Improving a workflow for importing BibTeX citations

Question

I am hoping to draw upon the expertise of other LaTeX/BibTeX user to help improve a common workflow of mine.

Currently, I download and import BibTex citations from the likes of IEEE/Springer/ScienceDirect and then cut and paste the citation into JabRef. That is, it goes something like this:

• (In firefox) IEEE/Springer/Whatever -> Export as BibTeX
• Open export.bib in gedit
• Create new article in JabRef
• Copy-paste citation text from gedit into Jabref.

Trying to open the export.bib file into Jabref has it open the BibTeX file as a new database and I have to copy and paste the citation anyway.

I would like to improve this workflow to a one-click "Open With" when I save the .bib from Firefox and it gets added to my BibTeX database.

I currently use JabRef, but would be willing to switch BibTeX managers if something else (in Linux) offers this feature. Of course, a script with cat $FILE >> /path/to/my_database.bib might work, but I then still have to find that reference to link it to the paper I just saved :)

Answer 1

You can set up Jabref to automatically import a reference from Firefox into the current database, but it's somewhat arcane. Here is my solution under Linux:

1) Select Options -> Preferences -> Advanced -- and check "Listen for remote operation ..." I don't think it matters which port.

2) Create a small bash script (text file) named "jabref-import" that looks like this:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
java -jar ~/local/jabref/JabRef-2.8.1.jar -i --importToOpen "$*"

Replace "~/local/jabref/JabRef-2.8.1.jar" with the path to your Jabref .jar file on your machine. Or if you have a working executable called "jabref", you can replace everything before the "-i" with "jabref". Just make sure your executable accepts command-line options (mine didn't).

In Ubuntu 13.04, the following variant of the script works:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
jabref -i --importToOpen "$*"

3) Make the file executable:

chmod ugo+x jabref-import

4) Make sure Jabref is already open. Go to Firefox, download a citation file. It could be a .bib or .ris or .ref or whatever. Select the "Open with..." option in the dialog, and select the jabref-import executable that you just made. The import dialog should pop up in Jabref with your citation.

Answer 2

If you have the BibTeX-Code available and copy that to your clipboard (either by opening the export.bib or by copying it from the homepage) and you click on the JabRef window (so that it has the focus) you can just paste (Ctrl+V) it as a new entry.

I knew that from BibDesk (Mac OS) which I am using and found the same for JabRef here http://sourceforge.net/projects/jabref/forums/forum/318825/topic/1653744

Answer 3

Here is my workflow.

1. Get the DOI of the article to cite. You find the DOI on the download page of the paper and it is also usually printed on the first page of the paper.
2. Paste the DOI into the Jabref search plugin DOI to BibTeX and press "fetch".
3. You will get a "list" of the search results, which is in most cases only one item. Click "OK" to import them.
4. Check the new entry in your bib file.

The benefit is that you need less time to import a new article. The DOI is also often easier to spot then the Export button on the web page.

Answer 4

I typically create a BibTeX file with very basic information, e.g., just the title,

@article{ocv,
  title={The optimal centroidal Voronoi tessellations and the gersho's conjecture in the three-dimensional space},
}

and then run betterbib on it:

betterbib my.bib out.bib

%comment{This file was created with BetterBib v2.1.0.}

@article{ocv,
  author = {Du, Qiang and Wang, Desheng},
  publisher = {Elsevier BV},
  doi = {10.1016/j.camwa.2004.12.008},
  title = {The optimal centroidal Voronoi tessellations and the gersho's conjecture in the three-dimensional space},
  url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.camwa.2004.12.008},
  journal = {Computers & Mathematics with Applications},
  number = {9-10},
  month = may,
  volume = {49},
  source = {CrossRef},
  year = {2005},
  pages = {1355-1373}
}

Answer 5

Today there is a AddOn for Firefox called JabFox. It uses functionality of Zotero (which should be installed) to 1-click-import things into JabRef. Works fine.

Answer 6

My answer is a variation to Damien's for KDE (4.14):

1) the same - check "Listen for remote operation ..."

2) Go to the KDE System settings > File Assosiations.

3) Create new file type (button "+ Add..." in the bottom):

• group - text
• type name - bibliography

4) Select bibliography and in the right part of window "Add...":

• Filename Patterns: *.ris, *.bib, *.ref, *.enw and so on.
• Application Preference Order: Education > Science > JabRef
  (or write here command like /usr/local/bin/jabref %f - this is for PC-BSD)

5) Apply.

Now you can click on file in browser and select "Open..." - import window will arise (you should start JabRef firstly!).