Document 340

Use the TeXLive5 version of BibTeX with SWP/SW

Version: 3.5 & 3.51 - Scientific WorkPlace & Scientific Word

Problem

BibTeX crashes with certain BibTeX bibliography styles in Version 3.5. The bibliography isn't generated.

Explanation

The version of BibTeX included with Version 3.5 is based on an older 16-bit version. It fails with certain BibTeX database and style files.

Solution

Replace the version of BibTeX included with SWP or SW with a newer version.

Note This solution can be used to call BibTeX from inside SWP or SW only with Windows NT and Windows 2000. The Windows 95/98/Me command processor does not offer enough flexibility to implement the updated version of BibTeX.

Follow these steps to download the new version of BibTeX and then tell SWP or SW to use it. You should be familiar with downloading and saving files, and using an ASCII editor to modify configuration files. These instructions assume that you have installed SWP in the c:\swp35 directory. If you installed SW or used a different directory, modify the instructions below as appropriate.

  1. Create a directory to hold the new BibTeX files.

    Create the directory c:\swp35\TCITeX\TeXLive5\bin. Notice that you are creating the directory c:\swp35\TCITeX\TeXLive5 which will remain empty and the directory c:\swp35\TCITeX\TeXLive5\bin.

  2. Download TeXLive5 BibTeX.

    Download the TeXLive5 version of BibTeX to the directory c:\swp35\TCITeX\TeXLive5\bin. There are two files to download: bibtex.exe and kpathsea.dll.

  3. Download callbibtex.bat, the batch file used to run BibTeX.

  4. Edit the SWP or SW configuration file to use this version of BibTeX.

    1. The name of the configuration file depends on the product you are using. For Scientific Word it is sciword.ins and for Scientific WorkPlace it is swp-pro.ins. The .ins file uses the same format as .ini files. Windows usually assigns the .ins file extension as Internet Connection Settings, so you should be careful when you open this file. It's usually best to start your ASCII editor first and then open the file from inside the editor. Double-clicking on the file will probably give unexpected results.

      The SW installation updates the .ins file to point to BibTeX. After installation the .ins file will contain a section that looks like:

    [BibTeX]

    BibTeXStyleDir=c:\swp35\TCITeX\bibtex\bst

    BibTeXDataDir=c:\swp35\TCITeX\bibtex\bib

    BibTeXexe=c:\swp35\TCITeX\SWTools\bin\BibTeX.exe

    1. Change the BibTeX that is used by editing the .ins file in the SWP or SW program directory. Edit the BibTeXexe line so that is:

      BibTeXexe=d:\swp35\TCITeX\TeXLive5\bin\callbibtex.bat

    2. To have changes in the .ins file take effect, edit the beginning of the file and change:

      [Installation]

      MoveToIniDbase=0

      to

      [Installation]

      MoveToIniDbase=1

  5. Update the configuration data.

    Start SW. With MoveToIniDbase=1, the program will update the configuration and point to the new BibTeX.

  6. Test the new BibTeX.

    1. From the File menu in SWP or SW, choose New.

    2. From the Articles shell directory, select the document Standard LaTeX Article (Harvard).

    3. Save the document to your hard disk.

    4. From the Typeset menu, choose Compile and check Generate a Bibliography.

      The program compiles the document through LaTeX, sends it through BibTeX, and then compiles the document again through LaTeX.

    5. When the compilation is complete, from the Typeset menu, choose Preview.

    6. Page through to the end of the document to find the bibliography section. You are now using the TeXLive5 version of BibTeX.

Note If you have installed SWP or SW in a directory other than the default suggested by the installation program and/or on a hard disk drive other than C: or D:, then an environment variable must be set to point to the installation. The environment variable is SWDir and it should point to the directory where SWP or SW is installed (without using a trailing backslash). For example, if you have installed SW on your E: drive, set SWDIR to e:\swp35. If you are not sure how to set environment variables, check with your system administrator.

Added 07/24/02; revised 02/11/02

This document was created with Scientific WorkPlace.