Re: [ANN] org-bibtex.el --- convert between Org headings and bibtex entries

["Thomas S. Dye" <tsd@tsdye.com>]

Hi Eric,

On Apr 20, 2011, at 9:00 AM, Eric Schulte wrote:

> Hi Tom,
>
> "Thomas S. Dye" <tsd@tsdye.com> writes:
>
>> Hi Eric,
>>
>> This could be very useful and a significant enhancement to Org-mode
>> for note taking.  With it, library time can be spent almost entirely
>> within Org-mode, capturing bibliographic information and taking
>> reading notes.  It feels like the right level of functionality--
>> lightweight and easy to use, with lots of prompting material.
>>
>
> Thanks, I hope so.
>
>>
>> I created an entry with org-bibtex-create and then another with org-
>> bibtex-read/write.  When I ran org-bibtex, only the second entry was
>> exported.  Also, the org-bibtex-read/write process mangled the bibtex
>> entry a bit, so the resulting .bib file wasn't useful.  Note the
>> addition of {} around the publisher and year, and the truncation of
>> multi-line entries.
>>
>
> I /believe/ I have fixed this issue.  I am now using pre-existing  
> bibtex
> functions for reading in entries, and for cleaning up entries  
> written by
> org-bibtex.
>

The org-bibtex-read/write process doesn't work on the example I sent.   
The read appears to work (though I can't find a buffer *org-bibtex- 
entries* afterwards), but the write inserts the headline asterisk then  
fails with progn: Wrong type argument: char-or-string-p, nil.

>>
>> Can I suggest some changes?
>>
>> 1) In our multi-user environment, where several authors are
>> contributing to a master bibtex file, we depend on the key generating
>> algorithm of bibtex-mode to help weed out duplicate entries.   This
>> isn't 100% effective, but it catches lots of duplicates and saves us
>> time.  Would it be possible to lift this mechanism and use it in org-
>> bibtex to generate the CUSTOM_ID?
>>
>
> I've added a new variable `org-bibtex-autogen-keys' which when set  
> to t
> will result in auto-generated keys being used instead of prompting the
> user to input such keys.
>

Beautiful!

>>
>> 2) It might be better to use the (generated) key as the Org headline,
>> instead of the title.  Titles can be longer than I find comfortable
>> for an Org-mode headline, whereas keys are usually about the right
>> length.
>>
>
> Hmm, I would tend to disagree here, but I think it may be a matter of
> taste.  Note that if you include a TITLE property in a headline then  
> it
> will be used instead of the contents of the headline, leaving you free
> to put whatever information you want into the headline.  I've just
> updated the headline creation so that it will create such a title
> property as well as using the title as the headline, leaving you  
> free to
> subsequently change the headline.
>

That sounds right to me.  Thanks.

>>
>> 3) org-bibtex-cite seems like a natural next step, especially if it
>> offers a list of keys in the Org-mode buffer.
>>
>
> Meaning a function to allow tab-completion on keys...  I could see  
> this
> being useful but I would imagine that the bib entries would generally
> not live in the same buffer as the Org-mode text... rather I'd think
> some sort of global registry would be preferable.
>

I guess it depends on how one uses the software.  The use I envision  
is for note taking while doing background reading for a project.   
First, enter a reference with org-bibtex-create, then take notes while  
reading, and finally write a summary that might later be used in the  
project document.  At this stage, org-bibtex hasn't been called, so  
the only place the key is present is in the Org-mode buffer.   
Inserting a reference then involves jumping back to the headline,  
opening the properties drawer, selecting the value of CUSTOM_ID,  
navigating back to the reference point and pasting in the key.  A  
function that collects keys and then presents them in a list like the  
one used to choose TYPE would make this process very easy.

Do you mind my asking what your workflow is with org-bibtex?

All the best,
Tom
> Thanks for the suggestions, bug reports, and examples!
>
> Please do let me know if any of these issues remain -- Eric
>
>>
>> Here are the details of my test run:
>>
>> Existing bibtex entry:
>>
>> @Book{tuggle94:_cultur_resour_naval_air_station_barber_point,
>>  author =    {H. David Tuggle and M. J. Tomonari-Tuggle and
>>                  D. Colt Denfeld},
>>  title =        {Cultural Resources of Naval Air Station, Barbers
>>                  Point: Summary, Assessment, and Inventory Research
>>                  Design: Task 1b: Archaeological Research Services
>>                  for the Proposed Cleanup, Disposal, and Reuse of
>>                  Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, O`ahu, Hawai`i},
>>  publisher =    iarii,
>>  year =         1994,
>>  series =    {Prepared for Belt Collins Hawaii},
>>  address =   {Honolulu},
>>  month =     {December}}
>>
>> Org-mode tree:
>>
>>
>> * Schulte bibtex
>>
>> ** A journal title
>>   :PROPERTIES:
>>   :type:     article
>>   :AUTHOR:   A. N. Author
>>   :JOURNAL:  Journal of Statistical Software
>>   :YEAR:     1998
>>   :CUSTOM_ID: author_10:article
>>   :END:
>>
>> ** {Cultural Resources of Naval Air Station, Barbers
>>   :PROPERTIES:
>>   :TYPE:     book
>>   :CUSTOM_ID: tuggle94:_cultur_resour_naval_air_station_barber_point
>>   :MONTH:    December}
>>   :ADDRESS:  Honolulu
>>   :SERIES:   Prepared for Belt Collins Hawaii
>>   :YEAR:     1994
>>   :PUBLISHER: iarii
>>   :AUTHOR:   {H. David Tuggle and M. J. Tomonari-Tuggle and
>>   :END:
>>
>> Org-bibtex output:
>>
>> @book{tuggle94:_cultur_resour_naval_air_station_barber_point,
>>  author={{H. David Tuggle and M. J. Tomonari-Tuggle and},
>>  title={{Cultural Resources of Naval Air Station, Barbers},
>>  publisher={iarii},
>>  year={1994},
>>  series={Prepared for Belt Collins Hawaii},
>>  address={Honolulu},
>>  month={December}}
>> }
>>
>> hth,
>> Tom
>>
>> On Apr 19, 2011, at 1:52 PM, Eric Schulte wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> In an attempt to organize my reading notes, I've written the  
>>> following
>>> tool which allows both for exporting Org-mode headlines with bibtex
>>> meta-data to bibtex entries, and for reading existing bibtex entries
>>> into Org-mode headings.
>>>
>>> One nice feature of these functions is the ability to check that all
>>> required fields are present in a given headline based on the bibtex
>>> type
>>> (e.g., :article, :inproceedings), and prompt for missing fields.
>>>
>>> See the top of the elisp file for more usage information.
>>> https://github.com/eschulte/org-bibtex/blob/master/org-bibtex.el
>>>
>>> Cheers -- Eric
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Eric Schulte
>>> http://cs.unm.edu/~eschulte/
>>>
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> Eric Schulte
> http://cs.unm.edu/~eschulte/