OpenOffice
From Mavaball
This page contains notes that I collect while using the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, including features and bugs.
Contents |
OpenOffice Bibliography Database
OpenOffice and StarOffice come with a built-in bibliography tool, based on a database back-end. The Bibliography listing is not manually entered by the user (as is done with Microsoft Word), but is automatically generated, based on the actual references in the main document. This is similar to how the Table of Contents is generated, based on the outline structure of the document's actual content.
In theory, this is a superior system than Microsoft's because you can reuse database entries for multiple documents, primarily useful if you do a lot of research and frequently include the same references in papers.
In practice, the database interface is very clunky and lacks vital features, such as "undo". It is also difficult to configure the bibliography display to accurately show. There is also difficulty in locating and backing up the important bibliography database (which is by default kept in a hidden directory.
I'm exploring different ways to enter bibliography information, and will hopefully find a satisfactory solution...
References
The following tutorial is useful in getting a basic understanding of the OpenOffice bibliography interface:
Using a database interface
One possible approach is to use a regular database interface, like OpenOffice Base.
For OpenOffice 3 on Windows, the bibliography database is located here by default:
Documents and Settings\(your user name)\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\database\
You can open OpenOffice Base and connect to this database directly. Changes you make in Base should be accessible to Writer.
Identifiers for Bibliography 'Type'
When editing bibliography entries using anything but the OpenOffice "Bibliography Database" interface, you need to use a number for the "Type" field. The following list shows the valid numbers for the "Type" field, and their corresponding text in the "Bibliography Database" tool.
0: Article 1: Book 2: Brochures 3: Conference proceedings 4: Book excerpt 5: Book excerpt with title 6: Conference proceedings 7: Journal 8: Techn. documentation 9: Thesis 10: Miscellaneous 11: Dissertation 12: Conference proceedings 13: Research Report 14: Unpublished 15: e-mail 16: WWW document 17: User-defined1 18: User-defined2 19: User-defined3 20: User-defined4 21: User-defined5
