JabRef
v5
v5
  • JabRef Bibliography Management
  • Installation
  • Getting started
  • Collect
    • Add entry manually
    • Add entry using an ID
    • Add entry using reference text
    • Searching externally using Online Services
    • Add entry using PDFs
    • Browser Extension
    • Import
      • Custom import filters
      • Import inspection window
  • Organize
    • Edit an entry
    • Groups
    • Keywords
    • Mark and grade
    • Comment on an entry
    • Searching within the library
    • Complete information using online databases
    • Manage associated files
    • Manage field names and their content
    • Best practices
    • Cleanup entries
    • Check integrity
    • Find duplicates
    • Merge entries
    • Save actions
  • Cite
    • BibTeX and biblatex
    • Pushing to external editor application
    • Export to Microsoft Word
    • OpenOffice/LibreOffice integration
  • Share
    • Sharing a Bib(la)TeX Library
    • Shared SQL Database
      • Migration of pre-3.6 SQL databases into a shared SQL database
    • Export
      • Custom export filters
    • Send as email
  • Configuration
    • Customize the citation key generator
    • Customize entry types
    • Customize general fields
    • Customize key bindings
    • Library properties
    • Entry preview setup
    • Manage external file types
    • Manage protected terms
    • The string editor
  • Advanced information
    • Main Window
    • Entry Editor
      • Links to other entries
      • The Bibtex / Biblatex source tab
      • The 'owner' field
      • Time stamp field
      • LaTeX Citations Tab
    • About BibTeX and its fields
    • Strings
    • Field content selector
    • URL and DOI links in JabRef
    • Command line use and options
    • Automatic Backup (.sav and .bak) and Autosave
    • XMP metadata support in JabRef
    • Remote operation
    • Custom themes
    • Journal abbreviations
    • New subdatabase based on AUX file
    • How to expand first names of an entry
    • Debugging your library file
    • Resources
    • License
    • Knowledge
      • MS Office Bibliography XML format
      • Comparison of the Medline (txt), Medline (xml), and RIS format
      • EndNote Export Filter
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Linux
    • Mac OS X
    • Windows
  • Discussion Forum
  • Contribute to JabRef
    • How to Improve the Help Page
    • How to translate the JabRef User Interface
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  1. Organize

Manage field names and their content

Modify easily the field names and the field contents

PreviousManage associated filesNextBest practices

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After selecting a set of entries, go to Edit → Manage field names and content, to set, append, rename and clear a field.

​To select all the entries of the current library, pressCTRL + A.

This dialog window is displayed:

Set the field name (by typing it in or using the drop-down menu), and select the action to be carried out. Additionally, a checkbox allows overwriting the existing field values.

The actions are:

  • Set fields. Enter the field content to be used. For example, "Field name = owner" and "Set fields = Smith" adds the line "owner = {Smith}," to the entries. If the field "owner" is already present in an entry, it is not modified, except if "Overwrite existing field values" is checked.

  • Append to fields. Enter the string to be appended at the end of the field content (if the field does not exist, it will be created). For example, "Field name = keywords" and "Add to fields = , programming" adds the keyword "programming" to the list of keywords.

  • Rename field to. Enter the new name for this field. For example, "Field name = institution" and "Rename fields = school" renames the field "institution" into "school". The field content is not altered.​

  • Clear fields. This removes the field from the entries. For example, set the "Field name" to "comments". If "Overwrite existing field values" is checked, all the fields "comments" (and their content) are removed. If it is not checked, only the empty fields "comments" are removed.

External resource:

A concrete example of using this feature to prune a library.​