Re: bibliography with certain canonical reference

Here is another slightly tricky one JP.

At a certain point the author has decided to introduce a 'house style' 
in reference to a number of Vatican documents, e.g. in-text citation is 
(GS §22), whereas the BibTeX full reference at chapter and final level 
would probably want Second Vatican Council as the author if I do it in 
the usual APA style. Of course, I can get around it easily enough  with:

@book{vat21965gs,
   author     = {GS},
   title      = {Gaudium et Spes},
   subtitle   = {Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World},
   year       = {1965},
   publisher  = {Libreria Editrice Vaticana},
}

But preferably the author field there would be author  = {{Second 
Vatican Council}},

I was wondering if there was a way to get ConTeXt to ignore the author. 
I thought I could possibly leave it blank:

  \cite[alternative=,

    left={(},

    right={)},

    righttext={GS §22}]

   [main::vat21965gs]


But whatever I have in the author field in the .bib file (be it GS or 
Second Vatican Council) is reproduced anyway. Indeed if I remove the 
entire key reference (alternative = author) it still defaults to author. 
And I still need the full bibliographic record to appear at chapter 
level and at the end.

I night just have to stick with GS as the author.

Any thoughts?

Julian

On 17/8/26 20:26, Jean-Pierre Delange via ntg-context wrote:
>
> Julian,
>
> Thanks — that is very useful, and I think we are now essentially there.
>
> Since |righttext| is appended literally after the author, could you 
> try including the comma there as well?
>
> (\cite
> [alternative=author,
> righttext={{, ca. 350 BCE/2009}}]
> [main::aristotle2009ethics])
>
> If it behaves as your previous test suggests, this should give:
>
> (Aristotle, ca. 350 BCE/2009)
>
> That would be a pleasantly simple solution: |alternative=author| 
> supplies the author, while |righttext| supplies the historical/edition 
> dating information without requiring any change to the bibliography 
> data or the APA rendering itself.
>
> It would also be worth checking afterwards whether the outer 
> parentheses can be handled by the citation machinery itself, but I 
> would first confirm this minimal form.
>
> JP
>
> * Aristotle might add one complication: if character is formed by 
> repeated action, those repeated actions cannot themselves be 
> normatively neutral. A just /hexis/ (ἕξις) requires the practice of 
> just actions, which in turn requires some prior account of what counts 
> as just. This is one reason why the /Nicomachean Ethics/ leads so 
> naturally into the /Politics/: the formation of character depends on 
> laws, education, and ultimately on the ordering of the political 
> community.
>
>
> Le 17/08/2026 à 11:16, jbf a écrit :
>>
>> Before retiring for the night I have quickly checked out your 
>> suggestion (and don't worry about the change of date to 2009, since 
>> this is the real date I need to deal with):
>>
>> [alternative=author,
>>
>> righttext={{ca. 350 BCE/2009}}]
>>
>> [main::aristotle2009ethics]
>>
>>
>> produces:
>>
>> Aristotle ca. 350 BCE/2009
>>
>> Nearly there, so to get parentheses around it and produce (Aristotle, 
>> ca. 350 BCE/2009), this is how I treated the entire paragraph where 
>> the citation appears:
>>
>>
>> Aristotle understood that character is formed through repeated 
>> action. We become just or unjust, courageous or cowardly, temperate 
>> or self-indulgent through what we repeatedly choose and practise (\cite
>>
>> [alternative=author,
>>
>> righttext={{ca. 350 BCE/2009}}]
>>
>> [main::aristotle2009ethics]). Actions become habits, habits shape 
>> character, and character influences what becomes easier or harder to 
>> perceive and choose. Human beings remain capable of change, but 
>> freedom gradually acquires a history.
>>
>>
>> Julian
>> On 17/8/26 17:35, Jean-Pierre Delange via ntg-context wrote:
>>>
>>> No problem at all, Julian — take your time. Translation work has a 
>>> way of absorbing the whole day!
>>> I’ll be interested to hear what you get from the test when you have 
>>> a chance to try it.
>>> Have a good evening.
>>>
>>> JP
>>>
>>>
>>> Le 17/08/2026 à 09:07, jbf a écrit :
>>>>
>>>> Caught up in other work right now JP (translation), and already 
>>>> evening here, so it might be tomorrow before I can get back to 
>>>> this. I'll let you know how it goes.
>>>>
>>>> Julian
>>>>
>>>
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>>
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