Basic Usage
Minimal Working Example
Section titled “Minimal Working Example”Start with a small document that loads BibLaTeX and a bibliography source.
Preamble essentials
Section titled “Preamble essentials”\usepackage[backend=biber,style=authoryear]{biblatex}\addbibresource{references.bib}
Smallest usable flow
Section titled “Smallest usable flow”- Add one entry in
references.bib - Cite it with
\parencite{key} - Print bibliography with
\printbibliography
Citing in Text
Section titled “Citing in Text”Common commands
Section titled “Common commands”\parencite{key}for parenthetical citations\textcite{key}for narrative citations
Troubleshooting missing citations
Section titled “Troubleshooting missing citations”If citations show as ?, verify compile order and confirm the citation key exists in your bibliography source.
Printing the Bibliography
Section titled “Printing the Bibliography”Placement and rendering basics
Section titled “Placement and rendering basics”Place \printbibliography near the end of the document where references should appear.
Compile sequence quick reference
Section titled “Compile sequence quick reference”Run: pdflatex → biber → pdflatex → pdflatex.
Using CiteDrive as a Bibliography Source
Section titled “Using CiteDrive as a Bibliography Source”If your project uses CiteDrive-managed reference data, validate that keys and required fields match your local document expectations.
Quick Quality Checks
Section titled “Quick Quality Checks”Before sharing a draft
Section titled “Before sharing a draft”- Confirm every in-text citation resolves to a real entry
- Scan bibliography for duplicated or malformed author names
- Rebuild once more before export to PDF
Common mistakes to avoid
Section titled “Common mistakes to avoid”Avoid changing citation keys mid-draft unless necessary. If you do rename keys, update every in-text citation to keep references synchronized.
Next Step
Section titled “Next Step”- Continue to Citation Styles