BibDesk
Encyclopedia
BibDesk is an open-source reference management software
package for Mac OS X
, used to manage bibliographies
and references when writing essays and articles. It is primarily a BibTeX
front-end for use with LaTeX
, but also offers external database connectivity for importing, a variety of means for exporting, and capacity for linking to local documents.
First launched publicly in 2002, BibDesk is under continuing development by various contributors via Sourceforge
. The original developer was Michael McCracken, and much of the code has subsequently been written by Adam Maxwell and Christiaan Hofman. Also available directly from SourceForge, it is currently bundled with the MacTeX
distribution of TeX.
, the U.S. Library of Congress
, Web of Science
, (and any other databases searchable via the Z39.50
or Entrez
protocols), BibDesk enables one-click importing of references to articles and books listed in these databases and library catalogs. It also eases importing unformatted references from websites or documents without requiring that they be re-typed.
BibDesk permits articles residing on a user's computer to be linked to their BibDesk database entries via drag-and-drop, and will auto-file linked PDFs or other copies of articles in desktop folder. It provides a variety of ways to annotate citations which variously do or do not affect the underlying BibTeX data.
Though created to export in BibTeX format for use in LaTeX documents, BibDesk can also export citations formatted in any given citation style in plain text
, RTF
, HTML
, and RSS
. It does not itself contain citation styles (e.g. APA
, MLA
, Chicago
), but through its integration with LaTeX it can automatically produce citations in any of the basic BibTeX styles, and can when used with BibTeX style-files replicate nearly any citation format. Since it creates previews of LaTeX output, it can format entire bibliographies internally if, for example, they are for use in something other than a LaTeX document.
Reference management software
Reference management software, citation management software or personal bibliographic management software is software for scholars and authors to use for recording and utilising bibliographic citations . Once a citation has been recorded, it can be used time and again in generating bibliographies,...
package for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, used to manage bibliographies
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
and references when writing essays and articles. It is primarily a BibTeX
BibTeX
BibTeX is reference management software for formatting lists of references. The BibTeX tool is typically used together with the LaTeX document preparation system...
front-end for use with LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
, but also offers external database connectivity for importing, a variety of means for exporting, and capacity for linking to local documents.
First launched publicly in 2002, BibDesk is under continuing development by various contributors via Sourceforge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
. The original developer was Michael McCracken, and much of the code has subsequently been written by Adam Maxwell and Christiaan Hofman. Also available directly from SourceForge, it is currently bundled with the MacTeX
MacTeX
MacTeX is a redistribution of TeX Live. While TeX Live is designed to be cross-platform , MacTeX includes Mac-specific utilities and front-ends...
distribution of TeX.
Features
BibDesk offers a front-end for creating, editing, managing, and searching BibTeX databases. With integrated connectivity to external databases including PubMedPubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
, the U.S. Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Web of Science
Web of Science
ISI Web of Knowledge is an academic citation indexing and search service, which is combined with web linking and provided by Thomson Reuters. Web of Knowledge coverage encompasses the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. It provides bibliographic content and the tools to access, analyze,...
, (and any other databases searchable via the Z39.50
Z39.50
Z39.50 is a client–server protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote computer databases. It is covered by ANSI/NISO standard Z39.50, and ISO standard 23950. The standard's maintenance agency is the Library of Congress....
or Entrez
Entrez
The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System is a powerful federated search engine, or web portal that allows users to search many discrete health sciences databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information website...
protocols), BibDesk enables one-click importing of references to articles and books listed in these databases and library catalogs. It also eases importing unformatted references from websites or documents without requiring that they be re-typed.
BibDesk permits articles residing on a user's computer to be linked to their BibDesk database entries via drag-and-drop, and will auto-file linked PDFs or other copies of articles in desktop folder. It provides a variety of ways to annotate citations which variously do or do not affect the underlying BibTeX data.
Though created to export in BibTeX format for use in LaTeX documents, BibDesk can also export citations formatted in any given citation style in plain text
Plain text
In computing, plain text is the contents of an ordinary sequential file readable as textual material without much processing, usually opposed to formatted text....
, RTF
RTF
RTF may stand for:* Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française, France's national public broadcasting organization between 1949 and 1964* Reader talks first, in RFID, the situation where the interrogator or reader initiates the session with the RFID tag...
, HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
, and RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
. It does not itself contain citation styles (e.g. APA
APA style
American Psychological Association Style is a set of rules that authors use when submitting papers for publications in APA journals. The APA states that they were developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication, and to "move the idea...
, MLA
The MLA Style Manual
The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing is the third edition of The MLA Style Manual, first published by the Modern Language Association of America in 1985...
, Chicago
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 16 editions have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publishing...
), but through its integration with LaTeX it can automatically produce citations in any of the basic BibTeX styles, and can when used with BibTeX style-files replicate nearly any citation format. Since it creates previews of LaTeX output, it can format entire bibliographies internally if, for example, they are for use in something other than a LaTeX document.
See also
- Comparison of reference management softwareComparison of reference management software- General :In the "notes" section, there is a difference between:* web-based, referring to applications that may be installed on a web server...
for some comparisons with similar packages.