Ensure en-dash is used for volume/issue ranges in exported BibTeX/BiBibTeX

[TomBener]

Debug log ID

TMLKSVMB-refs-apse/6.7.263-7

What happened?

Description:

Hello,

I’ve noticed an inconsistency in the BibTeX export behavior of Better BibTeX for Zotero. While page ranges entered with a hyphen in Zotero (e.g., 111-120) are correctly exported with an en-dash (111–120) in the BibTeX file, the same behavior is not applied to volume or issue ranges. For example:

Here’s an example Zotero entry exported by Better BibTeX:

@article{greene2011,
  title = {Space for thought: designing for knowledge workers},
  shorttitle = {Space for thought},
  author = {Greene, C. and Myerson, J.},
  date = {2011-01-01},
  journaltitle = {Facilities},
  volume = {29},
  number = {1-2},
  pages = {19--30},
  doi = {10.1108/02632771111101304}
}

The pages field is correctly formatted with an en-dash (19--30), but the number field uses a hyphen (1-2).

Rationale:

In Zotero, the fields of Volume, Issue and Pages are likely using hyphens instead of en-dashes to represent the range.
The use of en-dashes for ranges is a typographic standard followed by most citation styles (e.g., Chicago, APA). Ensuring consistency across fields (pages, volume, and issue) enhances the quality of the exported BibTeX.

Suggested Solution:

Better BibTeX could apply the same processing rule for en-dash conversion to the volume and issue fields as it does for the pages field. This would ensure consistency across all numerical ranges in the exported BibTeX.

Thank you for your work on Better BibTeX! This would be a valuable enhancement to ensure the accuracy and typographic quality of BibTeX exports.

[TomBener]

By the way, the hyphen - (e.g. 1-2) was one method to enter multiple consecutive issues in Zotero. I also saw some cases that slash / (e.g. 1/2) was used. Any suggestions or guidance on it would be appreciated.

[github-actions]

🤖 this is your friendly neighborhood build bot announcing test build 6.7.263.7471 ("fix tests for #3118")

This update may name other issues, but the build just dropped here is for you; it just means problems already fixed in other issues have been folded into the work we are doing here. Install in Zotero by downloading test build 6.7.263.7471, opening the Zotero "Tools" menu, selecting "Add-ons", open the gear menu in the top right, and select "Install Add-on From File...".

[TomBener]

It works perfectly. Thank you!