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I understand this question probably has a simple answer, but I cannot find it.

I have a .bbx file and a .cbx file (from https://github.com/McJones/AGLCLaTeX).

I am using MacTeX.

So that I can use this custom style, can I:

  1. Place these files in my project folder?
  2. Place these files elsewhere?

And if so, how do I tell LaTeX to use them?

This question is nearly identical to this question, but the answer is insufficient because the

/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/bbx ---> .bbx files (= bibliographies)
/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/cbx ---> .cbx files (= in text citations)

directories do not exist. I can not find a /texmf/ file on my system. I can only find

~/Library/texlive/2019/texmf-var

but it does not contain /latex/biblatex. It only contains /luatex-cache. I have also consulted this question.

MWE:

\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}

\usepackage[style=verbose]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{MyBibliography.bib}


\begin{document}
    Hello world.\autocite{icty_amended_2002}


\end{document}

MyBibliography.bib:

@unpublished{icty_amended_2002,
    title = {Amended Indictment Against Radovan Karadzić Unsealed},
    type = {Press Statement},
    howpublished = {Press Statement},
    author = {{ICTY}},
    date = {2002-10-14},
}
Phelype Oleinik
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Craig
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  • From the 2nd question that you linked, what happens when you execute kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFHOME in the terminal? – Marijn Nov 18 '20 at 15:13
  • I get the result /Users/[my username]/Library/texmf, but then if I try and go to that folder (using Go/Go to Folder...) it cannot be found. – Craig Nov 18 '20 at 15:16
  • I don't have a Mac but apparently if you go to that folder in the terminal (cd /Users/[your username]/Library/texmf) and then enter open . then the folder is shown in the Finder. Note that if the path name has spaces in it then they need to be escaped. – Marijn Nov 18 '20 at 15:22
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    If you've never created at local texmf folder before, you need to create one with the proper structure. See How do I add a .sty file to my MacTeX/TeXShop installation? and How to have local package override default package – Alan Munn Nov 18 '20 at 15:24
  • Thanks Alan and Marijn (dank je!). Unfortunately I'm still having no luck. Alan, I created the /texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/ folders as suggested and placed the .bbx and .cbx files in there with no luck. I then placed them in /texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/bbx and /texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/cbx and also had no luck. I also placed them in /texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/aglcv3 and also had no luck. I also tried ~/Library/texlive/2019/texmf-dist/tex/latex/biblatex/aglcv3 ... also with no success. – Craig Nov 18 '20 at 15:39
  • Having created the folder, what does the command kpsewhich aglcv3.bbx give you? And in your sample document, you need to load biblatex with the style=aglcv3 I would assume. – Alan Munn Nov 18 '20 at 15:46
  • I gives me /Users/[my username]/Library/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/aglcv3/aglcv3.bbx. But when I try to typeset (indeed with style=aglcv3), I get an error with the aglcv3.cbx file: Illegal parameter number in definition of \blx@defformat@d. <to be read again>. So I am guessing that the error is not with where I am putting the .cbx file, but with the file itself? – Craig Nov 18 '20 at 15:53
  • @Craig Ok, so the file is being found. Yes, this is a different error. biblatex is quite sensitive to version differences, so it's possible that either TL 2019 is too new for the style or it's depending on a more recent version of biblatex/biber. Since the last commit to the repo was 4 years ago, I suspect it's the former problem. – Alan Munn Nov 18 '20 at 15:57
  • Wonderful, thanks so much for your help @AlanMunn! You've helped me work through the problem and I appreciate it! – Craig Nov 18 '20 at 15:59
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    @Craig If you absolutely need to use the style, and you don't have prior years of TL hanging around on your system you might consider using Overleaf. It allows you to choose various years of TL going back quite a few, so you may be able to use the style with an older distribution. – Alan Munn Nov 18 '20 at 16:01

1 Answers1

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Answering this to summarise the suggestion of Alan Munn, because at some point I will need to refer to it.

To use custom BibLaTeX styles, do the following:

  1. Create this directory tree (noting that the texmf folder may not already exist and you will need to create it): on a Mac this folder is Users/[your username]/Library/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/ (or alternatively ~/Library/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/); on Linux systems it is usually ~/texmf instead of ~/Library/texmf.
  2. Place the .bbx and .cbx files in an appropriately-named folder within the biblatex/ folder (in this case, aglcv3).
  3. You should now have the following: Users/[your username]/Library/texmf/tex/latex/biblatex/aglcv3 [or your custom style]/[the .bbx and .cbx files].

To use the style, place this in the header of your LaTeX document:

\usepackage[style=aglcv3]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{YourBibliography.bib}

Note, however, that as of November 2020 the aglcv3 style does not work and needs to be updated because of an error with the aglcv3.cbx file (16: Illegal parameter number in definition of \blx@defformat@d.).

Alan Munn
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Craig
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    The error message you mention looks like it is caused by an outdated name format (cf. https://tex.stackexchange.com/q/299036/35864). The style was last updated on GitHub in 2016, so I think it might be abandoned. – moewe Nov 18 '20 at 16:29