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Dissertation reference format

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2025 8:42 am
by Robert of Kent
Dear all,

I have been a Bookends user for nearly 20 years and love it. I have recommended it to countless MMus and PhD students of my own. Today, though, I've encountered a mystery and need some help. (by the way, I lost my old login details and so had to create this new account). For some reason my favourite bib format is not giving me the output I want for dissertations. This is what is in the Formats Manager:

[a. ’t,’ u2 $diss., $ u, d.]


Please see the attached graphic for what the main pane in Bookends looks like. Why does the type of dissertation not appear in the formatted reference? It is in the main pane on the right and the code for it appears in the Formats Manager. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

Robert

Re: Dissertation reference format

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2025 9:32 am
by Jon
The dissertation type should be entered in the field Thesis Type (AKA user 2). That field is empty in your screen snap.

Jon
Sonny Software

Re: Dissertation reference format

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 1:09 pm
by Robert of Kent
Thanks Jon! I thought it would be clear to everyone but me…

Best,

Robert

Re: Dissertation reference format

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 1:48 pm
by Jon
Tip: If you want the flexibility to have the information in either field, you can edit the format to use a conditional group, like this:

[a. ’t,’ {v^u2}$ diss., $ u, d.]

That tells Bookends to output the Degree field (v) if it has content, and if it does not output the content of the Thesis Type field (u2). In your example, you'd get "PhD diss."

Jon
Sonny Software