibtex compiler.

Answer 3

The answer is simple: do not use variant A, comment it out or just delete it. Instead, use the variant B by uncommenting lines

\externalbibliography{yes}
\bibliography{your_external_BibTeX_file}

Create a plain file with a .bib extension, add your references in bibtex format, and import the file by replacing its path over your_external_BibTeX_file (you don't need to write the format of the file as in your_external_BibTeX_file.bib).

If you need more help on how to create .bib files or use this form of importing your references, go to the official documentation.