Convert to Nota Bene (advanced)

As described on the previous page, a Word file can be easily converted to an NB file by copying and pasting or by using the Open File dialog to browse to the Word file and open it in Nota Bene. This conversion is fine for most purposes. The converted file can be opened, edited and saved and it can be included in an Orbis textbase. But a Word outline is not automatically converted to Nota Bene’s sophisticated Outline/Framework structure, and citations are not automatically linked to Ibidem.

If you would like to work on the document using Ibidem, academic styles and/or frameworks/outlines, then you will need to take additional steps to convert your document. If you want to use Nota Bene’s framework structure or academic styles, you can add that structure to your document. See the Frameworks and Academic Styles section below. If you plan to use Ibidem to insert citations, generate a formatted bibliography, and have the ability to change from one publishing style to another, then you need to change your plain text citations to citations that are linked to Ibidem. See the Ibidem section below.

If you want the document to have the consistent structure of an outline or an academic style, you can add such structure through Nota Bene’s Academic Styles or Frameworks/Outlines. Academic Styles provide powerful controls that format the entire paper – including citations and bibliography – in accord with the rules of the major style manuals. With the Academic Styles in place, you use Framework/Outline controls to easily move or promote/demote a framework section (both heading and body text). Normally, the Nota Bene user introduces the desired Academic Style or Framework to the paper at the point of its creation, but it can also be added to a document converted from Word (or to any partially written document). For instructions, see Adding an Academic Style to an Existing Document or Adding a Framework to an Existing Document.

When you convert a Word file that contains citations to Nota Bene, the citations appear as plain text – footnotes, endnotes, or in-text citations – just as they appeared in Word. These citations can be converted to Ibidem-linked citations. This conversion takes some time, but it is likely that it will take less time than it would take to manually reformat citations and/or manually type, format and alphabetize a bibliography. Once you have converted the citations, you will be able to add additional citations, change publishing styles, and automatically generate a properly formatted bibliography. The works that you enter in your Ibidem database will be there for future use in this or other documents. Enter the data once, and then never type it again.

Before proceeding you should have a basic idea of how to use Ibidem and you should have created your own personal Ibidem bibliographic database. To learn to use Ibidem, click Help, Ibidem Tutorial to open a printable PDF tutorial or see the Ibidem section of NB Help.

1	Enter each of the works cited in your document into your Ibidem database. (If you already have a formatted bibliography in your Word document, you can use the Archiva Bibliographic Converter to enter all of the works at once.)

2	With your document open, click Format, References, Set Reference Style. Select the database you are using on the first tab and the style you wish to use for citations on the second tab and the style you wish to use for your reference list or bibliography on the third tab.

3	Use Ibidem to enter each citation in your document and delete the plain text citation that was created in Word. Citations generated by Ibidem will display in blue.

4	Press Alt+F7 (or click Format, Bibliographic References, Update Dynamic). This will read through the file, convert any subsequent citations to shortened forms (if required by the style you have selected) and generate a bibliography of the works that have been cited in the document.

Once this is completed, you will have Ibidem’s powerful controls available. Your citations will be properly formatted in the style of your choice, numbering of citations will be managed by the program, shortening of subsequent cites (or the use of ibid. or op. cit. if applicable) will be managed by the program. In addition, a formatted bibliography of works cited in the document will be automatically generated – no need for you to alphabetize, format and type the bibliography on your own as you would do in Word. With Ibidem at hand, you can also change publishing styles, add, delete, or move citations, and switch footnote or endnote citations to in-text author-date citations (and vice versa). Nota Bene will take care of all formatting and renumbering of citations as necessary. The time invested in entering works into your Ibidem database will be returned multiple times across your research and writing endeavors. Not only will you have the power of Ibidem available for the paper you are writing, but the works entered in Ibidem will be in your database forever and they will be available to be cited in future documents.