LaTeX and BibTeX

Mendeley and LaTeX

Rather than having to edit your BibTeX bibliographic entries manually, you can manage your references with a reference management program, such as Mendeley, and then export references in BibTeX format.

This guide is suitable if you already have a well-developed Mendeley library that you would prefer to utilize rather than start entering references from scratch either manually or into another BibTeX based reference management program. 

Mendeley and LaTeX video

Step-by-step Mendeley and LaTeX guide

Mendeley reference manager brings the best functions of Endnote and Zotero and perhaps is the easiest reference management system to combine with LaTeX. If you follow these steps, after a few setting changes (and no extra downloading), you will be able to have an automatically syncing BibTeX file for your LaTeX document. 

1. Begin creating your Mendeley reference list. If you need help to create a Mendeley reference list please refer to the library's guide to Mendeley linked below.
2. In My Library create a new folder and insert your required references. Note: it doesn't have to be the completed list as this method allows you to add references at any stage.
3. Click on the Tools tab then select Options
4. Press the BibTeX tab at the top of the pop up page.
5. Tick the Escape LaTeX special characters button
6. Tick the Enable BibTeX syncing
7. Then tick the Create one BibTeX file per group option
8. IMPORTANT You now need to press the Browse... button to select the destination of your BibTeX file. This needs to be in the same folder as your LaTeX file. 
9. Click the Apply button, then OK. 

Now any references you add to your linked folder in Mendeley will automatically be added to the BibTeX file in the LaTeX folder

In terms of citation keys, Mendeley automatically generates in the format of [AuthorYear].

More Mendeley and LaTeX resources