RIS to FB2 Converter
FileFlip converts RIS to FB2 entirely inside your browser, using Pandoc compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert a RIS file to FB2?#
- Drop your RIS file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to FB2 and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 65.8 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Pandoc on your own machine.
- Save the FB2 file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting RIS to FB2 lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting RIS to FB2 rebuilds the file in FB2's own model rather than re-encoding it, so everything FB2 can represent comes through exactly and anything it cannot has to be dropped. Expect the words to come through exactly and the page breaks to move.
Is it safe to convert RIS files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts RIS files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What RIS to FB2 actually does to the file#
Converting RIS to FB2 runs on Pandoc, downloads 65.8 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, rebuilds the file in the target's own model, keeps selectable text and page layout.
| Engine | Pandoc |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: RIS → FB2 |
| Downloaded to your browser | 65.8 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Rebuilt in the target's model |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Selectable text | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
| Page layout | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
What is a RIS file?#
A RIS file is a plain-text citation record in the tagged format Research Information Systems designed for its Reference Manager software, using two-letter codes such as AU and TI to mark author, title and other bibliographic fields.
Use RIS when moving a citation list between two different reference managers, since it's the format nearly all of them agree on.
Convert RIS to BibTeX when the citations need to be cited from a LaTeX document instead of a reference manager.
What is an FB2 file?#
An FB2 file is a single XML document that holds an entire book's text, metadata and base64-encoded cover images, in the FictionBook format that originated in the Russian-language ebook scene.
Keep a book as FB2 when it is sourced from a Russian-language ebook library and the reader is FB2-native, such as FBReader or a PocketBook device.
Convert FB2 to EPUB to read the book on a device or app outside the small set of readers that understand FictionBook directly.
RIS to FB2 questions people ask#
What is a RIS file used for?
A RIS file carries a citation or a list of citations between reference managers and academic databases, with two-letter tags marking each bibliographic field. It's the export format library catalogues and databases like PubMed reach for when a user wants to save a reference into their own citation library.
Does Zotero support RIS files?
Yes, Zotero both imports and exports RIS files, and it's one of the two or three formats Zotero recommends for moving a library into or out of a different reference manager.
What's the difference between RIS and BibTeX?
RIS is a general tagged format built for reference manager interoperability, while BibTeX is the citation format LaTeX documents cite against directly. A citation library usually passes through RIS when moving between reference managers and through BibTeX when it needs to reach a LaTeX document.
Why did my RIS import lose some fields?
RIS has no single current maintaining body, so different tools export slightly different tag conventions for the same field, and a reference manager importing a RIS file written by another tool can misread or drop a field it doesn't recognize.