General ⇒ Custom-Bib with TexnicCenter

[brad]

Hello all,

I am a TexnicCenter user, and am attempting to use Custom-Bib to create my own .bst files, but have hit a snag which I hope is easy to fix.

The beginning instructions for Custom-Bib are as follows:
1. Run TeX (or LaTeX) on makebst.ins (--> makebst.tex)
2. Run TeX (or LaTeX) on makebst.tex to start customizing
your own .bst file. Select merlin as the master file (default) when
asked.

For step 1, I ran the LaTeX=>PDF build option, and makebst.tex was generated.
For step 2, I tried the LaTeX=>PDF build option again, but encountered an error. Similarly, LaTeX=>DVI and LaTeX=>PS give the same error.

Has anyone been able to use Custom-Bib with TexnicCenter? Is it possible to simply Run LaTeX on the file using TexnicCenter as the instructions say?

Thanks very much,
Brad

[klumpp]

I'm not quite sure if it is possible to use pdflatex in step 1 at all. So, I would suggest to use latex instead.
Anyway, so far I know, makebst.tex is intended to be used from in a DOS environment.
I suggest using the program from the DOS prompt with the command latex on both steps.
This works for me, always.

[Alex B.]

brad,

don't try to use TeXnicCenter. As klumpp explained, just open a DOS shell (also known as command shell) and run "latex makebst.ins" and "latex makebst.tex". I'm not sure if the .ins and .tex suffixes are really necessary but it should work. The command prompt window can be opened by entering "cmd" (without quotes) into Start-Run or through Start-All Programs-Accessories. The default reference folder is usually C:\Documents and Settings\(log on name)\. Again, I'm not sure if it's necessary but I suggest to change the location with the "cd" command to the folder where the makebst.ins file can be found.

[brad]

Thanks guys!
I got it to work and am now customizing my own Bibliography.

Brad