From efee0587bf2768a3ed855ed36b37ef58937d7938 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Oliver Kopp Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:33:05 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Describe the external changes review dialog Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EXVMEzEETA5G8gWSaRLwwP --- en/collaborative-work/sharedbibfile.md | 11 +++++++++++ 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+) diff --git a/en/collaborative-work/sharedbibfile.md b/en/collaborative-work/sharedbibfile.md index f020fc2e0..75211b7a8 100644 --- a/en/collaborative-work/sharedbibfile.md +++ b/en/collaborative-work/sharedbibfile.md @@ -12,3 +12,14 @@ To make the sharing of a Bib\(la\)TeX library easier, it is recommended to set s * Define a sort order \(`year`, `author`, `title` is recommended\).. * Check `Enable save formatters`, and defines these actions, to help enforcing a consistent format for the entries. + +## Reviewing external changes + +When the `bib` file changes on disk while it is open, JabRef shows a notification "External changes detected" with two actions: + +* **Dismiss changes** closes the notification. The next save overwrites the file with the in-memory library. +* **Review changes** opens the External Changes Resolver, listing every difference between the file on disk and the library in memory. Select a change and choose **Accept** (take the version from disk), **Deny** (keep the in-memory version), or **Merge...** (for modified entries: combine both versions field by field). + +The dialog closes automatically once every change is resolved, and the decisions are applied to the library. If all changes were accepted, the library matches the file on disk and is not marked as changed; otherwise it is marked as changed and needs to be saved. + +Closing the dialog before all changes are resolved applies nothing: the library stays as it was, and the notification remains so the review can be resumed later.