UK TeX FAQ -- question label formbiblabel

### Format of numbers in the bibliography

By default, LaTeX makes entries in the bibliography look like:

> [1] Doe, Joe et al. Some journal. 2004.
> [2] Doe, Jane et al. Some journal. 2003.

while many documents need something like:

> 1. Doe, Joe et al. Some journal. 2004.
> 2. Doe, Jane et al. Some journal. 2003.

This sort of change may be achieved by many of the “general” citation packages; for example, in natbib, it’s as simple as:

>     \renewcommand{\bibnumfmt}[1]{#1.}

but if you’re not using such a package, the following internal LaTeX commands, in the preamble of your document, will do the job:

>     \makeatletter
>     \renewcommand*{\@biblabel}[1]{\hfill#1.}
>     \makeatother

`natbib.sty`
  macros/latex/contrib/natbib (or browse the directory); catalogue entry

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