JabRef Version 5.5

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

JabRef Version 5.4

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](https:...

JabRef Version 5.3

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 displ...

JabRef Version 5.2

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 t...

JabRef Version 5.1

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 layou...

JabRef Version 5.0

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!

JabRef Version 5.0 beta

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.

JabRef Version 5.0 alpha

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.

JabRef Version 4.3.1

Bugfix release.

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

JabRef Version 4.3

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.