[Tex/LaTex] Style file incompatible with package biblatex

biblatexnatbibtemplates

I need to use the NeurIPS template. However, with the following minimal working example:

\documentclass{article}


\usepackage[final]{neurips_2019}
\usepackage[backend=bibtex, style=ieee]{biblatex}

\title{}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\end{document}

(the .sty file is in the same path as the .tex file) I get:

! Package biblatex Error: Incompatible package 'natbib'.

How can I get around this error?

Best Answer

neurips_2019.sty loads the citation/bibliography package natbib. natbib is incompatible with biblatex since biblatex reimplements LaTeX's citation features completely. That's why you get the error

! Package biblatex Error: Incompatible package 'natbib'.

Since the package you need to use for submission loads natbib, the obvious way to resolve this issue is not to load biblatex. The accompanying file https://media.neurips.cc/Conferences/NeurIPS2019/Styles/neurips_2019.tex mentions that the exact citation style does not matter, so you could go with something like

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage[final]{neurips_2019}

\title{Lorem}
\author{A. Uthor}

\begin{document}
\cite{blub}
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{mybibfile}
\end{document}

which is based on standard natbib styles.

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