Re: reftex-default-bibliography: first local files then global ones

[Arash Esbati]

Hi Uwe,

Uwe Brauer <oub@mat.ucm.es> writes:

> When using bibtex+refte, I usually have one data base placed in my local 
> texmf tree
> ,----
> | 
> | reftex-default-bibliography is a variable defined in ‘reftex-vars.el’.
> | Its value is ("/home/oub/texmf/bibtex/bib/bibgraf.bib")
> | Original value was nil
> `----
>
> However lately in collaboration (using mercurial) we end up having a
> local bibfile (which sits in the main directory of the collaboration)
> that is much smaller than my global one.
>
> It is not clear to me, reading the documentation of the variable 
> reftex-default-bibliography, how to configure it, so that it takes,
> first the «local» bibfile and if there is none to take the global one.
> Should I use the expression {.}  to indicate the local one?

I'm not sure but maybe you're abusing the variable; doc-string says:

,----
| reftex-default-bibliography is a variable defined in ‘reftex-vars.el’.
| Its value is nil
| 
| Documentation:
| List of BibTeX database files which should be used if none are specified.
| When ‘reftex-citation’ is called from a document which has neither a
| ‘\bibliography{..}’ statement nor a ‘thebibliography’ environment,
| RefTeX will scan these files instead.  Intended for using ‘reftex-citation’
| in non-LaTeX files.  The files will be searched along the BIBINPUTS or TEXBIB
| path.
`----

In a LaTeX file, you probably have a \bibliography{..} macro and RefTeX
should find your .bib file.  Check the section `Finding Files' in the
manual if you need to RefTeX a hint[1].

Footnotes:
[1]  https://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/manual/reftex.html#SEC48