Add unlinked PDFs including BibTeX data into the database
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This feature is available through Quality → Find unlinked files....
The following description appeared first on .
JabRef offers a BibTeX key generation and offers different patterns described at .
Create or open a .bib file.
Go to "Quality" -> "Find unlinked files".
The "Find unlinked files" dialog opens.
Choose a directory using the "Browse" button.
Click on "Scan directory".
In "Select files", the files not yet contained in the database are shown.
To create entries for all files, click on "Apply".
For each file, an import dialog is shown The dialog shows the XMP metadata stored in the PDF in the area "XMP-metadata". If this data fits your needs, select "Create entry based on XMP data". Typically, the XMP-metadata is not good enough. Choose "Create entry based on content".
Click on "OK" to start the import
A dialog asking for the link is opened You can choose "Leave file in its current directory" to keep the file where it is. Typically, this is that what one wants. In case you choose "Move file to file directory", you can also choose to rename the file to the generated BibTeX key.
Press OK to link the file to the BibTeX entry
This happens for each file. After that, the "Find unlinked files" dialog is shown. Just click on "Close" to close it.
The entry editor with the last imported entry is shown
You can now save the file and are finished.
Optional: Click on "General" to see the linked file
Optional: Click on "BibTeX source" to see the BibTeX source
Optional: You have to shrink it to see the entry in the entry table Enlarge the JabRef window and use the mouse at the upper border of the entry editor
Optional: Press Esc to show the entry preview
This makes the filenames start with the bibtey key followed by the full title. In the concrete case, \bibtexkey only may be the better option as the described bibtey key already contains the title.
The importer based on the content has been written for IEEE and formatted papers. Other formats are not (yet) supported. In case a DOI is found on the first page, the DOI is used to generate the BibTeX information.
The next development step is to extract the title of the PDF, use the "Lookup DOI" and then the functionality from JabRef to fetch the BibTeX data.
We are also replacing the code completely by using another library. This is much effort and there is no timeline for that.
JabRef also offers to change the filenames. You can adapt the pattern at Preferences -> Import
Select "Choose pattern" and choose "bibtexkey - title" This results in the setting \bibtexkey\begin{title} - \format[RemoveBrackets]{\title}\end{title}.
JabRef used to have support for , which returned back a full BibTeX entry or a PDF. Due to unclear copyright situation of a used library, this service was removed. Further, Mr.DLib changes its focus and will provide literature recommendations. See .
