CPS 300 Handouts
Home ] CPS 300 Handouts ] CPS 300 Project ] CPS 300 Resources ]
-----

CPS 300 Handout 3: Quick BibTeX Tutorial

The general procedure is as follows:

  1. Create a bibliography database with a .bib extension: e.g., foo.bib
  2. Include in your .tex file the following two lines where you want the bibliography to appear:
    \bibliographystyle{style}
    \bibliography{bibdatabase1[,bibdatabase2,...]}
    
    style can be any built in bibliography style (plain, alpha, abbrv, unsrt) or a specific style you download from the web or create yourself. If you leave the \bibliographystyle{} command out, it defaults to plain.

    bibdatabaseN can be the name of any bibliography database, but should be written without the .bib extension: e.g., \bibliography{foo}
  3. If you want to include any bibliography entries that you did not cite in your LaTeX document, you may add \nocite{key} for each key whose corresponding entry you wish to include. If you want to include all entries, you may type \nocite{*}
  4. Assuming your .tex file is called, e.g., foo.tex, type the following sequence of commands at the Unix prompt:
    latex foo
    bibtex foo
    latex foo
    latex foo
    
    You will now have a foo.dvi file which you can display with xdvi or which you can convert to postscript by typing:
    dvips -o foo.ps foo
    
  5. Please visit the BibTeX Resources section of the CPS 300 Resources page for more information and examples.