Summary: | Can't use a custom bibliography database source for Insert > TOC & Indexes > Bibliography Entry | ||
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Product: | LibreOffice | Reporter: | ajlittoz <page74010-sf> |
Component: | Writer | Assignee: | Not Assigned <libreoffice-bugs> |
Status: | NEW --- | ||
Severity: | normal | CC: | stephane.guillou |
Priority: | medium | ||
Version: | 7.5.3.2 release | ||
Hardware: | All | ||
OS: | All | ||
URL: | https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/writer-how-to-use-a-spreadsheet-as-bibliographic-database/92049 | ||
See Also: | https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=72972 | ||
Whiteboard: | |||
Crash report or crash signature: | Regression By: | ||
Bug Depends on: | |||
Bug Blocks: | 101258 |
Description
ajlittoz
2023-06-01 15:03:47 UTC
Hi ajlittoz Unfortunately, this would be something to ask about on Ask.LibreOffice, not here. As this isn't a report about a bug or enhancement request, I'm closing as "invalid". But after getting answers, please feel free to come back and open a new ticket asking for specific changes to the documentation, if you think they are needed. (Or report a bug if you find one, with an example database file for us to test it.) Thank you! (In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #1) > Hi ajlittoz > Unfortunately, this would be something to ask about on Ask.LibreOffice, not > here. > As this isn't a report about a bug or enhancement request, I'm closing as > "invalid". I feared an answer like this one. As I mention, this information request stems from a question on AskLO https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/writer-how-to-use-a-spreadsheet-as-bibliographic-database/92049 which I asked following a discussion on private mail from a user requesting advice on using a spreadsheet as bibliography source. Answers to this day don't solve the issue. It is likely that the key is too "technical" (= buried deep in the source code) for the majority of users. I consider myself as an expert in Writer usage but I never read a line of code. So, I decided to file this "information request" in the hope that some developer could give me some light. Let's sum up the problem: - I can have the spreadsheet recognised as a bibliography DB (it shows up in Tools>Bibliography Database) - I can display the bibliography and edit its entries (then saved in the document) - I _CANNOT_ insert bibliography entries because Insert>TOC & Indexes>Bibliography Entry does not recognise the data source (its list of entries in the menu is empty) Supposing that a spreadsheet was not a correct source, I turned it into a dBase DB. Once again this DB is recognised by Tools>Bibliography Database but Insert>TOC & Indexes>Bibliography Entry still shows an empty menu. In the end, it turns out that I can't substitute any custom datasource for the built-in bibliography. It is likely that I am missing some obvious point. I see in the user profile that the built-in bibliography has many ancillary files associated with it. I have of course no such files in the directory of my custom bibliography. Is this the cause of the issue? The official documentation has nothing about custom bibliography sources (or I skipped over it). I can turn this report into a bug: menu to choose a bibliography entry is empty with a custom bibliography database. (In reply to ajlittoz from comment #2) > The official documentation has nothing about custom bibliography sources (or > I skipped over it). > > I can turn this report into a bug: menu to choose a bibliography entry is > empty with a custom bibliography database. OK, let's do that. My steps: 1. Create a custom bibliography as an ODB file, e.g. with a table with variables Identifier, Author, Title 2. In Writer, go to Tools > Bibliography > Data Source and pick the database that was just created. Prompt says "The following column names could not be assigned": accept to edit the column arrangement, and match variables to columns. 3. Try to insert a reference with Insert > Table of Contents and Index > Bibliography Entry Result A: the dialog seems to require the availability of a "Short name" field. 4. Modify the bibliography database table to add a Short Name field; populate it 5. Repeat steps 2 (matching the new column to "Short name") and 3 Result B: the Short name dropdown is still empty. ajlittoz, do you agree these are the steps? Version: 24.2.2.2 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community Build ID: d56cc158d8a96260b836f100ef4b4ef25d6f1a01 CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 6.5; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3 Locale: en-AU (en_AU.UTF-8); UI: en-US Calc: CL threaded (In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #3) > (In reply to ajlittoz from comment #2) > ajlittoz, do you agree these are the steps? Yes |