The gui environment: windows

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.

- toggle databases window

- toggle history window

- toggle query window

The main window

The main window consists of 5 parts, which where marked in the picture:

  1. The menu - see below for more details. You can pop-up a menu by hitting alt and the first letter of the menu name.

  2. The button-bar - see below for more details

  3. The query entry - for entering queries

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. The status bar. It will be blue when all is ok, and red when an error was encountered. See below for more details.

The menu

File menu

The file menu contains the follwing entries:

New Database

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

New BibTex

Create a new bibtex file, and make it the current database.

Open Database

Open an existing database in the native sixpack format, .bref.

Close cur Database

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.

Force Close cur Database

As above, except that the database will be closed even if modified.

Save Database

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.

Sort str&cross when save

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.

Recent

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.

Read Collection

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.

Write Collection

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 databases

Close all currently open databases. If a database has been modified, you will be asked to confirm.

Save modified Databases

Save all databases that have been modified.

Force Save All Databases

Save all databases, whether changed or not.

Merge Database

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 Databases as

Save all open database as one inclusive databse containing all entries. The file will be saved in the native sixpack format.

Save marked Entries as

Save all marked entries into a database, again in the native sixpack format.

Exit

Exit from sixpack. If modified databases exist, you will be asked to confirm.

Force Quit (no save)

Quit even if modified databases exist.

Edit menu

Copy

Copy the marked entries if any are marked, or the selected entry into the X selection buffer in bibtex format.

Cut

Cut the marked entries if any are marked, or the selected entry into the X selection buffer in bibtex format.

Paste

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 new reference

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.

Edit reference

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.

Remove selected references

Delete all currently marked references.

Remove reference

Delete the currently shon reference.

Make CITEID for reference(s)

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.

Bracket {C}apitalized for reference(s)

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.

Insert in Emacs

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.

Insert_in LyX

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 entry

Mark the current entry. Marked entries are highlited in blue.

Unmark entry

Unmark the current entry.

Mark all entries

self explanatory.

Unmark all entries

self explanatory

Flip all marks

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.

Mark Double CITEIDs

Sort according to CITEID, and mark all entries whose CITEID is equal to that of another entry.

Mark according to aux file

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

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.

Sort by Title

-

Sort by Journal

-

Sort by Year

-

Transfer menu

import is raw html

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.

use selection for import/export

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.

Import

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.

Export

Using this submenu you can export to different formats.

View file externally

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.

View url externally

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.

Display Menu

The follwoing 3 toggles open and close the helper windows for Sixpack:

Database window

-

History window

-

Query window

-

The next 2 entries don't do anything currently. Afer those you have toggles as to which fields should be displayed for the entries.

Query Menu

Store current marks

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.

Help Menu

Ballon help

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

Topics

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)"

    

Bibtex

This will open a page describing the bibtex format.

Supported formats

This will open the part of the help pages describing what format sixpack can import/export.

The button-bar

The buttonbar contains the following buttons:

  1. Open a database that is in the sixpack native format. Several databases can be open at the same time.

  2. New database. Create a new database.

  3. Inert a new entry. You will be prompted for the reference type. The entry is added to the current database.

  4. Edit current entry. When you finish edit the entry, you can click on the button again, which at that time will show a lock.

  5. Open/close databases window. This window shows which databases are currenty open, and which of those have been modified.

  6. Open/close the history window. Show the history of actions takes and enables entry of commands.

  7. Open/close the query window. This window shows past queries, and lets you hav eitems marked according to those queries.

  8. Sort by Author

  9. Sort by title

  10. 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.

  11. Next marked entry.

  12. Previous marked entry.

  13. Next entry.

  14. Previous entry.

The list window

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.

The status-bar

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

.

The query window

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

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

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.