jabref

Added

• We integrated a new three-way merge UI for merging entries in the Entries Merger Dialog, the Duplicate Resolver Dialog, the Entry Importer Dialog, and the External Changes Resolver Dialog. #8945
• We added the ability to merge groups, keywords, comments and files when merging entries. #9022
• We added a warning message next to the authors field in the merge dialog to warn users when the authors are the same but formatted differently. #8745
• The default file directory of a library is used as default directory for unlinked file lookup. koppor#546
• The properties of an existing systematic literature review (SLR) can be edited. koppor#604
• An systematic literature review (SLR) can now be started from the SLR itself. #9131, koppor#601
• On startup, JabRef notifies the user if there were parsing errors during opening.
• We added support for the field fjournal (in @article) for abbreviation and unabbreviation functionalities. #321
• In case a backup is found, the filename of the backup is shown and one can navigate to the file. #9311
• We added support for the Ukrainian and Arabic languages. #9236, #9243

Changed

• We improved the Citavi Importer to also import so called Knowledge-items into the field comment of the corresponding entry #9025
• We modified the change case sub-menus and their corresponding tips (displayed when you stay long over the menu) to properly reflect exemplified cases. #9339
• We call backup files .bak and temporary writing files now .sav.
• JabRef keeps 10 older versions of a .bib file in the user data dir (instead of a single .sav (now: .bak) file in the directory of the .bib file)
• We improved the External Changes Resolver dialog to be more usaable. #9021
• We simplified the actions to fast-resolve duplicates to 'Keep Left', 'Keep Right', 'Keep Both' and 'Keep Merged'. #9056
• The fallback directory of the file folder now is the general file directory. In case there was a directory configured for a library and this directory was not found, JabRef placed the PDF next to the .bib file and not into the general file directory.
• The global default directory for storing PDFs is now the documents folder in the user's home.
• When adding or editing a subgroup it is placed w.r.t. to alphabetical ordering rather than at the end. koppor#577
• Groups context menu now shows appropriate options depending on number of subgroups. koppor#579
• We modified the "Delete file" dialog and added the full file path to the dialog text. The file path in the title was changed to file name only. koppor#534
• Download from URL now automatically fills with URL from clipboard. koppor#535
• We added HTML and Markdown files to Find Unlinked Files and removed BibTeX. koppor#547
• ArXiv fetcher now retrieves additional data from related DOIs (both ArXiv and user-assigned). #9170
• We modified the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) fetcher so that it will now also fetch the ISBN when possible. #8708
• Genres are now mapped correctly to entry types when importing MODS files. #9185
• We changed the button label from "Return to JabRef" to "Return to library" to better indicate the purpose of the action.
• We changed the color of found text from red to high-contrast colors (background: yellow; font color: purple). koppor#552
• We fixed an issue where the wrong icon for a successful import of a bib entry was shown. #9308
• We changed the messages after importing unlinked local files to past tense. koppor#548
• In the context of the Cleanup dialog we changed the text of the conversion of BibTeX to biblatex (and vice versa) to make it more clear. koppor#545
• We removed wrapping of string constants when writing to a .bib file.
• In the context of a systematic literature review (SLR), a user can now add arbitrary data into study.yml. JabRef just ignores this data. #9124
• In the context of a systematic literature review (SLR), we reworked the "Define study" parameters dialog. #9123
• We upgraded to Lucene 9.4 for the fulltext search. The search index will be rebuild. #9213
• We disabled the "change case" menu for empty fields. #9214
• We disabled the conversion menu for empty fields. #9200

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where applied save actions on saving the library file would lead to the dialog "The library has been modified by another program" popping up. #4877
• We fixed issues with save actions not correctly loaded when opening the library. #9122
• We fixed the behavior of "Discard changes" when reopening a modified library. #9361
• We fixed several bugs regarding the manual and the autosave of library files that could lead to exceptions. #9067, #8448, #8746, #6684, #6644, #6102, #6002
• We fixed an issue where pdfs were re-indexed on each startup. #9166
• We fixed an issue when using an unsafe character in the citation key, the auto-linking feature fails to link files. #9267
• We fixed an issue where a message about changed metadata would occur on saving although nothing changed. #9159
• We fixed an issue where the possibility to generate a subdatabase from an aux file was writing empty files when called from the commandline. #9115, forum#3516
• We fixed an issue where author names with tilde accents (for example ñ) were marked as "Names are not in the standard BibTeX format". #8071
• We fixed an issue where capitalize didn't capitalize words after hyphen characters. #9157
• We fixed an issue where title case didn't capitalize words after en-dash characters and skip capitalization of conjunctions that comes after en-dash characters. #9068,#9142
• We fixed an issue with the message that is displayed when fetcher returns an empty list of entries for given query. #9195
• We fixed an issue where editing entry's "date" field in library mode "biblatex" causes an uncaught exception. #8747
• We fixed an issue where importing from XMP would fail for certain PDFs. #9383
• We fixed an issue that JabRef displayed the wrong group tree after loading. koppor#637
• We fixed that sorting of entries in the maintable by special fields is updated immediately. #9334
• We fixed the display of issue, number, eid and pages fields in the entry preview. #8607, #8372, Koppor#514, forum#2390, forum#3462
• We fixed the page ranges checker to detect article numbers in the pages field (used at Check Integrity). #8607
• The HtmlToLaTeXFormatter keeps single < characters.
• We fixed a performance regression when opening large libraries. #9041
• We fixed a bug where spaces are trimmed when highlighting differences in the Entries merge dialog. koppor#371
• We fixed some visual glitches with the linked files editor field in the entry editor and increased its height. #8823
• We fixed some visual inconsistencies (round corners of highlighted buttons). #8806
• We fixed an issue where JabRef would not exit when a connection to a LibreOffice document was established previously and the document is still open. #9075
• We fixed an issue about selecting the save order in the preferences. #9175
• We fixed an issue where an exception when fetching a DOI was not logged correctly. koppor#627
• We fixed an issue where a user could not open an attached file in a new unsaved library. #9386
• We fixed a typo within a connection error message. koppor#625
• We fixed an issue where journal abbreviations would not abbreviate journal titles with escaped ampersands (\&). #8948
• We fixed the readability of the file field in the dark theme. #9340
• We fixed an issue where the 'close dialog' key binding was not closing the Preferences dialog. #8888
• We fixed an issue where a known journal's medline/dot-less abbreviation does not switch to the full name. #9370
• We fixed an issue where hitting enter on the search field within the preferences dialog closed the dialog. koppor#630
• We fixed the "Cleanup entries" dialog is partially visible. #9223
• We fixed an issue where font size preferences did not apply correctly to preference dialog window and the menu bar. #8386 and #9279
• We fixed the display of the "Customize Entry Types" dialog title. #9198
• We fixed an issue where the CSS styles are missing in some dialogs. #9150
• We fixed an issue where controls in the preferences dialog could outgrow the window. #9017

Removed

• We removed "last-search-date" from the systematic literature review feature, because the last-search-date can be deducted from the git logs. #9116
• We removed the CiteseerX fetcher, because the API used by JabRef is sundowned. #9466

Added

• We added a fetcher for Biodiversity Heritage Library. 8539
• We added support for multiple messages in the snackbar. #7340
• We added an extra option in the 'Find Unlinked Files' dialog view to ignore unnecessary files like Thumbs.db, DS_Store, etc. koppor#373
• JabRef now writes log files. Linux: $home/.cache/jabref/logs/version, Windows: %APPDATA%\..\Local\harawata\jabref\version\logs, Mac: Users/.../Library/Logs/jabref/version
• We added an importer for Citavi backup files, support ".ctv5bak" and ".ctv6bak" file formats. #8322
• We added a feature to drag selected entries and drop them to other opened inactive library tabs koppor521.
• We added support for the biblatex-apa legal entry types Legislation, Legadminmaterial, Jurisdiction, Constitution and Legal #8931

Changed

• The file column in the main table now shows the corresponding defined icon for the linked file 8930.
• We improved the color of the selected entries and the color of the summary in the Import Entries Dialog in the dark theme. #7927
• We upgraded to Lucene 9.3 for the fulltext search.
  Thus, the now created search index cannot be read from older versions of JabRef anylonger.
  ⚠️ JabRef will recreate the index in a new folder for new files and this will take a long time for a huge library.
  Moreover, switching back and forth JabRef versions and meanwhile adding PDFs also requires rebuilding the index now and then.
  #8868
• We improved the Latex2Unicode conversion #8639
• Writing BibTeX data into a PDF (XMP) removes braces. #8452
• Writing BibTeX data into a PDF (XMP) does not write the file field.
• Writing BibTeX data into a PDF (XMP) considers the configured keyword separator (and does not use "," as default any more)
• The Medline/Pubmed search now also supports the default fields and operators for searching. forum#3554
• We improved group expansion arrow that prevent it from activating group when expanding or collapsing. #7982, #3176
• When configured SSL certificates changed, JabRef warns the user to restart to apply the configuration.
• We improved the appearances and logic of the "Manage field names & content" dialog, and renamed it to "Automatic field editor". #6536
• We improved the message explaining the options when modifying an automatic keyword group #8911
• We moved the preferences option "Warn about duplicates on import" option from the tab "File" to the tab "Import and Export". koppor#570
• When JabRef encounters % Encoding: UTF-8 header, it is kept during writing (and not removed). #8964
• We replace characters which cannot be decoded using the specified encoding by a (probably another) valid character. This happens if JabRef detects the wrong charset (e.g., UTF-8 instead of Windows 1252). One can use the Integrity Check to find those characters.

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where the user could not rate an entry in the main table when an entry was not yet ranked. #5842
• We fixed an issue that caused JabRef to sometimes open multiple instances when "Remote Operation" is enabled. #8653
• We fixed an issue where linked files with the filetype "application/pdf" in an entry were not shown with the correct PDF-Icon in the main table 8930
• We fixed an issue where "open folder" for linked files did not open the folder and did not select the file unter certain Linux desktop environments #8679, #8849
• We fixed an issue where the content of a big shared database library is not shown #8788
• We fixed the unnecessary horizontal scroll bar in group panel #8467
• We fixed an issue where the notification bar message, icon and actions appeared to be invisible. #8761
• We fixed an issue where deprecated fields tab is shown when the fields don't contain any values. #8396
• We fixed an issue where an exception for DOI search occurred when the DOI contained urlencoded characters. #8787
• We fixed an issue which allow us to select and open identifiers from a popup list in the maintable #8758, 8802
• We fixed an issue where the escape button had no functionality within the "Filter groups" textfield. koppor#562
• We fixed an issue where the exception that there are invalid characters in filename. #8786
• When the proxy configuration removed the proxy user/password, this change is applied immediately.
• We fixed an issue where removing several groups deletes only one of them. #8390
• We fixed an issue where the Sidepane (groups, web search and open office) width is not remembered after restarting JabRef. #8907
• We fixed a bug where switching between themes will cause an error/exception. #8939
• We fixed a bug where files that were deleted in the source bibtex file were kept in the index. #8962
• We fixed "Error while sending to JabRef" when the browser extension interacts with JabRef. JabRef-Browser-Extension#479
• We fixed a bug where updating group view mode (intersection or union) requires re-selecting groups to take effect. #6998
• We fixed a bug that prevented external group metadata changes from being merged. #8873
• We fixed the shared database opening dialog to remember autosave folder and tick. #7516

Removed

• We removed the social media buttons for our Twitter and Facebook pages. #8774

Added

• We enabled the user to customize the API Key for some fetchers. #6877
• We added an extra option when right-clicking an entry in the Entry List to copy either the DOI or the DOI url.
• We added a fetcher for Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) 8576
• We added an extra option to ask the user whether they want to open to reveal the folder holding the saved file with the file selected. #8195
• We added a new section to network preferences to allow using custom SSL certificates. #8126
• We improved the version check to take also beta version into account and now redirect to the right changelog for the version.
• We added two new web and fulltext fetchers: SemanticScholar and ResearchGate.
• We added notifications on success and failure when writing metadata to a PDF-file. #8276
• We added a cleanup action that escapes $ (by adding a backslash in front). #8673

Changed

• We upgraded to Lucene 9.1 for the fulltext search.
  Thus, the now created search index cannot be read from older versions of JabRef anylonger.
  ⚠️ JabRef will recreate the index in a new folder for new files and this will take a long time for a huge library.
  Moreover, switching back and forth JabRef versions and meanwhile adding PDFs also requires rebuilding the index now and then.
  #8362
• We changed the list of CSL styles to those that support formatting bibliographies. #8421 citeproc-java#116
• The CSL preview styles now also support displaying data from cross references entries that are linked via the crossref field. #7378
• We made the Search button in Web Search wider. We also skewed the panel titles to the left. #8397
• We introduced a preference to disable fulltext indexing. #8468
• When exporting entries, the encoding is always UTF-8.
• When embedding BibTeX data into a PDF, the encoding is always UTF-8.
• We replaced the OttoBib fetcher by a fetcher by OpenLibrary. #8652
• We first fetch ISBN data from OpenLibrary, if nothing found, ebook.de is tried.
• We now only show a warning when exiting for tasks that will not be recovered automatically upon relaunch of JabRef. #8468

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where right clicking multiple entries and pressing "Change entry type" would only change one entry. #8654
• We fixed an issue where it was no longer possible to add or delete multiple files in the file field in the entry editor. #8659
• We fixed an issue where the author's lastname was not used for the citation key generation if it started with a lowercase letter. #8601
• We fixed an issue where custom "Protected terms" files were missing after a restart of JabRef. #8608
• We fixed an issue where JabRef could not start due to a missing directory for the fulltex index. #8579
• We fixed an issue where long article numbers in the pages field would cause an exception and preventing the citation style to display. #8381, citeproc-java
• We fixed an issue where online links in the file field were not detected correctly and could produce an exception. #8150
• We fixed an issue where an exception could occur when saving the preferences #7614
• We fixed an issue where "Copy DOI url" in the right-click menu of the Entry List would just copy the DOI and not the DOI url. #8389
• We fixed an issue where opening the console from the drop-down menu would cause an exception. #8466
• We fixed an issue when reading non-UTF-8 encoded. When no encoding header is present, the encoding is now detected from the file content (and the preference option is disregarded). #8417
• We fixed an issue where pasting a URL was replacing + signs by spaces making the URL unreachable. #8448
• We fixed an issue where creating subsidiary files from aux files created with some versions of biblatex would produce incorrect results. #8513
• We fixed an issue where opening the changelog from withing JabRef led to a 404 error. #8563
• We fixed an issue where not all found unlinked local files were imported correctly due to some race condition. #8444
• We fixed an issue where Merge entries dialog exceeds screen boundaries.
• We fixed an issue where the app lags when selecting an entry after a fresh start. #8446
• We fixed an issue where no citationkey was generated on import, pasting a doi or an entry on the main table. 8406, koppor#553
• We fixed an issue where accent search does not perform consistently. #6815
• We fixed an issue where the incorrect entry was selected when "New Article" is pressed while search filters are active. #8674

Removed

• We removed the option to copy CSL Citation styles data as XSL_FO, ASCIIDOC, and RTF as these have not been working since a long time and are no longer supported in the external library used for processing the styles. #7378
• We removed the option to configure the default encoding. The default encoding is now hard-coded to the modern UTF-8 encoding.

Changed

• We integrated the external file types dialog directly inside the preferences. #8341
• We disabled the add group button color change after adding 10 new groups. #8051
• We inverted the logic for resolving BibTeX strings. This helps to keep # chars. By default String resolving is only activated for a couple of standard fields. The list of fields can be modified in the preferences. #7010, #7102, #8303
• We moved the search box in preview preferences closer to the available citation styles list. #8370
• Changing the preference to show the preview panel as a separate tab now has effect without restarting JabRef. #8370
• We enabled switching themes in JabRef without the need to restart JabRef. #7335

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where the preferences for "Search and store files relative to library file location" where ignored when the "Main file directory" field was not empty #8385
• We fixed an issue where #chars in certain fields would be interpreted as BibTeX strings #7010, #7102, #8303
• We fixed an issue where the fulltext search on an empty library with no documents would lead to an exception koppor#522
• We fixed an issue where clicking on "Accept changes" in the merge dialog would lead to an exception forum#2418
• We fixed an issue where clicking on headings in the entry preview could lead to an exception. #8292
• We fixed an issue where IntegrityCheck used the system's character encoding instead of the one set by the library or in preferences #8022
• We fixed an issue about empty metadata in library properties when called from the right click menu. #8358
• We fixed an issue where someone could add a duplicate field in the customize entry type dialog. #8194
• We fixed a typo in the library properties tab: "String constants". There, one can configure BibTeX string constants.
• We fixed an issue when writing a non-UTF-8 encoded file: The header is written again. #8417

Added

• We added confirmation dialog when user wants to close a library where any empty entires are detected. #8096
• We added import support for CFF files. #7945
• We added the option to copy the DOI of an entry directly from the context menu copy submenu. #7826
• We added a fulltext search feature. #2838
• We improved the deduction of bib-entries from imported fulltext pdfs. #7947
• We added unprotect_terms to the list of bracketed pattern modifiers #7826
• We added a dialog that allows to parse metadata from linked pdfs. #7929
• We added an icon picker in group edit dialog. #6142
• We added a preference to Opt-In to JabRef's online metadata extraction service (Grobid) usage. #8002
• We readded the possibility to display the search results of all databases ("Global Search"). It is shown in a separate window. #4096
• We readded the possibility to keep the search string when switching tabs. It is implemented by a toggle button. #4096
• We allowed the user to also preview the available citation styles in the preferences besides the selected ones #8108
• We added an option to search the available citation styles by name in the preferences #8108
• We added an option to generate bib-entries from ID through a popover in the toolbar. #4183
• We added a menu option in the right click menu of the main table tabs to display the library properties. #6527
• When a .bib file ("library") was saved successfully, a notification is shown

Changed

• Local library settings may overwrite the setting "Search and store files relative to library file location" #8179
• The option "Fit table horizontally on screen" in the "Entry table" preferences is now disabled by default #8148
• We improved the preferences and descriptions in the "Linked files" preferences tab #8148
• We slightly changed the layout of the Journal tab in the preferences for ui consistency. #7937
• The JabRefHost on Windows now writes a temporary file and calls -importToOpen instead of passing the bibtex via -importBibtex. #7374, JabRef Browser Ext #274
• We reordered some entries in the right-click menu of the main table. #6099
• We merged the barely used ImportSettingsTab and the CustomizationTab in the preferences into one single tab and moved the option to allow Integers in Edition Fields in Bibtex-Mode to the EntryEditor tab. #7849
• We moved the export order in the preferences from File to Import and Export. #7935
• We reworked the export order in the preferences and the save order in the library preferences. You can now set more than three sort criteria in your library preferences. #7935
• The metadata-to-pdf actions now also embeds the bibfile to the PDF. #8037
• The snap was updated to use the core20 base and to use lzo compression for better startup performance #8109
• We moved the union/intersection view button in the group sidepane to the left of the other controls. #8202
• We improved the Drag and Drop behavior in the "Customize Entry Types" Dialog #6338
• When determining the URL of an ArXiV eprint, the URL now points to the version #8149
• We Included all standard fields with citation key when exporting to Old OpenOffice/LibreOffice Calc Format #8176
• In case the database is encoded with UTF8, the % Encoding marker is not written anymore
• The written .bib file has the same line endings #390
• The written .bib file always has a final line break
• The written .bib file keeps the newline separator of the loaded .bib file
• We present options to manually enter an article or return to the New Entry menu when the fetcher DOI fails to find an entry for an ID #7870
• We trim white space and non-ASCII characters from DOI #8127
• The duplicate checker now inspects other fields in case no difference in the required and optional fields are found.
• We reworked the library properties dialog and integrated the Library > Preamble, Library > Citation key pattern and Library > String constants dialogs #8264
• We improved the startup time of JabRef by switching from the logging library log4j2 to tinylog #8007

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where an exception occurred when pasting an entry with a publication date-range of the form 1910/1917 #7864
• We fixed an issue where an exception occured when a preview style was edited and afterwards another preview style selected. #8280
• We fixed an issue where the actions to move a file to a directory were incorrectly disabled. #7908
• We fixed an issue where an exception occurred when a linked online file was edited in the entry editor #8008
• We fixed an issue when checking for a new version when JabRef is used behind a corporate proxy. #7884
• We fixed some icons that were drawn in the wrong color when JabRef used a custom theme. #7853
• We fixed an issue where the Aux file on Edit group doesn't support relative sub-directories path to import. #7719.
• We fixed an issue where it was impossible to add or modify groups. #7912
• We fixed an issue about the visible side pane components being out of sync with the view menu. #8115
• We fixed an issue where the side pane would not close when all its components were closed. #8082
• We fixed an issue where exported entries from a Citavi bib containing URLs could not be imported #7892
• We fixed an issue where the icons in the search bar had the same color, toggled as well as untoggled. #8014
• We fixed an issue where typing an invalid UNC path into the "Main file directory" text field caused an error. #8107
• We fixed an issue where "Open Folder" didn't select the file on macOS in Finder #8130
• We fixed an issue where importing PDFs resulted in an uncaught exception #8143
• We fixed "The library has been modified by another program" showing up when line breaks change #4877
• The default directory of the "LaTeX Citations" tab is now the directory of the currently opened database (and not the directory chosen at the last open file dialog or the last database save) koppor#538
• When writing a bib file, the NegativeArraySizeException should not occur #8231 #8265
• We fixed an issue where some menu entries were available without entries selected. #4795
• We fixed an issue where right-clicking on a tab and selecting close will close the focused tab even if it is not the tab we right-clicked #8193
• We fixed an issue where selecting a citation style in the preferences would sometimes produce an exception #7860
• We fixed an issue where an exception would occur when clicking on a DOI link in the preview pane #7706
• We fixed an issue where XMP and embedded BibTeX export would not work #8278
• We fixed an issue where the XMP and embedded BibTeX import of a file containing multiple schemas failed #8278
• We fixed an issue where writing embedded BibTeX import fails due to write protection or bibtex already being present #8332
• We fixed an issue where pdf-paths and the pdf-indexer could get out of sync #8182
• We fixed an issue where Status-Logger error messages appeared during the startup of JabRef #5475

Removed

• We removed two orphaned preferences options #8164
• We removed the functionality of the --debug commandline options. Use the java command line switch -Dtinylog.level=debug for debug output instead. #8226

Added

• We added a progress counter to the title bar in Possible Duplicates dialog window. #7366
• We added new "Customization" tab to the preferences which includes option to choose a custom address for DOI access. #7337
• We added zbmath to the public databases from which the bibliographic information of an existing entry can be updated. #7437
• We showed to the find Unlinked Files Dialog the date of the files' most recent modification. #4652
• We added to the find Unlinked Files function a filter to show only files based on date of last modification (Last Year, Last Month, Last Week, Last Day). #4652
• We added to the find Unlinked Files function a filter that sorts the files based on the date of last modification(Sort by Newest, Sort by Oldest First). #4652
• We added the possibility to add a new entry via its zbMath ID (zbMATH can be chosen as ID type in the "Select entry type" window). #7202
• We added the extension support and the external application support (For Texshow, Texmaker and LyX) to the flatpak #7248
• We added some symbols and keybindings to the context menu in the entry editor. #7268
• We added keybindings for setting and clearing the read status. #7264
• We added two new fields to track the creation and most recent modification date and time for each entry. koppor#130
• We added a feature that allows the user to copy highlighted text in the preview window. #6962
• We added a feature that allows you to create new BibEntry via paste arxivId #2292
• We added support for conducting automated and systematic literature search across libraries and git support for persistence #369
• We added a add group functionality at the bottom of the side pane. #4682
• We added a feature that allows the user to choose whether to trust the target site when unable to find a valid certification path from the file download site. #7616
• We added a feature that allows the user to open all linked files of multiple selected entries by "Open file" option. #6966
• We added a keybinding preset for new entries. #7705
• We added a select all button for the library import function. #7786
• We added a search feature for journal abbreviations. #7804
• We added auto-key-generation progress to the background task list. #7267
• We added the option to write XMP metadata to pdfs from the CLI. 7814

Changed

• The export to MS Office XML now exports the author field as Inventor if the bibtex entry type is patent #7830
• We changed the EndNote importer to import the field label to the corresponding bibtex field endnote-label forum#2734
• The keywords added via "Manage content selectors" are now displayed in alphabetical order. #3791
• We improved the "Find unlinked files" dialog to show import results for each file. #7209
• The content of the field timestamp is migrated to creationdate. In case one configured "udpate timestampe", it is migrated to modificationdate. koppor#130
• The JabRef specific meta-data content in the main field such as priorities (prio1, prio2, ...) are migrated to their respective fields. They are removed from the keywords. #6840
• We fixed an issue where groups generated from authors' last names did not include all entries of the authors' #5833
• The export to MS Office XML now uses the month name for the field MonthAcessed instead of the two digit number #7354
• We included some standalone dialogs from the options menu in the main preference dialog and fixed some visual issues in the preferences dialog. #7384
• We improved the linking of the python3 interpreter via the shebang to dynamically use the systems default Python. Related to JabRef-Browser-Extension #177
• Automatically found pdf files now have the linking button to the far left and uses a link icon with a plus instead of a briefcase. The file name also has lowered opacity(70%) until added. #3607
• We simplified the select entry type form by splitting it into two parts ("Recommended" and "Others") based on internal usage data. #6730
• We improved the submenu list by merging the'Remove group' having two options, with or without subgroups. #4682
• The export to MS Office XML now uses the month name for the field Month instead of the two digit number forum#2685
• We reintroduced missing default keybindings for new entries. #7346 #7439
• Lists of available fields are now sorted alphabetically. #7716
• The tooltip of the search field explaining the search is always shown. #7279
• We rewrote the ACM fetcher to adapt to the new interface. #5804
• We moved the select/collapse buttons in the unlinked files dialog into a context menu. #7383
• We fixed an issue where journal abbreviations containing curly braces were not recognized #7773

Fixed

• We fixed an isuse where some texts (e.g. descriptionss) in dialogs could not be translated #7854
• We fixed an issue where import hangs for ris files with "ER - " #7737
• We fixed an issue where getting bibliograhpic data from DOI or another identifer did not respect the library mode (BibTeX/biblatex)#1018
• We fixed an issue where importing entries would not respect the library mode (BibTeX/biblatex)#1018
• We fixed an issue where an exception occured when importing entries from a web search #7606
• We fixed an issue where the table column sort order was not properly stored and resulted in unsorted eports #7524
• We fixed an issue where the value of the field school or institution would be printed twice in the HTML Export forum#2634
• We fixed an issue preventing to connect to a shared database. #7570
• We fixed an issue preventing files from being dragged & dropped into an empty library. #6851
• We fixed an issue where double-click onto PDF in file list under the 'General' tab section should just open the file. #7465
• We fixed an issue where the dark theme did not extend to a group's custom color picker. #7481
• We fixed an issue where choosing the fields on which autocompletion should not work in "Entry editor" preferences had no effect. #7320
• We fixed an issue where the "Normalize page numbers" formatter did not replace en-dashes or em-dashes with a hyphen-minus sign. #7239
• We fixed an issue with the style of highlighted check boxes while searching in preferences. #7226
• We fixed an issue where the option "Move file to file directory" was disabled in the entry editor for all files #7194
• We fixed an issue where application dialogs were opening in the wrong display when using multiple screens #7273
• We fixed an issue where the "Find unlinked files" dialog would freeze JabRef on importing. #7205
• We fixed an issue where the "Find unlinked files" would stop importing when importing a single file failed. #7206
• We fixed an issue where JabRef froze for a few seconds in MacOS when DNS resolution timed out. #7441
• We fixed an issue where an exception would be displayed for previewing and preferences when a custom theme has been configured but is missing #7177
• We fixed an issue where URLs in file fields could not be handled on Windows. #7359
• We fixed an issue where the regex based file search miss-interpreted specific symbols. #4342
• We fixed an issue where the Harvard RTF exporter used the wrong default file extension. 4508
• We fixed an issue where the Harvard RTF exporter did not use the new authors formatter and therefore did not export "organization" authors correctly. 4508
• We fixed an issue where the field urldate was not exported to the corresponding fields YearAccessed, MonthAccessed, DayAccessed in MS Office XML #7354
• We fixed an issue where the password for a shared SQL database was only remembered if it was the same as the username #6869
• We fixed an issue where some custom exports did not use the new authors formatter and therefore did not export authors correctly #7356
• We fixed an issue where alt+keyboard shortcuts do not work #6994
• We fixed an issue about the file link editor did not allow to change the file name according to the default pattern after changing an entry. #7525
• We fixed an issue where the file path is invisible in dark theme. #7382
• We fixed an issue where the secondary sorting is not working for some special fields. #7015
• We fixed an issue where changing the font size makes the font size field too small. #7085
• We fixed an issue with TexGroups on Linux systems, where the modification of an aux-file did not trigger an auto-update for TexGroups. Furthermore, the detection of file modifications is now more reliable. #7412
• We fixed an issue where the Unicode to Latex formatter produced wrong results for characters with a codepoint higher than Character.MAX_VALUE. #7387
• We fixed an issue where a non valid value as font size results in an uncaught exception. #7415
• We fixed an issue where "Merge citations" in the Openoffice/Libreoffice integration panel did not have a corresponding opposite. #7454
• We fixed an issue where drag and drop of bib files for opening resulted in uncaught exceptions #7464
• We fixed an issue where columns shrink in width when we try to enlarge JabRef window. #6818
• We fixed an issue where Content selector does not seem to work for custom fields. #6819
• We fixed an issue where font size of the preferences dialog does not update with the rest of the GUI. #7416
• We fixed an issue in which a linked online file consisting of a web page was saved as an invalid pdf file upon being downloaded. The user is now notified when downloading a linked file results in an HTML file. #7452
• We fixed an issue where opening BibTex file (doubleclick) from Folder with spaces not working. #6487
• We fixed the header title in the Add Group/Subgroup Dialog box. #4682
• We fixed an issue with saving large .bib files #7265
• We fixed an issue with very large page numbers #7590
• We fixed an issue where the file extension is missing on saving the library file on linux #7451
• We fixed an issue with opacity of disabled icon-buttons #7195
• We fixed an issue where journal abbreviations in UTF-8 were not recognized #5850
• We fixed an issue where the article title with curly brackets fails to download the arXiv link (pdf file). #7633
• We fixed an issue with toggle of special fields does not work for sorted entries #7016
• We fixed an issue with the default path of external application. #7641
• We fixed an issue where urls must be embedded in a style tag when importing EndNote style Xml files. Now it can parse url with or without a style tag. #6199
• We fixed an issue where the article title with colon fails to download the arXiv link (pdf file). #7660
• We fixed an issue where the keybinding for delete entry did not work on the main table 7580
• We fixed an issue where the RFC fetcher is not compatible with the draft 7305
• We fixed an issue where duplicate files (both file names and contents are the same) is downloaded and add to linked files #6197
• We fixed an issue where changing the appearance of the preview tab did not trigger a restart warning. #5464
• We fixed an issue where editing "Custom preview style" triggers exception. #7526
• We fixed the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System fetcher. #7867
• We fixed an issue where a title with multiple applied formattings in EndNote was not imported correctly forum#2734
• We fixed an issue where a report in EndNote was imported as article forum#2734
• We fixed an issue where the field publisher in EndNote was not imported in JabRef forum#2734

Removed

• We removed add group button beside the filter group tab. #4682

Added

• We added a validation to check if the current database location is shared, preventing an exception when Pulling Changes From Shared Database. #6959
• We added a query parser and mapping layer to enable conversion of queries formulated in simplified lucene syntax by the user into api queries. #6799
• We added some basic functionality to customise the look of JabRef by importing a css theme file. #5790
• We added connection check function in network preference setting #6560
• We added support for exporting to YAML. #6974
• We added a DOI format and organization check to detect American Physical Society journals to copy the article ID to the page field for cases where the page numbers are missing. #7019
• We added an error message in the New Entry dialog that is shown in case the fetcher did not find anything . #7000
• We added a new formatter to output shorthand month format. #6579
• We added support for the new Microsoft Edge browser in all platforms. #7056
• We reintroduced emacs/bash-like keybindings. #6017
• We added a feature to provide automated cross library search using a cross library query language. This provides support for the search step of systematic literature reviews (SLRs). koppor#369

Changed

• We changed the default preferences for OpenOffice/LibreOffice integration to automatically sync the bibliography when inserting new citations in a OpenOffic/LibreOffice document. #6957
• We restructured the 'File' tab and extracted some parts into the 'Linked files' tab #6779
• JabRef now offers journal lists from https://abbrv.jabref.org. JabRef the lists which use a dot inside the abbreviations. #5749
• We removed two useless preferences in the groups preferences dialog. #6836
• Synchronization of SpecialFields to keywords is now disabled by default. #6621
• JabRef no longer opens the entry editor with the first entry on startup #6855
• We completed the rebranding of bibtexkey as citationkey which was started in JabRef 5.1.
• JabRef no longer opens the entry editor with the first entry on startup #6855
• Fetch by ID: (long) "SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System" replaced by (short) "SAO/NASA ADS" #6876
• We changed the title of the window "Manage field names and content" to have the same title as the corresponding menu item #6895
• We renamed the menus "View -> Previous citation style" and "View -> Next citation style" into "View -> Previous preview style" and "View -> Next preview style" and renamed the "Preview" style to "Customized preview style". #6899
• We changed the default preference option "Search and store files relative to library file location" to on, as this seems to be a more intuitive behaviour. #6863
• We changed the title of the window "Manage field names and content": to have the same title as the corresponding menu item #6895
• We improved the detection of "short" DOIs 6880
• We improved the duplicate detection when identifiers like DOI or arxiv are semantiaclly the same, but just syntactically differ (e.g. with or without http(s):// prefix). #6707
• We changed in the group interface "Generate groups from keywords in a BibTeX field" by "Generate groups from keywords in the following field". #6983
• We changed the name of a group type from "Searching for keywords" to "Searching for a keyword". 6995
• We changed the way JabRef displays the title of a tab and of the window. 4161
• We changed connect timeouts for server requests to 30 seconds in general and 5 seconds for GROBID server (special) and improved user notifications on connection issues. 7026
• We changed the order of the library tab context menu items. #7171
• We changed the way linked files are opened on Linux to use the native openFile method, compatible with confined packages. 7037
• We refined the entry preview to show the full names of authors and editors, to list the editor only if no author is present, have the year ealier. #7083

Fixed

• We fixed an issue changing the icon link_variation_off that is not meaningful. #6834
• We fixed an issue where the .sav file was not deleted upon exiting JabRef. #6109
• We fixed a linked identifier icon inconsistency. #6705
• We fixed the wrong behavior that font size changes are not reflected in dialogs. #6039
• We fixed the failure to Copy citation key and link. #5835
• We fixed an issue where the sort order of the entry table was reset after a restart of JabRef. #6898
• We fixed an issue where no longer a warning was displayed when inserting references into LibreOffice with an invalid "ReferenceParagraphFormat". #6907.
• We fixed an issue where a selected field was not removed after the first click in the custom entry types dialog. #6934
• We fixed an issue where a remove icon was shown for standard entry types in the custom entry types dialog. #6906
• We fixed an issue where it was impossible to connect to OpenOffice/LibreOffice on Mac OSX. #6970
• We fixed an issue with the python script used by browser plugins that failed to locate JabRef if not installed in its default location. #6963
• We fixed an issue where spaces and newlines in an isbn would generate an exception. #6456
• We fixed an issue where identity column header had incorrect foreground color in the Dark theme. #6796
• We fixed an issue where the RIS exporter added extra blank lines.#7007
• We fixed an issue where clicking on Collapse All button in the Search for Unlinked Local Files expanded the directory structure erroneously #6848
• We fixed an issue, when pulling changes from shared database via shortcut caused creation of a new tech report 6867
• We fixed an issue where the JabRef GUI does not highlight the "All entries" group on start-up #6691
• We fixed an issue where a custom dark theme was not applied to the entry preview tab 7068
• We fixed an issue where modifications to the Custom preview layout in the preferences were not saved #6447
• We fixed an issue where errors from imports were not shown to the user #7084
• We fixed an issue where the EndNote XML Import would fail on empty keywords tags forum#2387
• We fixed an issue where the color of groups of type "free search expression" not persisting after restarting the application #6999
• We fixed an issue where modifications in the source tab where not saved without switching to another field before saving the library #6622
• We fixed an issue where the "Document Viewer" did not show the first page of the opened pdf document and did not show the correct total number of pages #7108
• We fixed an issue where the context menu was not updated after a file link was changed. #5777
• We fixed an issue where the password for a shared SQL database was not remembered #6869
• We fixed an issue where newly added entires were not synced to a shared SQL database #7176
• We fixed an issue where the PDF-Content importer threw an exception when no DOI number is present at the first page of the PDF document #7203

Removed

• We removed the Google Scholar fetcher and the ACM fetcher do not work due to traffic limitations #6369
• We removed the menu entry "Manage external file types" because it's already in 'Preferences' dialog #6991
• We removed the integrity check "Abbreviation detected" for the field journal/journaltitle in the entry editor #3925

Added

• We added a new fetcher to enable users to search mEDRA DOIs #6602
• We added a new fetcher to enable users to search "Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies". #6638
• We added default values for delimiters in Add Subgroup window #6624
• We improved responsiveness of general fields specification dialog window. #6643
• We added support for importing ris file and load DOI #6530
• We added the Library properties to a context menu on the library tabs #6485
• We added a new field in the preferences in 'BibTeX key generator' for unwanted characters that can be user-specified. #6295
• We added support for searching ShortScience for an entry through the user's browser. #6018
• We updated EditionChecker to permit edition to start with a number. #6144
• We added tooltips for most fields in the entry editor containing a short description. #5847
• We added support for basic markdown in custom formatted previews #6194
• We now show the number of items found and selected to import in the online search dialog. #6248
• We created a new install screen for macOS. #5759
• We added a new integrity check for duplicate DOIs. koppor#339
• We implemented an option to download fulltext files while importing. #6381
• We added a progress-indicator showing the average progress of background tasks to the toolbar. Clicking it reveals a pop-over with a list of running background tasks. 6443
• We fixed the bug when strike the delete key in the text field. #6421
• We added a BibTex key modifier for truncating strings. #3915
• We added support for jumping to target entry when typing letter/digit after sorting a column in maintable #6146
• We added a new fetcher to enable users to search all available E-Libraries simultaneously. koppor#369
• We added the field "entrytype" to the export sort criteria #6531
• We added the possibility to change the display order of the fields in the entry editor. The order can now be configured using drag and drop in the "Customize entry types" dialog #6152
• We added native support for biblatex-software #6574
• We added a missing restart warning for AutoComplete in the preferences dialog. #6351
• We added a note to the citation key pattern preferences dialog as a temporary workaround for a JavaFX bug, about committing changes in a table cell, if the focus is lost. #5825

Changed

• We improved the arXiv fetcher. Now it should find entries even more reliably and does no longer include the version (e.g v1) in the eprint field. forum#1941
• We moved the group search bar and the button "New group" from bottom to top position to make it more prominent. #6112
• When JabRef finds a .sav file without changes, there is no dialog asking for acceptance of changes anymore.
• We changed the buttons for import/export/show all/reset of preferences to smaller icon buttons in the preferences dialog. #6130
• We moved the functionality "Manage field names & content" from the "Library" menu to the "Edit" menu, because it affects the selected entries and not the whole library
• We merged the functionality "Append contents from a BibTeX library into the currently viewed library" into the "Import into database" functionality. Fixes #6049.
• We changed the directory where fulltext downloads are stored to the directory set in the import-tab in preferences. #6381
• We improved the error message for invalid jstyles. #6303
• We changed the section name of 'Advanced' to 'Network' in the preferences and removed some obsolete options.#6489
• We improved the context menu of the column "Linked identifiers" of the main table, by truncating their texts, if they are too long. #6499
• We merged the main table tabs in the preferences dialog. #6518
• We changed the command line option 'generateBibtexKeys' to the more generic term 'generateCitationKeys' while the short option remains 'g'.#6545
• We improved the "Possible duplicate entries" window to remember its size and position throughout a session. #6582
• We divided the toolbar into small parts, so if the application window is to small, only a part of the toolbar is moved into the chevron popup. #6682
• We changed the layout for of the buttons in the Open Office side panel to ensure that the button text is always visible, specially when resizing. #6639
• We merged the two new library commands in the file menu to one which always creates a new library in the default library mode. #6359

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where entry preview tab has no name in drop down list. #6591
• We fixed to only search file links in the BIB file location directory when preferences has corresponding checkbox checked. #5891
• We fixed wrong button order (Apply and Cancel) in ManageProtectedTermsDialog.
• We fixed an issue with incompatible characters at BibTeX key #6257
• We fixed an issue where dash (-) was reported as illegal BibTeX key #6295
• We greatly improved the performance of the overall application and many operations. #5071
• We fixed an issue where sort by priority was broken. #6222
• We fixed an issue where opening a library from the recent libraries menu was not possible. #5939
• We fixed an issue with inconsistent capitalization of file extensions when downloading files. #6115
• We fixed the display of language and encoding in the preferences dialog. #6130
• Now the link and/or the link description in the column "linked files" of the main table gets truncated or wrapped, if too long, otherwise display issues arise. #6178
• We fixed the issue that groups panel does not keep size when resizing window. #6180
• We fixed an error that sometimes occurred when using the context menu. #6085
• We fixed an issue where search full-text documents downloaded files with same name, overwriting existing files. #6174
• We fixed an issue when importing into current library an erroneous message "import cancelled" is displayed even though import is successful. #6266
• We fixed an issue where custom jstyles for Open/LibreOffice where not saved correctly. #6170
• We fixed an issue where the INSPIRE fetcher was no longer working #6229
• We fixed an issue where custom exports with an uppercase file extension could not be selected for "Copy...-> Export to Clipboard" #6285
• We fixed the display of icon both in the main table and linked file editor. #6169
• We fixed an issue where the windows installer did not create an entry in the start menu bug report in the forum
• We fixed an issue where only the field abstract and comment were declared as multiline fields. Other fields can now be configured in the preferences using "Do not wrap the following fields when saving" 4373
• We fixed an issue where JabRef switched to discrete graphics under macOS #5935
• We fixed an issue where the Preferences entry preview will be unexpected modified leads to Value too long exception #6198
• We fixed an issue where custom jstyles for Open/LibreOffice would only be valid if a layout line for the entry type default was at the end of the layout section #6303
• We fixed an issue where a new entry is not shown in the library if a search is active #6297
• We fixed an issue where long directory names created from patterns could create an exception. #3915
• We fixed an issue where sort on numeric cases was broken. #6349
• We fixed an issue where year and month fields were not cleared when converting to biblatex #6224
• We fixed an issue where an "Not on FX thread" exception occured when saving on linux #6453
• We fixed an issue where the library sort order was lost. #6091
• We fixed an issue where brackets in regular expressions were not working. 6469
• We fixed an issue where multiple background task popups stacked over each other.. #6472
• We fixed an issue where LaTeX citations for specific commands (\autocites) of biblatex-mla were not recognized. #6476
• We fixed an issue where drag and drop was not working on empty database. #6487
• We fixed an issue where the name fields were not updated after the preferences changed. #6515
• We fixed an issue where "null" appeared in generated BibTeX keys. #6459
• We fixed an issue where the authors' names were incorrectly displayed in the authors' column when they were bracketed. #6465 #6459
• We fixed an issue where importing certain unlinked files would result in an exception #5815
• We fixed an issue where downloaded files would be moved to a directory named after the citationkey when no file directory pattern is specified #6589
• We fixed an issue with the creation of a group of cited entries which incorrectly showed the message that the library had been modified externally whenever saving the library. #6420
• We fixed an issue with the creation of a group of cited entries. Now the file path to an aux file gets validated. #6585
• We fixed an issue on Linux systems where the application would crash upon inotify failure. Now, the user is prompted with a warning, and given the choice to continue the session. #6073
• We moved the search modifier buttons into the search bar, as they were not accessible, if autocompletion was disabled. #6625
• We fixed an issue about duplicated group color indicators #6175
• We fixed an issue where entries with the entry type Misc from an imported aux file would not be saved correctly to the bib file on disk #6405
• We fixed an issue where percent sign ('%') was not formatted properly by the HTML formatter #6753
• We fixed an issue with the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System fetcher where \textbackslash appeared at the end of the abstract.
• We fixed an issue with the Science Direct fetcher where PDFs could not be downloaded. Fixes #5860
• We fixed an issue with the Library of Congress importer.
• We fixed the link to the external libraries listing in the about dialog
• We fixed an issue regarding pasting on Linux. #6293

Removed

• We removed the option of the "enforce legal key". #6295
• We removed the obsolete External programs / Open PDF section in the preferences, as the default application to open PDFs is now set in the Manage external file types dialog. #6130
• We removed the option to configure whether a .bib.bak file should be generated upon save. It is now always enabled. Documentation at https://docs.jabref.org/general/autosave. #6092
• We removed the built-in list of IEEE journal abbreviations using BibTeX strings. If you still want to use them, you have to download them separately from https://abbrv.jabref.org.

Notable Changes and New Features

In the User Survey 2015, the user interface was ranked as one of the most important aspects where JabRef needed improvement.
We’ve heard your feedback and are excited to announce that JabRef 5.0 brings in the long-overdue user interface update.

We worked closely together with user interface experts to create an intuitive environment for your literature references.
The result is a completely redesigned UI, with a wealth of new features and functionalities that make your work easier and more effective. Of course, we wanted the new UI to focus on individual user customization, so you can make your JabRef truly your own and more convient to your workflow. For example, JabRef now offers a dark theme and we layed the foundation to support custom themes in future.

We didn't stop at reworking the user interface, but also introduced a couple of new features:

• Lost the overview of which paper belongs to which project? This is a now a problem of the past! Simply, assign a color to your group and the new colored bars in the main table show you to which group the entry belongs to.
• The browser integration plugin (previously known as JabFox) lets you import new references directly from your browser with one simple click. Even links to accompanying PDFs are sent to JabRef, where those documents can easily be downloaded, renamed and placed in the correct folder. Besides Firefox the add-on is now also available for Chrome.
  
• We made it easier to add new references from plain text. Just copy the text, paste it into the new "New entry from plain text..." dialog and, voilà, your references are there.
  
• We added a new feature that allows to (automatically) search for citations in LaTeX files.
  In addtion, we added the LaTeX Citations tab to the entry editor which quickly allows to show all files in which the current entries.
  
• We added a new fetcher for ADS (SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System) and also changed all fetchers to use secure HTTPS instead of HTTP.
• We optimized the performance for working with a shared SQL database.

And many more! In total, there are over 100 changes since our last offical release!

Installation

With the release of the 5.0 we switched to a new build system which bundles the Java runtime together with JabRef.
This means that problems with other installed or outdated Java versions on the system are a problem of the past.
For the installation we now offer self-containing .deb and .rpm files for Linux users in addtion to the usual installer for Windows.
We also offer a portable zip version of JabRef which also includes all necessary files to run JabRef.
No installed Java version required.

You can get it from FOSShub.

Please report any other issues that you encounter in our bug tracker (in case it was not already reported before).

Breaking Changes

Since Jabref 5.0 is a major release, you should be aware that not all features are fully compatible with older version of JabRef. We worked hard to migrate all existing features to the new version. The only currently known issue is the "global search": The search bar doesn't remember the search string accross all tabs. We also have some performance issues with large databases, but are working on it.

Remember that JabRef 4.0 changed the groups format. See http://blog.jabref.org/#october-04-2017-%E2%80%93-jabref-4-0 for details.

Special Thanks

The JabRef Developers would like to give special thanks to all new and old contributors. Since 4.0 we are very happy to see so many new contributors opening pull requests and making translations.
Special thanks goes to two temporary contributors who have significantly contributed to this release. You rock!

• Martin Simon, who wrote his Master's Thesis about the usability of JabRef and gave us valuable advice how to improve it. [full paper]
• David Méndez, who was our Google Summer of Code Student in 2019 and developed the search for citations in LaTeX files.

We also want to thank all universities including JabRef in their academic teaching.

Finally, we want to thank all the users who are constantly testing the latest snapshots and giving feedback!

We are proud to announce the release of the first beta of JabRef 5.0 just in time for Christmas! 🚀 🎄

Since the alpha release of Jabref 5.0 we continued fixing bugs and addressed many usability issues.

In total, more than 40 major bugs have been fixed so that JabRef is now more stable and performs better than the previously released alpha.
As usually, the Changelog contains a detailed list of all changes.

Our Linux users will surely be happy that we finally offer deb and rpm packages as well as a portable edition, and that we now completly support the X11 primary selection (typically used by the middle mouse key).

After feedback on the new integrated preview next to the entry editor on the alpha version, we added an an option to show the preview as an extra tab in the entry editor (instead of in a split view).

One major feature of the upcoming 5.0 release is the "Dark Theme" which has been improved since the alpha 5.0. The "Dark Theme" can be enabled in the preferences under the tab "Appearance".

We also would like to thank all of our various contributors, translators, testers and donors! This helps us a lot!

Installation

With the release of the 5.0-beta we switched to a new native Java build system which allows us to bundle a custom Java runtime together with JabRef.
This means that problems with other installed or outdated java versions on the system are a problem of the past. This also means it's no longer possible to start JabRef directly from the jar.
For the installation we now offer self-containing .deb and .rpm files for Linux users and in addtion to the usual installer for Windows.
We also offer a portable zip version of JabRef which also includes all necessary files to run JabRef.
No installed Java version required.

Known Issues

Currently the following major issues are known:

• There is a problem loading other citation styles than the default "Preview". #5622
• The Medline fetcher is not working. #5645
• On Windows, a command line windows is displayed in the background. #5474

Please report any other issues that you encounter in our bug tracker (in case it was not already reported before).

Get It

You can get it from FOSShub.

It's finally here 🎉 🙌 ❤️. After over a year of work, we proudly present the first alpha version of JabRef 5.0.

Thanks to our annual developer meetup JabCon, we were able to finally push things forward and put together the first release.

The UI of JabRef is now entirely transformed to JavaFX. Apart from that, we could include a lot of new great features. Especially, due to our Google Summer of Code student @davidemdot, we have a new feature to display where your references are used inside your LaTeX files.

We are looking forward to your thoughts on the next major version of JabRef! Note that this release is an alpha version, which means that the respective features are by no means finalized. Parts of the interface will be reworked to improve the usability.

! IMPORTANT !: This release requires JAVA 11! For Windows it's already included in the installer. For Linux and mac you probably need to install it.

If you want to reward our efforts and support us, we greatly appreciate any donations that e.g. enable us to meet in person and make such great things happen. See https://donations.jabref.org for more info on how to foster our work.

Bugfix release.

An overview of all new features and fixes can be found as usual in the changelog at GitHub.

We are proud to release JabRef 4.3!

Unfortunately, JabRef binaries are still not digitally signed any more.
However, we will release a signed version shortly.
Read our blog to know the reasons.
In the meantime, please check the installations instructions for your Operating System (especially macOs), in case JabRef cannot be started.

An overview of all new features and fixes can be found as usual in the changelog at GitHub.

We are proud to release JabRef 4.2!

This version fixes a lot of bugs of version 4.1.

Unfortunately, JabRef binaries are still not digitally signed any more.
However, we will release a signed version shortly.
Read our blog to know the reasons.
In the meantime, please check the installations instructions for your Operating System (especially macOs), in case JabRef cannot be started.

An overview of all new features and fixes can be found as usual in the changelog at GitHub.

After more than two months of hard work, we are proud to release JabRef 4.1!

Since then we primarily focused on performance and memory issues, but were also able to add new features.
Furthermore, the release also attracted some new contributors from the community and we are proud to see 12 new contributors since the last release.
We are thankful for that and enjoy seeing the JabRef community growing!

Unfortunately, JabRef binaries are not digitally signed any more.
We are working in a fix, but this will take some weeks to months.
Read our blog to know the reasons.
In the meantime, please check the installations instructions for your Operating System (especially MacOs), in case JabRef cannot be started.

We wish all JabRef users Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Bug Fixes

• We fixed various reasons why JabRef would freeze.
• We fixed an issue where dropping a pdf on the entry table and renaming it triggered an exception. #3490
• We fixed an issue where automatically found files where not added with a relative paths when the bib file is in the same directory as the files. #3476
• We no longer allow to add a field multiple times in customized entry types and thereby fix an issue in the entry editor that resulted from having a field multiple times. #3046
• We fixed an issue where editing in the source tab would override content of other entries. #3352
• We fixed an issue where timestamps were not updated for changed entries. #2810

An overview of all new features and fixes can be found as usual in the changelog at GitHub.

We are pleased to announce the release of JabRef version 4.0.

Changed

• We add a textArea to see versionInfo in the About JabRef Dialog.#2942
• We turned the validation feature in the entry editor off by default, because of a bug in the library we have been using #3145
• Added 'Filter All' and 'Filter None' buttons with corresponding functionality to Quality Check tool.
• We increased the size of the keywords and file text areas in the entry editor
• When the entry that is currently shown in the entry editor is deleted externally, the editor is now closed automatically #2946
• We added reordering of file and link entries in the General-Tab 3165, comment
• We added autcompletion for the crossref field on basis of the BibTeX-key. To accept such an autcompleted key as new entry-link, you have to press Enter two times, otherwise the field data is not stored in the library file.koppor#257
• We added drag and drop support for adding files directly in the General-Tab. The dragged files are currently only linked from their existing directory. For more advanced features use the Add files dialog. #koppor#244
• We added the file description filed back to the list of files in the General-Tab #2930, comment
• Added an error dialog if the file is open in another process and cannot be renamed. [#3229]
• On Windows, the JabRef.exe executable can now be used to start JabRef from the command line. By default, no output is shown unless the new "-console" option is specified.

Fixed

• We re-added the "Normalize to BibTeX name format" context menu item #3136
• We fixed a memory leak in the source tab of the entry editor #3113
• We fixed a java bug where linux users could not enter accented characters in the entry editor and the search bar #3028
• We fixed a regression introduced in v4.0-beta2: A file can be dropped to the entry preview to attach it to the entry koppor#245
• We fixed an issue in the "Replace String" dialog (Ctrl+R where search and replace did not work for the bibtexkey field. #3132
• We fixed an issue in the entry editor where adding a term to a new protected terms list freezed JabRef completely. #3157
• We fixed an issue in the "Manage protected terms" dialog where an 'Open file' dialog instead of a 'Save file' dialog was shown when creating a new list. #3157
• We fixed an issue where unparseable dates of the FileAnnotations caused the FileAnnotationsTab to crash.
• We fixed an issue where a new protected terms list was not available immediately after its addition. #3161
• We fixed an issue where an online file link could not be removed from an entry #3165
• We fixed an issue where an online file link did not open the browser and created an error #3165
• We fixed an issue where the arrow keys in the search bar did not work as expected #3081
• We fixed wrong hotkey being displayed at "automatically file links" in the entry editor
• We fixed an issue where metadata syncing with local and shared database were unstable. It will also fix syncing groups and sub-groups in database. #2284
• We fixed an issue where renaming a linked file would fail silently if a file with the same name existed. Added support for overriding existing file at user discretion. [#3172] (https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/3172)
• We fixed an issue where the "Remove group and subgroups" operation did not remove group information from entries in the group #3190
• We fixed an issue where it was possible to leave the entry editor with an imbalance of braces. #3167
• Renaming files now truncates the filename to not exceed the limit of 255 chars #2622
• We improved the handling of hyphens in names. #2775
• We fixed an issue where an entered file description was not written to the bib-file #3208
• We improved the auto completion in the search bar. koppor#253
• We fixed renaming files which are not in the main directory. #3230

Removed

• We removed support for LatexEditor, as it is not under active development. #3199

The transition to the new GUI technology JavaFX is reaching a milestone where most of the entry editor is already migrated.
This beta3 release should encourage you to test the new user interface, especially the new entry editor, as we feel that it can be released soon.

As usual, check out the blog post for more information on this beta release.

Changed

• We made the font size in the entry editor and group panel customizable by "Menu and label font size". #3034
• If fetched article is already in database, then the entry merge dialog is shown.
• An error message is now displayed if you try to create a group containing the keyword separator or if there is already a group with the same name. #3075 and #1495
• The FileAnnotationsTab was re-implemented in JavaFx. #3082
• Integrity warnings are now directly displayed in the entry editor.
• We added the functionality to have regex as modifier. #457

Fixed

• We fixed an issue where the fetcher for the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) added some non-bibtex data to the entry returned from the search #3035
• We improved the auto completion so that minor changes are not added as suggestions. #2998
• We readded the undo mechanism for changes in the entry editor #2973
• We fixed an issue where assigning an entry via drag and drop to a group caused JabRef to stop/freeze completely #3036
• We fixed the shortcut Ctrl+F for the search field.
• We fixed an issue where title_case and capitalize modifiers did not work with shorttitle.
• We fixed an issue where the preferences could not be imported without a restart of JabRef #3064
• We fixed an issue where DEL, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+A in the search field triggered corresponding actions in the main table #3067
• We fixed an issue where JabRef freezed when editing an assigned file in the General-Tab #2930, comment
• We fixed an issue where a file could not be assigned to an existing entry via the entry context menu action Attach file #3080
• We fixed an issue where entry editor was not focused after opening up. #3052
• We fixed an issue where changes in the source tab were not stored when selecting a new entry. #3086
• We fixed an issue where the other tab was not updated when fields where changed in the source tab. #3063
• We fixed an issue where the source tab was not updated after fetching data by DOI. #3103
• We fixed an issue where the move to group operation did not remove the entry from other groups #3101
• We fixed an issue where the main table was not updated when grouping changes #1903

We are pleased to announce the release of JabRef version 4.0 beta 2!

In the spirit of the last beta release, we decided to release a second beta before the full 4.0 release. We are continuing the transition of the user interface technology to JavaFX.

As usual, check out the blog post for more information on this beta release.

Changed

• We moved the adsurl field to url field when fetching with the ADS fetcher.
• We continued to improve the new groups interface:
  • You can now again select multiple groups (and a few related settings were added to the preferences) #2786.
  • We further improved performance of group operations, especially of the new filter feature #2852.
  • It is now possible to resort groups using drag & drop #2785.
• The entry editor got a fresh coat of paint:
  • Homogenize the size of text fields.
  • The buttons were changed to icons.
  • Completely new interface to add or modify linked files.
  • Removed the hidden feature that a double click in the editor inserted the current date.
  • Complete new implementation of the the auto complete feature.
• All authors and editors are separated using semicolons when exporting to csv. #2762
• Improved wording of "Show recommendations: into "Show 'Related Articles' tab" in the preferences
• We added integration of the Library of Congress catalog as a fetcher based on the LCCN identifier. Feature request 636 in the forum
• The integrity check for person names now also tests that the names are specified in one of the standard BibTeX formats.
• Links in the Recommended Articles tab (Mr.DLib), when clicked, are now opened in the system's default browser. 2931
• We improved the duplicate checker such that different editions of the same publication are not marked as duplicates. 2960

Fixed

• We fixed a bug that leaves .sav file after SaveAs #2947
• We fixed the function "Edit - Copy BibTeX key and link" to pass a hyperlink rather than an HTML statement.
• We fixed the adding of a new entry from DOI which led to a connection error. The DOI resolution now uses HTTPS to protect the user's privacy.#2879
• We fixed the IEEE Xplore web search functionality #2789
• We fixed an error in the CrossRef fetcher that occurred if one of the fetched entries had no title
• We fixed an issue that prevented new entries to be automatically assigned to the currently selected group #2783.
• We fixed a bug that only allowed parsing positive timezones from a FileAnnotation #2839
• We fixed a bug that did not allow the correct re-export of the MS-Office XML field msbib-accessed with a different date format #2859.
• We fixed some bugs that prevented the display of FileAnnotations that were created using the Foxit Reader. #2839, comment.
• We fixed an error that prevented the FileAnnotation tab to load when the entry had no bibtexkey #2903.
• We fixed a bug which which could result in an exception when opening/saving files from/to a nonexistent directory #2917.
• We fixed a bug where recursive RegExpBased search found a file in a subdirectory multiple times and non-recursive RegExpBased search erroneously found files in subdirectories.
• We fixed a bug where new groups information was not stored on save #2932
• We fixed a bug where the language files for Brazilian Portugese could not be loaded and the GUI localization remained in English #1128
• We fixed a bug where the database was not marked as dirty when entries or groups were changed #2787
• We fixed a bug where editors in the DocBook export were not exported #3020
• We fixed a bug where the source tab was not updated when one the fields was changed #2888
• We restored the original functionality that when browsing through the MainTable, the Entry Editor remembers which tab was opened before #2896

We are pleased to announce the release of JabRef version 4.0 beta!

It is a first step to an overhaul of our user interface. Read more at http://blog.jabref.org/2017/04/17/JabRef4-0-beta/.

Changed

• JabRef has a new logo! The logo was designed by "AikTheOne" - who was the winner of a design contest at 99designs.com
• Partly switched to a new UI technology ([JavaFX]).
  • Redesigned group panel.
    • Number of matched entries is always shown.
    • The background color of the hit counter signals whether the group contains all/any of the entries selected in the main table.
    • Added a possibility to filter the groups panel #1904
    • Removed edit mode.
    • Removed the following commands in the right-click menu:
      • Expand/collapse subtree
      • Move up/down/left/right
    • Remove option to "highlight overlapping groups"
    • Moved the option to "Gray out non-hits" / "Hide non-hits" to the preferences
    • Removed the following options from the group preferences:
      • Show icons (icons can now be customized)
      • Show dynamic groups in italics (dynamic groups are not treated specially now)
      • Initially show groups tree expanded (always true now)
    • Expansion status of groups are saved across sessions. #1428
  • Redesigned about dialog.
  • Redesigned key bindings dialog.
  • Redesigned journal abbreviations dialog.
  • New error console.
  • All file dialogs now use the native file selector of the OS. #1711
• We added a few properties to a group:
  • Icon (with customizable color) that is shown in the groups panel (implements a feature request in the forum).
  • Description text that is shown on mouse hover (implements old feature requests 489 and 818)
• We introduced "automatic groups" that automatically create subgroups based on a certain criteria (e.g., a subgroup for every author or keyword) and supports hierarchies. Implements 91, 398, #1173 and #628.
• We added a document viewer which allows you to have a glance at your PDF documents directly from within JabRef.
• Using "Look up document identifier" in the quality menu, it is possible to look up DOIs, ArXiv ids and other identifiers for multiple entries.
• Comments in PDF files can now be displayed inside JabRef in a separate tab
• We separated the Move file and Rename Pdfs logic and context menu entries in the General-Tab for the Field file to improve the semantics
• We integrated support for the paper recommender system Mr.DLib in a new tab in the entry editor.
• We renamed "database" to "library" to have a real distinction to SQL databases ("shared database") and bib files ("library"). #2095
• We improved the UI customization possibilities:
  • It is now possible to customize the colors and the size of the icons (implements a feature request in the forum).
  • Resizing the menu and label sizes has been improved.
  • Font sizes can now be increased Ctrl + Plus, decreased Ctrl + Minus, and reset to default CTRL + 0.
• F4 opens selected file in current JTable context not just from selected entry inside the main table #2355
• We are happy to welcome CrossRef as a new member of our fetcher family. #2455
• We added MathSciNet as a ID-based fetcher in the BibTeX -> New entry dialog (implements a feature request in the forum)
• Add tab which shows the MathSciNet review website if the MRNumber field is present.
• A scrollbar was added to the cleanup panel, as a result of issue #2501
• Several scrollbars were added to the preference dialog which show up when content is too large #2559
• We fixed and improved the auto detection of the OpenOffice and LibreOffice connection
• We added an option to copy the title of BibTeX entries to the clipboard through Edit -> Copy title (implements #210)
• The Move linked files to default file directory-Cleanup operation respects the File directory pattern setting
• We removed the ordinals-to-superscript formatter from the recommendations for biblatex save actions #2596
• Improved MS-Office Import/Export
  • Improved author handling
  • The day part of the biblatex date field is now exported to the corresponding day field. #2691
  • Entries with a single corporate author are now correctly exported to the corresponding corporate author field. #1497
  • Now exports the field volumes and pubstate.
• The integrity checker reports now if a journal is not found in the abbreviation list
• JabRef will now no longer delete meta data it does not know, but keeps such entries and tries to keep their formatting as far as possible.
• Switch to the latex2unicode library for converting LaTeX to unicode
• Single underscores are not converted during the LaTeX to unicode conversion, which does not follow the rules of LaTeX, but is what users require. #2664
• The bibtexkey field is not converted to unicode

Fixed

• ArXiV fetcher now checks similarity of entry when using DOI retrieval to avoid false positives #2575
• We fixed an issue of duplicate keys after using a fetcher, e.g., DOI or ISBN #2867
• We fixed an issue that prevented multiple parallel JabRef instances from terminating gracefully. #2698
• We fixed an issue where authors with multiple surnames were not presented correctly in the main table. #2534
• Repairs the handling of apostrophes in the LaTeX to unicode conversion. #2500
• Fix import of journal title in RIS format. #2506
• We fixed the export of the number field in MS-Office XML export. #2509
• The field issue is now always exported to the corresponding issue field in MS-Office XML.
• We fixed the import of MS-Office XML files, when the month field contained an invalid value.
• We fixed an issue with repeated escaping of the %-sign when running the LaTeXCleanup more than once. #2451
• Sciencedirect/Elsevier fetcher is now able to scrape new HTML structure #2576
• Fixed the synchronization logic of keywords and special fields and vice versa #2580
• We fixed an exception that prevented JabRef from starting in rare cases bug report in the forum.
• We fixed an unhandled exception when saving an entry containing unbalanced braces #2571
• Fixed a display issue when removing a group with a long name #1407
• We fixed an issue where the "find unlinked files" functionality threw an error when only one PDF was imported but not assigned to an entry #2577
• We fixed issue where escaped braces were incorrectly counted when calculating brace balance in a field #2561
• We fixed an issue introduced with Version 3.8.2 where executing the Rename PDFs-cleanup operation moved the files to the file directory. #2526
• We improved the performance when opening a big library that still used the old groups format. Fixes an issue raised in the forum.
• We fixed an issue where the Move linked files to default file directory- cleanup operation did not move the files to the location of the bib-file. #2454
• We fixed an issue where executing Move file on a selected file in the general-tab could overwrite an existing file. #2385
• We fixed an issue with importing groups and subgroups #2600
• Fixed an issue where title-related key patterns did not correspond to the documentation. #2604 #2589
• We fixed an issue which prohibited the citation export to external programs on MacOS. #2613
• We fixed an issue where the file folder could not be changed when running Get fulltext in the general-tab. #2572
• Newly created libraries no longer have the executable bit set under POSIX/Linux systems. The file permissions are now set to 664 (-rw-rw-r--). #2635
• Fixed an issue where names were split inconsistently with the BibTeX conventions #2652
• Ctrl + A now correctly selects all entries again. #2615
• We fixed an issue where the dialog for selecting the main file directory in the preferences opened the wrong folder
• OpenOffice text formatting now handles nested tags properly #2483
• The group selection is no longer lost when switching tabs #1104

We are pleased to announce the release of JabRef version 3.8.2!

Read about noteworthy changes in our blog post at http://blog.jabref.org/2017/01/29/JabRef3-8-2/.

Changed

• Added the option to update bibliographic information from DOI to the sidebar of the entryeditor. Implements #2432.
• The default shortcut for "Cleanup entries" is now Alt + F8 since F8 alone did not work.
  Please reset your key bindings to get Alt + F8 as default.
  Fixes #2251.

Fixed

• The formatter for normalizing pages now also can treat ACM pages such as 2:1--2:33.
• Backslashes in content selectors are now correctly escaped. Fixes #2426.
• Non-ISO timestamp settings prevented the opening of the entry editor. Fixes #2447.
• When pressing Ctrl + F and the searchbar is already focused, the text will be selected.
• LaTeX symbols are now displayed as Unicode for the author column in the main table. 'n and \'{n} are parsed correctly. Fixes #2458.
• If one deleted the current query it was not saved (every basepanel can have its own query). Fixes #2468.
• The ACM fetcher does no longer add HTML code to the bib-file. Fixes #2472.
• When finding unlinked files, JabRef does not freeze any more. Fixes #2309https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/2309).
• Collapse and expand all buttons in the group assignment dialog no longer lead to a crash of JabRef.
• The aux export command line function does no longer add duplicates of references that were resolved via crossref. Fixes #2475.
• When the database is changed externally, JabRef is no longer prevented from an orderly shutdown. Fixes #2486.
• Parsing of damaged metadata is now more robust and reports a more detailed error message. Fixes #2477.
• Dynamic groups with regular expression can be edited again. Fixes #2481.