This
module is included into Bibus for versions after 1.1.0. Download it @ http://sourceforge.net/projects/bibus-biblio/
bibMSW: Bibus
interface to MS Word.
2. How does
bibMSW work when compared to bibOOo (equivalent for OOo Writer)?
3. How long
does it take to format the bibliography in MS Word?
6. Who to
cite when using bibMSW/Bibus?
7. Can I
contribute to bibMSW development?
This is a module written to complement Bibus. Bibus is
certainly one the best reference management software. Up to now Bibus supported
only OOo Writer. However
a very large majority of writers use Microsoft Word (>90%). Thus
bibMSW has been added to Bibus so that Bibus would be usable with Microsoft
Word. THIS MODULE IS INSERTED INTO BIBUS
DISTRIBUTION AND YOU DONT NEED TO INSTALL ANYTHING ELSE THAN BIBUS (and
Microsoft Word obviously). The module uses the win32com API, and the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word namespace.
bibMSW works with Word
Office XP and Word 2003. It might also work with other versions, but this
wasnt tested. The python version might work with earlier version of Windows.
Bibus executable version wont work under Windows 9X.
The functionalities are much alike I must say. Very few
things are different. It uses Bibus styles to insert and format citations and
the bibliographic index. However and unlike OOo Writer Word has no
bibliographic function. Therefore the python API calls VB functions to insert
citations and format the bibliography. This translates into a loss of speed
when compared to the OOo equivalent functions. Nevertheless, speed is still
very acceptable and the processing time should decrease in the near future, as
I will learn more about Word tricks.
An important consideration is that all the bibliographic
information is stored in the word document. Therefore, once the reference is
inserted into the document, the database information is no longer needed for
that reference. In other words, no matter where you read/edit your document,
you will be able to format your bibliography as you wish on any computer as
long as you have Bibus installed. You wont have to keep track of your
reference database or to copy it on the other computer. This is a major
advantage compared to commercial software like EndNote or Reference Manager for
which a version of the database must be present on the computer where you want
to read/format a document containing references inserted with these softwares.
However, this tremendous advantage also explains the longer processing time
(when compared to OOo) given the quantity of the information to process in the
MS Word document.
This depends pretty much on:
1. Your computer
2. The number of references in your
document
3. The complexity of your format (more
or less fields, more or less formatting operations
)
For an
average bibliography (env. 70 references) on a recent computer (1+ Ghz, 512+
MB) about 40 sec. For 150 references, it can take up to few minutes (2-3).
But remember that formatting is a step that one has to do at the end. These
processing times are given for the python version. The Windows XP executable
version is slightly slower, but remains with the same range. At that point, the
speed can only improve, so make sure you have the last version of Bibus.
Simple. First make
sure that the reference you want to insert is in the References key of
your database (The left column has a list of keys: References, Tagged, All,
Queries
): after a search (Medline or eTBlast on Medline), the results are
stored in the Online key. You have to drag the reference(s) of your choice to
the References key before you can insert it into the document. Once it is
done, select one or more references. Then on the menu: MSWord > Insert Citation(s). The reference should be inserted
and formatted in your word document. The format depends on the selected style.
To change, add or edit a style, go to the Styles menu. From there, everything
is very intuitive. You should learn fast how to create new styles and use them
with Bibus (more information on style definition here).
These
snapshots were take with WinXP / Office XP (with
FlyaKite for a Mac Like graphism).
You
have other submenus in MSWord:
Update Citations : To use when
you want to refresh the text of your citation, or to view the changes when you
have changed the style.
Update
Bibliographic Index: Same thing for the bibliographic Index. If the index
doesnt exist, this function will create it.
Update and
Pre-format all: This will pre-format your bibliography (citation and
index), close to what they will look like after finalization. For instance,
your references will be fused (if the style you use defines these options). To undo, just go to MSWord menu>Update Citation. During
this process, Word document will be minimized, this increases significantly the
speed with which MS Word processes the information. I advise you not to reopen
the windows while Bibus is working on it, you could
mess up with your documents (especially if you dont re-open the correct
window.)
Finalize: This will
finalize your document. To do so, Bibus checks that your document is saved, then opens a copy of your document on which the finalization
will take place (safer). The difference with the Pre-format option is that you
then add the duplicate information when using citations like Smith et al, 2005.
If you have same citations corresponding to different papers, a letter is added
after the year: (Smith et al., 2005a; Smith et al., 2005b). This also figures
in the bibliographic index. During the finalization process, Word document will
be minimized, this increases significantly the speed with which MS Word
processes the information. I advise you not to reopen the windows while Bibus
is working, you could mess up with your documents
(especially if you dont re-open the correct document.)
The process is quite simple, but might
seem disturbing at first. Believe me, learning this is worthwhile. See here.
Publications are under process. Please
come back soon to check out the publications.
Certainly. I am writing
documentation as a quick developer guide for people wishing to add some functionalities, and improve the performance of bibMSW. And
in case you are willing to help but have no ideas, here are few:
The last one would be great!
Whatever functionality you think is interesting to you, might be to a lot of other people. Dont hesitate to email us or to develop it yourself if you can.
Make sure
that your reference is in the References key of your database (Keys are
displayed on the left column of Bibus window).
The duplicate
information is added after finalization.
MS Word
processes information faster when minimized. Therefore you save some time by
keeping it this way. Minimization is not a functional requirement; it is just
faster but also much safer. Since Bibus works with the active document and in
the case you want to reactivate a document during processing (when you have the
progress bar), make sure that you reactive the correct one,
or you will mess up with your documents.
If you have
more than 150 references and working with a number style ([1] for the first
inserted citation etc
), for each insertion Bibus looks for duplicates so that
it assigns the correct numbers to your newly inserted reference. This loop is
time consuming (few seconds). You will soon be able to turn this feature off,
by unchecking in MSWord menu the option update citation on insert (next
version).
For each
insertion, Bibus checks that the format for each reference is correct,
reassigns it and then inserts the reference. This is done to update the
citation style in case you change the bibliographic style for a document.
You can
either insert a reference and remove it, or you can go to menu MSWord >
Update Citations
You can either insert a reference and remove it or you can go to
menu MSWord > Update Citations. Then MSWord > Update
Bibliographic Index. Alternatively you can just pre-format your document
(the window will minimize; citations will be fused)
Thats a
great occasion for you to get familiar with style definition. It is likely that
the number or journal styles supported will increase in the near future due to
bibMSW. And please send us your style file. It takes about 20 min to create a
style the first time, 3 minutes once you know to do it. Believe me, learning
how to do this is very worthwhile. For more information on styles, see here.
This bug has
never been observed but can hardly happen and is theoretically possible.
Without getting into details do the following:
1) Open your
document
2) Hit
ALT+F9, a list of fields appears. Each reference starts with {ADDIN BibusRef.
Each section contains a list of XML type key/values (<Author> etc
).
Locate your reference by searching its title for example.
3) Once the
reference is found go to its identifier (between the <Identifier> and
</Identifier> tags). The Id might be something like Einstein#20.
4) Change the
number to another number that you would be sure not to find for any other
reference in the document (try a negative number: Einstein#-20). If you cite
the reference more than once, make sure to do so for each citation.
This bug
never occurred and is unlikely to occur. This solution should solve the problem, however this couldnt be tested yet. If you happen
to have this bug, please send us 1) You document (will be kept confidential),
2) Your database of references 3) The Style file you used and 4) The number of
different computers used for this document with Bibus (1,2
).
In the worst
case scenario, you can still add it yourself after finalization.
As newly
develop programs that will be tested by a lot of people you will certainly
encounter bugs. Usually, these are not fatal, should not harm your document and
by retrying, or looking for the reference(s) for which the bug occurs you will
be able to solve the problem yourself. In some cases, you might not be able to
do so. Then copy the error message sent to you, and email it to us along with
your document, your database/Style file used, and describe the sequence of
events that lead to your bug. We will try to reproduce it, and then solve it.