[Tex/LaTex] How to fix BibTeX warning about missing author or key fields for webpage-type entries

Question

I need to reference some online databases in my LaTeX report. I have them included in my .bib file in this format:

@misc{StanfordScanRep,
title = {{The Stanford 3D Scanning Repository}},
howpublished = {\url{http://graphics.stanford.edu/data/3Dscanrep/}}
}

Compiling the LaTeX document gives warnings from BibTeX of this form:

Warning--to sort, need author or key in StanfordScanRep

There is no author for these databases. Is there any other way to fix this warning?

Answer 1

The warning gives you a hint: you can add a key field to you entry.

From the BibTeX manual:

In addition to the fields listed above, each entry type also has an optional key field, used in some styles for alphabetizing, for cross referencing, or for forming a \bibitem label. You should include a key field for any entry whose “author” information is missing;

Accordingly, the given entry can be extended, for example, as

@misc{StanfordScanRep,
  key = {Stanford Scanning Repository},
  title = {{The Stanford 3D Scanning Repository}},
  howpublished = {\url{http://graphics.stanford.edu/data/3Dscanrep/}}
}