About References
Carry your BibTeX libraries with you on your iPad and iPhone! A BibTeX library is a collection of bibliographic references (papers, books, reports, etc.), designed to work with the LaTeX typesetting system. Each library...
Carry your BibTeX libraries with you on your iPad and iPhone! A BibTeX library is a collection of bibliographic references (papers, books, reports, etc.), designed to work with the LaTeX typesetting system. Each library is stored in a specially-formatted text file (typically ending in .bib), which you can create with your favourite text editor. The References app gives you an easy way to browse through and interact with your BibTeX libraries. You can scroll, search, follow links, and view file attachments. In particular: - The app creates links from DOIs, MathSciNet references, ACM IDs, and of course URLs. - The app understands elementary LaTeX, so if your titles and/or abstracts contain markup or mathematics (and if your LaTeX is simple enough) then the app can display them nicely. - If you used BibDesk or JabRef to create your library, the app can view your file attachments (e.g., PDFs that you have attached to your references). - You can view references grouped by keywords, if you use the Keywords field in your BibTeX libraries. You can also view all of your smart/static groups from BibDesk, and your dynamic/static groups from JabRef. - The app supports BibLaTeX libraries as well as classic BibTeX. The References app can open BibTeX libraries from anywhere on your device. In particular, you can use iCloud Drive to keep them synchronised between your devices. This app is read-only, not an editor. It takes great care in helping you view and explore BibTeX libraries and their links and file attachments; however, it does not provide a way to modify your libraries. FILE ATTACHMENTS: To view file attachments (e.g., PDFs), the path to each file should be included in the corresponding entry in your BibTeX library. You can do this using the specially encoded Bdsk-File-* fields (as used by BibDesk), or the plain text File field (as used by JabRef). If you are writing your BibTeX files by hand, just add a File field giving the location of the attachment, such as File = {../PDFs/foo.pdf}. You can tell References where to find these attachments by linking folders in your app settings. The app will look for your attachments within these folders - for example, if you link your Documents folder then the app will be able to match the BibTeX field {../PDFs/foo.pdf} to a real location such as Documents/PDFs/foo.pdf or Documents/foo.pdf. The app is able to read attachments stored on your device, or on iCloud Drive, or on third-party providers including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Nextcloud or OneDrive. If you are having trouble viewing attachments from a third-party provider, please mail the References developer with the details. FURTHER INFORMATION: To learn more about BibTeX, see http://www.bibtex.org/ .
Version History - Added a new companion app for macOS! This is included as part of your purchase. - You can now open PDF attachments in an external app, such as Preview (see Settings → Windows). - Added several alternate app icons (see Settings → Advanced). - Added a tool that lets you play directly with the in-built LaTeX parser. - Other minor changes, such as keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS and faster searching. 3.8 10/16/2025 References is ready for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and visionOS 26! Also: - Makes better use of multiple windows on iPad. You can configure this through the new Window Settings panel. - You can configure a library to open automatically when the app launches, again via the Window Settings panel. - Recognises x-bdsk://citekey URLs that percent-encode their cite keys. - Now requires a minimum of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or visionOS 2. 3.7 09/16/2025 Supports different sort orders (author, year, title). Also from version 3.5: - Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field. - Able to read more text encodings. 3.6 12/20/2024 Roll back yesterday's change to the iOS/iPadOS 18 launch experience: this will return when the kinks can be ironed out. Also from version 3.5: - Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field. - Able to read more text encodings. 3.5.1 12/15/2024 - Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field - Improved launch experience for iOS/iPadOS 18 - Able to read more text encodings 3.5 12/12/2024 Added dark/tinted icons, and fixed problem with OneDrive downloads. Also from version 3.4: ... - Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser. - Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13) - Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation. - Several more user interface improvements. - Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also. 3.4.1 09/20/2024 - Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser. - Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13) - Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation. - Several more user interface improvements. - Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also. 3.4 09/13/2024 - Much faster when working with large libraries - Several layout changes and user interface improvements - Fixed issues where x-bdsk://citekey searches sometimes failed - Now ships with the Computer Modern TeX fonts, which you can install system-wide on your device through the settings panel - Now handles TeX escapes within URL and DOI fields 3.3 08/04/2024 New features: - Supports x-bdsk://citekey URLs once again (see Settings → Searching). - You can now change the keyword separator (see Settings → Styles). - Added a troubleshooting page to the help browser. - Redesigned the settings panel to use simpler language. Issues fixed: - On some devices, .bib files were greyed out because other apps were claiming the .bib extension. - Sometimes .bib files on third-party file providers (e.g., Google Drive or OneDrive) would not open because they were not properly downloaded. Other: - Moved the About page from the settings panel to the help browser. - If your .bib files live on Google Drive, they might still be grayed out (even after the fixes described above). There is a new advanced setting to work around this. 3.2 06/18/2024 Version 3.1: - Settings are now accessible from the welcome screen (just press the help button on the toolbar). - Libraries are now faster to load. - Help pages can now be navigated through an in-built help browser. - The app can now read non-ASCII / non-UTF-8 encoded files that were saved by BibDesk or JabRef. Version 3.0: This is major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. The app now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over). Other features include: - BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab; - Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII); - Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef. Enjoy! 3.1 06/05/2024 v3.0.1: Fixes an issue where file attachments on Box or OneDrive were reported as not found. References 3.0 is major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. The app now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over). Other features include: - BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab; - Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII); - Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef. Enjoy! 3.0.1 05/23/2024 A major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. References now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over). Other features include: - BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab; - Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII); - Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef. Enjoy! 3.0 05/22/2024 - Now supports Nextcloud for opening PDF attachments (in addition to iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive). - Additional options for configuring how entries are displayed. 2.2 11/16/2020 - For iOS 12 users: Supports file transfer from iTunes or macOS Finder into an "On my iPhone/iPad" folder. This gives iOS 12 users a new way to view libraries with PDF file attachments, without using cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. - Other minor tweaks. 2.1.1 07/16/2020 v2.1: Now supports JabRef dynamic groups! v2.0: Supports BibDesk smart groups, and supports Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive for viewing attachments on all iOS versions (plus iCloud Drive as always on iOS 13). 2.1 06/11/2020 Smart groups and cloud storage! - Full support for browsing BibDesk smart groups, as well as BibDesk/JabRef static groups; - Now supports Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive for viewing attachments on all iOS versions (plus iCloud Drive as always on iOS 13). 2.0 05/31/2020 - Now shows static groups from BibDesk and JabRef. - iOS 12 users can now view PDF attachments! - Earlier versions added support for Dropbox file attachments, keywords, different display styles, and x-bdsk://citekey URLs. Note: On iOS 12, attachments are supported on Dropbox only. On iOS 13 your attachments can come from several places, including Dropbox, iCloud Drive, or on your iPhone/iPad. 1.8 05/21/2020 Version 1.7: Keywords are now supported! Also able to open URLs of the form x-bdsk://citekey. Version 1.6: Dropbox file attachments are now fully supported! Also offers different display styles for your bibliographies. 1.7 05/10/2020 Dropbox file attachments are now fully supported! Also offers different display styles for your bibliographies - you can change style using the new settings button. 1.6 04/13/2020 Resolved an issue where .bib files are grayed out and cannot be selected, because another app already "owns" them. 1.5 12/19/2019 - Much faster to load large libraries. - If the library you are viewing is changed remotely (e.g., via iCloud), these changes will now show immediately in the app. 1.4 12/02/2019 Added BibLaTeX support, and fixed a crash: - The app now supports BibLaTeX reference types (e.g., @online, @legal, etc.) and fields (e.g., journalname instead of journal). Of course the classic BibTeX types and fields are still supported also. - Fixed a crash that occurred in some cases where accented names were stored directly (e.g., Ü) instead of TeX-encoded (e.g., {"U}). 1.3 11/25/2019 On iOS 13, when viewing file attachments (e.g., PDFs), the app now searches all linked folders in addition to the location encoded in your BibTeX library. This means that, if your file attachments are not located where your BibTeX library says they are, you can just add their location as a linked folder and the References app will still be able to find them. 1.2 11/21/2019 Syntax highlighting for BibTeX source; rich support for the Crossref field; recognises JabRef file attachments. 1.1 11/14/2019 1.0 11/07/2019
Previous Versions
Here you can find the changelog of References since it was posted on our website on 2021-12-14 21:03:12.
The latest version is 3.8 and it was updated on 2026-06-11 00:44:39. See below the changes in each version.
References version 3.8
Updated At: 2026-06-11
Changes: Version History - Added a new companion app for macOS! This is included as part of your purchase.
- You can now open PDF attachments in an external app, such as Preview (see Settings → Windows).
- Added several alternate app icons (see Settings → Advanced).
- Added a tool that lets you play directly with the in-built LaTeX parser.
- Other minor changes, such as keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS and faster searching. 3.8 10/16/2025 References is ready for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and visionOS 26! Also:
- Makes better use of multiple windows on iPad. You can configure this through the new Window Settings panel.
- You can configure a library to open automatically when the app launches, again via the Window Settings panel.
- Recognises x-bdsk://citekey URLs that percent-encode their cite keys.
- Now requires a minimum of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or visionOS 2. 3.7 09/16/2025 Supports different sort orders (author, year, title).
Also from version 3.5:
- Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field.
- Able to read more text encodings. 3.6 12/20/2024 Roll back yesterday's change to the iOS/iPadOS 18 launch experience: this will return when the kinks can be ironed out.
Also from version 3.5:
- Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field.
- Able to read more text encodings. 3.5.1 12/15/2024 - Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field
- Improved launch experience for iOS/iPadOS 18
- Able to read more text encodings 3.5 12/12/2024 Added dark/tinted icons, and fixed problem with OneDrive downloads.
Also from version 3.4: ...
- Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser.
- Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13)
- Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation.
- Several more user interface improvements.
- Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also. 3.4.1 09/20/2024 - Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser.
- Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13)
- Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation.
- Several more user interface improvements.
- Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also. 3.4 09/13/2024 - Much faster when working with large libraries
- Several layout changes and user interface improvements
- Fixed issues where x-bdsk://citekey searches sometimes failed
- Now ships with the Computer Modern TeX fonts, which you can install system-wide on your device through the settings panel
- Now handles TeX escapes within URL and DOI fields 3.3 08/04/2024 New features:
- Supports x-bdsk://citekey URLs once again (see Settings → Searching).
- You can now change the keyword separator (see Settings → Styles).
- Added a troubleshooting page to the help browser.
- Redesigned the settings panel to use simpler language.
Issues fixed:
- On some devices, .bib files were greyed out because other apps were claiming the .bib extension.
- Sometimes .bib files on third-party file providers (e.g., Google Drive or OneDrive) would not open because they were not properly downloaded.
Other:
- Moved the About page from the settings panel to the help browser.
- If your .bib files live on Google Drive, they might still be grayed out (even after the fixes described above). There is a new advanced setting to work around this. 3.2 06/18/2024 Version 3.1:
- Settings are now accessible from the welcome screen (just press the help button on the toolbar).
- Libraries are now faster to load.
- Help pages can now be navigated through an in-built help browser.
- The app can now read non-ASCII / non-UTF-8 encoded files that were saved by BibDesk or JabRef.
Version 3.0:
This is major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. The app now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over).
Other features include:
- BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab;
- Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII);
- Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef.
Enjoy! 3.1 06/05/2024 v3.0.1: Fixes an issue where file attachments on Box or OneDrive were reported as not found.
References 3.0 is major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. The app now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over).
Other features include:
- BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab;
- Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII);
- Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef.
Enjoy! 3.0.1 05/23/2024 A major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS.
References now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over).
Other features include:
- BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab;
- Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII);
- Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef.
Enjoy! 3.0 05/22/2024 - Now supports Nextcloud for opening PDF attachments (in addition to iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive).
- Additional options for configuring how entries are displayed. 2.2 11/16/2020 - For iOS 12 users: Supports file transfer from iTunes or macOS Finder into an "On my iPhone/iPad" folder. This gives iOS 12 users a new way to view libraries with PDF file attachments, without using cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
- Other minor tweaks. 2.1.1 07/16/2020 v2.1: Now supports JabRef dynamic groups!
v2.0: Supports BibDesk smart groups, and supports Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive for viewing attachments on all iOS versions (plus iCloud Drive as always on iOS 13). 2.1 06/11/2020 Smart groups and cloud storage!
- Full support for browsing BibDesk smart groups, as well as BibDesk/JabRef static groups;
- Now supports Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive for viewing attachments on all iOS versions (plus iCloud Drive as always on iOS 13). 2.0 05/31/2020 - Now shows static groups from BibDesk and JabRef.
- iOS 12 users can now view PDF attachments!
- Earlier versions added support for Dropbox file attachments, keywords, different display styles, and x-bdsk://citekey URLs.
Note: On iOS 12, attachments are supported on Dropbox only. On iOS 13 your attachments can come from several places, including Dropbox, iCloud Drive, or on your iPhone/iPad. 1.8 05/21/2020 Version 1.7: Keywords are now supported! Also able to open URLs of the form x-bdsk://citekey.
Version 1.6: Dropbox file attachments are now fully supported! Also offers different display styles for your bibliographies. 1.7 05/10/2020 Dropbox file attachments are now fully supported! Also offers different display styles for your bibliographies - you can change style using the new settings button. 1.6 04/13/2020 Resolved an issue where .bib files are grayed out and cannot be selected, because another app already "owns" them. 1.5 12/19/2019 - Much faster to load large libraries.
- If the library you are viewing is changed remotely (e.g., via iCloud), these changes will now show immediately in the app. 1.4 12/02/2019 Added BibLaTeX support, and fixed a crash:
- The app now supports BibLaTeX reference types (e.g., @online, @legal, etc.) and fields (e.g., journalname instead of journal). Of course the classic BibTeX types and fields are still supported also.
- Fixed a crash that occurred in some cases where accented names were stored directly (e.g., Ü) instead of TeX-encoded (e.g., {"U}). 1.3 11/25/2019 On iOS 13, when viewing file attachments (e.g., PDFs), the app now searches all linked folders in addition to the location encoded in your BibTeX library.
This means that, if your file attachments are not located where your BibTeX library says they are, you can just add their location as a linked folder and the References app will still be able to find them. 1.2 11/21/2019 Syntax highlighting for BibTeX source; rich support for the Crossref field; recognises JabRef file attachments. 1.1 11/14/2019 1.0 11/07/2019
References version 3.8
Updated At: 2025-10-16
Changes: - Added a new companion app for macOS! This is included as part of your purchase.
- You can now open PDF attachments in an external app, such as Preview (see Settings → Windows).
- Added several alternate app icons (see Settings → Advanced).
- Added a tool that lets you play directly with the in-built LaTeX parser.
- Other minor changes, such as keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS and faster searching.
References version 3.7
Updated At: 2025-09-16
Changes: Sep 16, 2025
Version 3.7
References is ready for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and visionOS 26! Also:
- Makes better use of multiple windows on iPad. You can configure this through the new Window Settings panel.
- You can configure a library to open automatically when the app launches, again via the Window Settings panel.
- Recognises x-bdsk://citekey URLs that percent-encode their cite keys.
- Now requires a minimum of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or visionOS 2.
References version 3.6
Updated At: 2024-12-20
Changes: Dec 20, 2024
Version 3.6
Supports different sort orders (author, year, title).
Also from version 3.5:
- Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field.
- Able to read more text encodings.
References version 3.5.1
Updated At: 2024-12-15
Changes: Dec 15, 2024
Version 3.5.1
Roll back yesterday's change to the iOS/iPadOS 18 launch experience: this will return when the kinks can be ironed out.
Also from version 3.5:
- Recognises arXiv URLs, as well as the special arXiv field.
- Able to read more text encodings.
References version 3.4.1
Updated At: 2024-09-20
Changes: Sep 20, 2024
Version 3.4.1
Added dark/tinted icons, and fixed problem with OneDrive downloads.
Also from version 3.4: ...
- Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser.
- Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13)
- Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation.
- Several more user interface improvements.
- Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also.
References version 3.4
Updated At: 2024-09-13
Changes: Sep 13, 2024
Version 3.4
- Help pages are now combined into a rich in-app help browser.
- Supports source URLs in the File field (used by JabRef ≥ 5.13)
- Recognises more LaTeX macros, plus Spanish upside-down punctuation.
- Several more user interface improvements.
- Search now defaults to "anywhere", and this includes the cite key also.
References version 3.3
Updated At: 2024-08-04
Changes: Aug 4, 2024
Version 3.3
- Much faster when working with large libraries
- Several layout changes and user interface improvements
- Fixed issues where x-bdsk://citekey searches sometimes failed
- Now ships with the Computer Modern TeX fonts, which you can install system-wide on your device through the settings panel
- Now handles TeX escapes within URL and DOI fields
References version 3.2
Updated At: 2024-06-18
Changes: Jun 18, 2024
Version 3.2
New features:
- Supports x-bdsk://citekey URLs once again (see Settings → Searching).
- You can now change the keyword separator (see Settings → Styles).
- Added a troubleshooting page to the help browser.
- Redesigned the settings panel to use simpler language.
Issues fixed:
- On some devices, .bib files were greyed out because other apps were claiming the .bib extension.
- Sometimes .bib files on third-party file providers (e.g., Google Drive or OneDrive) would not open because they were not properly downloaded.
Other:
- Moved the About page from the settings panel to the help browser.
- If your .bib files live on Google Drive, they might still be grayed out (even after the fixes described above). There is a new advanced setting to work around this.
References version 3.1
Updated At: 2024-06-05
Changes: Jun 5, 2024
Version 3.1
Version 3.1:
- Settings are now accessible from the welcome screen (just press the help button on the toolbar).
- Libraries are now faster to load.
- Help pages can now be navigated through an in-built help browser.
- The app can now read non-ASCII / non-UTF-8 encoded files that were saved by BibDesk or JabRef.
Version 3.0:
This is major overhaul of the entire app, bringing it up to date with modern iOS and iPadOS. The app now supports dynamic type, and on iPad it now supports multitasking so you can have different BibTeX libraries open side-by-side (via Stage Manager, Split View, or Slide Over).
Other features include:
- BibTeX parse errors are now visible in a separate tab;
- Better support for UTF-8 BibTeX sources (as opposed to plain ASCII);
- Smart/Dynamic group rules updated for compatibility with recent BibDesk and JabRef.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer
Official App Store Link
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