This section covers things that can go wrong when running REF - error messages, fatal errors and so on.
All queries are returning 0 cases. This may be due to REF failing to read the input bibliography. Check that the filename is correct and that it's in REF's working directory. Check for the error message "Read on closed filehandle at ref line 60." at the start of the running program.
I get a syntax error when it tries to read the input bibliography file. This means you have got the format of the input file wrong in a way REF can detect (it's not very good at syntax-checking, I'm afraid!). For example, you may have missed off a closing }. REF is not clever enough to tell you what the syntax error is, but it will tell you the line of the input file where it detected it (which is often a bit later than where the mistake actually is).
It seems to be ignoring some records in the input file. This is due to the fact that REF only looks for a records where it sees an opening {, so if you have missed that off, it will ignore that record.
The bibliography entry REF generates for such-a-record is completely wrong (e.g. bits missing, or it just says "."). You have probably got the format of the record wrong. Check it carefully in the input file. Check that you haven't done something stupid like put two fields on one line, or having a list value for a field that's supposed to be scalar, or a scalar value for a field that's supposed to be a list (REF only detects this if the field in question is actually specified in a query, when it tries to match the field in the query with the one in the record).
The bottom line is, make sure you get it right when you type records into the input bibliography file, and test the program on each entry immediately to make sure it is generating the bibliography entry for it OK, and so you will always be able to trace any strange syntax errors (or lack thereof) to the last record you added!
