[Tex/LaTex] Setting up biber as a default biblatex backend in the configuration file

biberbiblatex

The biblatex release notes recommend to setup backend=biber in biblatex.cfg, however LaTeX refuses to accept this text in biblatex.cfg:

\ProvidesFile{biblatex.cfg}
\usepackage[backend=biber]{biblatex}
\endinput

LaTeX says, "The package biblatex has already been loaded with options…"

How to set up backend parameter in here properly?

Best Answer

Load biblatex in your main document using \usepackage[<options>]{biblatex}. Your configuration file biblatex.cfg should look as follows:

\ProvidesFile{biblatex.cfg}
\ExecuteBibliographyOptions{backend=biber}
\endinput

UPDATE: As Jonathan has hinted, with biblatex v2.0 (released July 2012) backend has become a loadtime option, so it is not possible anymore to select the backend engine (biber, BibTeX etc.) via \ExecuteBibliographyOptions. Also note that biber (not BibTeX) is now the default backend.

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