References3.8



Publisher Description

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/ .- 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.



About References

References is a paid app for iOS published in the Project Management list of apps, part of Business.

The company that develops References is Benjamin Burton. The latest version released by its developer is 3.8.

To install References on your iOS device, just click the green Continue To App button above to start the installation process. The app is listed on our website since 2025-10-16 and was downloaded 9 times. We have already checked if the download link is safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded app with your antivirus. Your antivirus may detect the References as malware if the download link is broken.

How to install References on your iOS device:

  • Click on the Continue To App button on our website. This will redirect you to the App Store.
  • Once the References is shown in the iTunes listing of your iOS device, you can start its download and installation. Tap on the GET button to the right of the app to start downloading it.
  • If you are not logged-in the iOS appstore app, you'll be prompted for your your Apple ID and/or password.
  • After References is downloaded, you'll see an INSTALL button to the right. Tap on it to start the actual installation of the iOS app.
  • Once installation is finished you can tap on the OPEN button to start it. Its icon will also be added to your device home screen.

Program Details


General

Publisher
Released Date
2025-10-16
Languages
English

Category

Category
Subcategory

System requirements

Operating systems
iOS

Download information

File size
57 bytes
Total downloads
9

Pricing

License model
Paid
Price

Version History


Here you can find the changelog of References since it was posted on our website on 2021-12-14. The latest version is 3.8 and it was updated on Soft112 on 24 January, 2026. See below the changes in each version:

version 3.8

posted on 2025-10-16

- 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.

version 3.7

posted on 2025-09-16

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.

version 3.6

posted on 2024-12-20

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.

version 3.5.1

posted on 2024-12-15

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.

version 3.4.1

posted on 2024-09-20

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.

version 3.4

posted on 2024-09-13

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.

version 3.3

posted on 2024-08-04

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

version 3.2

posted on 2024-06-18

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.

version 3.1

posted on 2024-06-05

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!

version 3.0.1

posted on 2024-05-23

May 23, 2024
Version 3.0.1
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!






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Downloads: 9
Updated At: 2026-01-24
Publisher: Benjamin Burton
Operating System: iOS
License Type: Paid