The interface to sixpack consists of 4 windows. When sixpack first opens, only the main window is displayed. The other windows are the query window, the history window, and the databases window. These last three can be opened and closed using the three buttons (a rolodex box, a terminal window, and a binocular), or by toggling the menu entries Display->Databases window, Display->History Window, and Display->Query window.
The main window consists of 5 parts, which where marked in the picture:
The menu - see below for more details. You can pop-up a menu by hitting alt and the first letter of the menu name.
The query entry - for entering queries
The list window - this window displays a list of entries in the database. move with the arrow keys, or click on an entry to display it. See below on how to configure this window.
The entry window - In this window the current entry is displayed. To edit the current entry, hit alt-enter, or click on the player/hammer button.
The status bar. It will be blue when all is ok, and red when an error was encountered. See below for more details.
The file menu contains the follwing entries:
Enables you to create a new database in Sixpack's native format, .bref. You will be prompted for the file name. The new database then becomes the current database
Create a new bibtex file, and make it the current database.
Open an existing database in the native sixpack format, .bref.
Close the current database, and with it all the entries that belong to the database. If the current database is modified you will be asked to confirm.
As above, except that the database will be closed even if modified.
Save the current database. Notice that if you have several databases open, only the current database is saved. All entries that belng to the database are saved to the original database file. So, bibtex databses are saved in bibtex format, and sixpack databases in sixpack format.
This toggle tells sixpack to put @strings at the beginning of sixpack files, and crossrefs in a good order, so that the file can be processed in just one pass.
This submenu contains the files opened in recent sessions. Both files opened as bibtex and as bref are shown, as well as all files imported. You can set how many recent entries will be shown using the variable RECENTFILES in the configuration files. The default is 5.
Several databases, whether of different or the same type, can be bunched into a 'collection'. The collection is then a list of the files that the different databases reside in. This menu enables you to open a collection. All databases in the collection will be read in. Collection files usually have extension .six. They are actually simply scripts for sixpack to run, which when executed load all neccessary databases.
Sixpack will write a collection file that consists of all currently opened databases. Notice that this will not save the entries into their databases. It will only write into the collection file, which contains information about which databases belong to this collection. You should have to save a collection only when you add new databases to it.
Close all currently open databases. If a database has been modified, you will be asked to confirm.
Save all databases that have been modified.
Save all databases, whether changed or not.
Load entry from a database on file (in the native sixpack format) into the current databse. (Notice that to merge with a bibtex file you can use the import function, which imports entries into the current database)
Save all open database as one inclusive databse containing all entries. The file will be saved in the native sixpack format.
Save all marked entries into a database, again in the native sixpack format.
Exit from sixpack. If modified databases exist, you will be asked to confirm.
Quit even if modified databases exist.
Copy the marked entries if any are marked, or the selected entry into the X selection buffer in bibtex format.
Cut the marked entries if any are marked, or the selected entry into the X selection buffer in bibtex format.
Insert entries, importing them from the X selection buffer in bibtex format. These 3 can by used to cut and paste entries between databases, or to transfer information to other programs.
Add a new reference to the current database. (A database has to be open.) You will be prompted to select the entry type, and then will be put into entry edit mode. To exit from the edit-entry mode, press alt-enter, or toggle 'Edit->Edit reference', or click on the lock button.
Go into edit mode on the currently selected entry. Only in this mode can entries be changed. To exit from the edit-entry mode, press alt-enter, or toggle 'Edit->Edit reference', or click on the lock button.
Delete all currently marked references.
Delete the currently shon reference.
Create a CITEID for all marked entries, or the current entry if none are marked, according to the format given by the CITEID configuration variable. See below for more details.
Go over all selected references, or just the current one if none are selected, and put brackets arround capitalized letters (other than the first) in the title so that those will be preserved in bibtex.
Use gnuclient in order to insert a citation to the current reference, or to the selected references, into a currently running Emacs (or XEmacs) in the current buffer, at the current pointer location.
Contact a currently running LyX program, and ask it to insert a citation at the current cursor place in LyX. This citation will cite the the current entry in Sixpack. See below for how to work with LyX.
Mark the current entry. Marked entries are highlited in blue.
Unmark the current entry.
self explanatory.
self explanatory
The state of marking of all entries is flipped: Those that were marked become unmarked, andthose that where unmarked become marked. This is currently the only way for the user to do the boolean not operation for queries.
Sort according to CITEID, and mark all entries whose CITEID is equal to that of another entry.
You will be prompted to select an aux file. aux files are generated by latex when processing a latex file. They contain information about which references where cited. Sixpack can then use this information, and mark all entries that were used in that file. Notice that the marks are added to the current marks. The current marks are not deleted. Using this feature, you can select entries that were used in one of several aux files.
Sort by author. The sort tries to be by the last name of the first author, then by first name, then by names of the other authors.
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This toggle determines if files imported should be cleared of the html tags they contain. While the toggle is on, all html tags will be remove from imported files, when it is off they won't.
This toggle determines if import/export is done to and from a file, or if it is done to and from the X selection buffer.
Using this submenu you can import from different formats. You will be promted for the filename of the file to be imported. If the configration variable WGET is set correctly, you can also enter a URL in the dialog. See below on importing and exporting. The submenu for import and export are generated on the fly according to the directory contents of BPHOME. If you see only 3 entries, something is wrong with your installation.
Using this submenu you can export to different formats.
Invoke an external viewer on the current entry. If the entry contains a 'file' field, the viewer will be opened according to that field. If it does not, but contains a URL field, the url viewer will be opened for that URL. See below for a detailed explanation of how to configure the external viewers.
Invoke the url viewer on the current entry. If the current entry contains a url field, than that url will be opened with the url viewer.
The follwoing 3 toggles open and close the helper windows for Sixpack:
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The next 2 entries don't do anything currently. Afer those you have toggles as to which fields should be displayed for the entries.
Sixpack will remember the state of the current marks, and assign it a number. You can go back later to the current state of markings, or do boolean operations using the current state. Look under the explaination for queries for more details.
toggle the state of baloon help. When this is on a short explaination of the buttons will be displayed whenever the mouse stays moitionless over them. Balloon help is turned on by default, and can be configured using the BALLOONHELP variable in the configuration file add
BALLOONHELP = N |
To have baloons off by default
This will open an external viewer to see the main index page of the sixpack documentation. The documentation is written in html, and usually stored in SIXPACKDIR/doc. If the variable HELPHANDLER is defined, then that program will be called, otherwise the program defined in URLHANDLER will be called. here is a sample configuration to invoke netscape:
URLHANDLE = netscape-remote -remote "openURLNewWindow(%s)" |
This will open a page describing the bibtex format.
This will open the part of the help pages describing what format sixpack can import/export.
The buttonbar contains the following buttons:
Open a database that is in the sixpack native format. Several databases can be open at the same time.
New database. Create a new database.
Inert a new entry. You will be prompted for the reference type. The entry is added to the current database.
Edit current entry. When you finish edit the entry, you can click on the button again, which at that time will show a lock.
Open/close databases window. This window shows which databases are currenty open, and which of those have been modified.
Open/close the history window. Show the history of actions takes and enables entry of commands.
Open/close the query window. This window shows past queries, and lets you hav eitems marked according to those queries.
Sort by Author
Sort by title
Open external viewer on the current entry, according to the 'file' or 'url' fields in the entry. See below for how to configure external viewers.
Next marked entry.
Previous marked entry.
Next entry.
Previous entry.
This window lists all entries in all open databases. You can move among entries will the arrow keys, or he page-up/down keys, shift-arrow keys, etc. To configure what is displayed in this window, you should change the DISPLAYLINE configuration variable. The format of the variable is a comma sepereated list of the fields to be displayed followed by a colon and how many characters of that field to be displayed. The default is
DISPLAYLINE=au:17,ti:88 |
The codes for field names are the same as the codes for queries.
Here is a representative state of the status bar:
Mod:Y Status: OK 00021 of 00099 (00094 selected) Database: /home/dirk/pd.bref |
Let us go through the meaning of each:
Mod:Y |
The current databse has been modified.
Status: OK |
The status bar is just displaying the normal information. When the statusbar show a special message mighe be INFO, and when an error message is displayed the statusbar will turn red and the status will be ERROR.
00021 of 00099 (00094 selected) |
The current entry is entry 21 out of 99 total entries displayed. 94 entries are currently marked.
Database: /home/dirk/pd.bref |
The name of the current database. As several databases can be open at the same time, this is important information. All new entries (created by you or through merge, import, paste, etc.) will be inserted to this databse. To switch between databases open the database window, by toggling the 'Display->database window' toggle to on, or by pressing the database window button, the one with a filebox in it
In this window you see a list of queries done. You can double click on a query to have its results selected. You see a number associated with each entry listed, such as
#2 : 4 matches au=eva |
Here the number is 2. This is the name of the query. You can use this name in other queries, such as the last one shown in the picture
#0 or #2 |
Here all entries were selected that were either in query #0 or in query #2.
The history window displays a log of all commands executed (all commands, i.e. even those selected through menus, keys, etc.). It can also be used as a command-line entry, to input written commands. Click on an entry, and then click on the Execute button to execute an old command.
The history is saved from session to session in the file ˜/.sixpack.his . By default, 500 history entries are saved. This can be set in the configuration files by adding a line
HISTORY=300 |
The database window is probably the most complex one of the helper windows. As mentioned above and below, several databases can be open at the same time. The databases window (as its name seems to imply) shows which databases are currently open. It also displays which databases are changed: the line
- ~/pd.bib |
means that the bibtex file ˜/pd.bib is open, and has not been changed - this is indicated by the '-'. A '+' would indicate that it has.
An important aspect of the way Sixpack works is the current database. This is the database that new entries will be added to, and that operations that act on a database (such as save) will be performed on. The current database is highlighted in blue in the database window, and is also shown in the status bar. You can move from database to database in the window using the arrow keys. This will move the cursor, which in this case is an underline among the databases. To make the underlined database current, press the 'enter' key. You can also make a database current by double-clicking on it.
Each entry has a special field, the SourceBibFile field, that says which database this entry belongs to. This field is, of course not saved.