Project: LaTeX integration (please give us your feedback!)

Features
1

Hello!

This summer I will be working on the LaTeX integration project for GSoC:

The core of the proposal is a wide improvement of the LaTeX integration with JabRef, focusing on the end-user, whose characteristics have been studied before: 69% use LaTeX and 87% are researchers.

The goal is to make the work easier for our users. I will develop several tools for analysing and checking LaTeX text documents: finding bibliographic entries (what are used, how many times, and where) and counting words, characters and citations by document; validating TEX files for solving issues; and importing entries from TEX files.

In addition to this, if there were some time left, I would like to add support for being able to connect to JabRef from external editors. Therefore, it could be possible to search a specific entry from TeXstudio.

After talking with my mentors, we would like to ask you about some features we have thought about this project. They are written as user stories. In addition, you can see prototypes for several features.

Please feel free to ask, to give your feedback, to discuss or to say whatever you think about them.

USE CASES

  • UC1: As an author writing a literature review, I want to know which papers I already have cited, so I don’t forget one.

  • UC2: As an author writing a literature review, I want to see where (in the TEX document) I have cited an entry, so I can see its context.

  • UC3: As an author writing a paper, I want to locate an entry quickly, so I can edit an error.

  • UC4: As an author writing a paper, I want to jump to file that has an entry, so I can switch JabRef and my TeX editor.

  • UC5: As an author writing a paper, I want to know the number of references I have cited in a document, so I can know if I have used enough bibliographic entries.

  • UC6: As an author writing an article, I want to count the number of words and characters (no LaTeX code) I have written in a document, so I can know if it is long enough.

  • UC7: As a researcher, I want to detect malformed and unreachable URLs, so I can avoid these errors in my documents.

  • UC8: As an author, I want to check the LaTeX code integrity, so I can also assure the quality of my documents.

  • UC9: As an author, I want to detect unused and missing labels included in my TEX documents, so that I can know if any figure or graphic is not referenced or does not exist.

  • UC10: As a researcher, I want to import entries contained in a TEX file, so I can merge its associated bibliography with my current JabRef library.

  • UC11: As a researcher, I want to import and group entries contained in different TEX files, so I can build a big library from several bibliographies.

  • UC12: As a user, I want to search an entry on the JabRef library from my TeX editor, so that I can find a specific entry quickly inside of my database.

  • UC13: As a user, I want to open the associated PDF for an entry from my TeX editor, so that I can check if my references are right.

PROTOTYPES

UC1_UC2_UC3_UC4
2_search.png808×241 14.5 KB

UC1, UC2, UC3, and UC4

UC5_UC6
UC5 and UC6

UC7
urls.png718×252 15.3 KB

UC7

UC8
3_paper.png718×317 12.4 KB

UC8

UC9
UC9

UC10
UC10

UC11
texstudio.png704×552 108 KB

UC12 and UC13

Please vote if you support this proposal:

  • I would like to have these features, too!
  • I don’t care.

0 voters

2

Dear David,
thank you very much for improving JabRef here.

Without reading all related texts I have three short points:

  • In my workflows I often have abstract-fields in the bib entries with “unallowed” characters. e.g. “%” does not compile well with Tex. You could convert this characters or simply remove “abstract” when using this entry with tex.
  • Keep in mind that there are different tex “dialects”. e.g. I prefere using XeLaTeX which allow a lot of characters that PdfLaTeX wouldn’t allow.
  • If you have finished it would be great if you could create a Blog or wiki entry describing the new feature and how it could improve the workflow.
3

Hi @buhtz,

You can follow the progress of this project on the JabRef blog.
Also, we will take into account your points. Thanks!

david