Re: bibliography with certain canonical reference

Hi Julian,

I have now got a working solution for your Vatican-document case while 
keeping the bibliographic record properly in APA form.

The idea is to keep the full institutional author in the |.bib| file and 
add a separate field:

shorthand = {GS},

ConTeXt preserves that field even though the current APA specification 
does not use it itself, and it can be accessed directly with 
|\btxdirect{shorthand}|.

A small wrapper then gives:

\ConventionalCite{vat21965gs}{§22}

which produces:

(GS §22)

while the normal APA citation still gives:

(Second Vatican Council, 1965)

and the bibliography remains unchanged in APA form.

I have compiled and tested this successfully. I am attaching the 
complete |.tex| test file (and the .bib) so that you can try it 
directly. The next step, if useful, would be to see whether this can be 
turned into a proper BTX citation alternative instead of using the small 
wrapper command.

JP


Le 19/08/2026 à 09:46, Jean-Pierre Delange via ntg-context a écrit :
>
> Hi Julian,
>
> I think I have now identified the difficulty more precisely. In 
> ConTeXt’s current APA implementation, citations are essentially built 
> around the author–date model, and the bibliographic categories do not 
> naturally provide a field for a conventional siglum such as |GS|. This 
> is why |righttext| does not replace the core citation: it is simply 
> appended to it.
>
> The key |alternative=short| is also somewhat misleading in this 
> context. It does not mean “use a free bibliographic abbreviation such 
> as GS”; rather, it refers to ConTeXt’s own internally generated 
> short-form mechanism. So it is important to clarify exactly what this 
> |short| does — and what it does not do.
>
> Technically, ConTeXt does preserve an additional BibTeX field such as 
> |shorthand={GS}|, and I have verified that it can be read back 
> directly. The difficulty is that the current APA specification does 
> not recognize |shorthand| as a normal field for a |book| entry, so the 
> standard APA citation machinery ignores it. Moreover, 
> |alternative=short| does not mean “use my siglum”; it invokes an 
> internally generated short form. The problem, therefore, is not 
> storing |GS|, but finding a clean way to make APA use that stored 
> value as the citation form.
>
> With SBL, this difficulty is much less artificial, because the style 
> is specifically designed for scholarly references in which one can 
> more naturally distinguish between the full bibliographic record, the 
> conventional abbreviation of a work or document, and the internal 
> locator. This is precisely one of the aspects I am currently 
> documenting for ConTeXt.
>
> I am nevertheless looking for an elegant solution that stays within 
> APA for your particular case. The encouraging point is that ConTeXt 
> already knows how to preserve and retrieve |shorthand={GS}|; what 
> remains is to integrate that value cleanly into a reusable citation 
> form, without misusing the |author| field or hard-coding |GS| in the 
> document.
>
> JP
>
>
> Le 19/08/2026 à 05:43, jbf a écrit :
>>
>> I was able to add a shortauthor = {GS} in the .bibfile and tried 
>> alternative=short in \cite. Together with the appropriate righttext 
>> it results in (<empty>, GS §22) so almost there, in a way, if we 
>> could avoid that <empty>, but maybe we can't.
>>
>> 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
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>>>> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!
>>>>>
>>>>> maillist :[email protected] /https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
>>>>> webpage  :https://www.pragma-ade.nl /https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
>>>>> archive  :https://github.com/contextgarden/context
>>>>> wiki     :https://wiki.contextgarden.net
>>>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>>> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!
>>>>
>>>> maillist :[email protected] /https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
>>>> webpage  :https://www.pragma-ade.nl /https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
>>>> archive  :https://github.com/contextgarden/context
>>>> wiki     :https://wiki.contextgarden.net
>>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>>
>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!
>>>
>>> maillist :[email protected] /https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
>>> webpage  :https://www.pragma-ade.nl /https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
>>> archive  :https://github.com/contextgarden/context
>>> wiki     :https://wiki.contextgarden.net
>>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!
>>
>> maillist :[email protected] /https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
>> webpage  :https://www.pragma-ade.nl /https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
>> archive  :https://github.com/contextgarden/context
>> wiki     :https://wiki.contextgarden.net
>> ___________________________________________________________________________________
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________________
> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!
>
> maillist :[email protected] /https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
> webpage  :https://www.pragma-ade.nl /https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
> archive  :https://github.com/contextgarden/context
> wiki     :https://wiki.contextgarden.net
> ___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

maillist : [email protected] / https://mailman.ntg.nl/mailman3/lists/ntg-context.ntg.nl
webpage  : https://www.pragma-ade.nl / https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
archive  : https://github.com/contextgarden/context
wiki     : https://wiki.contextgarden.net
___________________________________________________________________________________

\usebtxdataset
  [main]
  [julian-vatican-short-tests-v6.bib]

\usebtxdefinitions[apa]

% ------------------------------------------------------------
% Conventional citation
%
% #1 = bibliographic tag
% #2 = internal locator
%
% The siglum itself is stored in the bibliographic data
% as shorthand={...}.
% ------------------------------------------------------------

\define[2]\ConventionalCite
  {\begingroup
     \def\currentbtxdataset{main}%
     \setbtxentry[#1]%
     (\btxdirect{shorthand}\space#2)%
   \endgroup}

\starttext

\subject{Normal APA citation}

\cite
  [alternative=authoryear]
  [main::vat21965gs]

\blank[2*big]

\subject{Conventional citation}

\ConventionalCite{vat21965gs}{§22}

\blank[big]

A second citation of the same document:

\blank[small]

\ConventionalCite{vat21965gs}{§26}

\blank[2*big]

\subject{Bibliography}

\placelistofpublications
  [method=dataset,
   dataset=main]

\stoptext

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