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Subject:LaTeX - anyone using a wysiwyg editor for it? From:David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com, monique -dot- semp -at- earthlink -dot- net Date:Sat, 10 Apr 2010 10:08:19 +0300
Monique,
Despite your apparent amazement that anyone today would be using
LaTeX, it remains quite popular in many academic areas as it produces
nonpareil output for print or PDF. It is especially useful for complex
mathematics texts, but is used quite often for other kinds of academic
writing especially.
I am seriously contemplating writing a book this year, and if so I
will use LyX for it, as I will most probably go through a POD
publisher and I want the best looking output I can get.
If you examine the same document produced in a word processor such as
Word and compare the output of a LaTeX app, the difference will be
pronounced.
I have looked briefly at various LaTeX apps, but most of my experience
has been with LyX. Since it is free and there are Windows and Mac
versions as well as a Linux one, it would certainly be easy enough to
install and try. The major issue with most of these is whether there
is a decent LaTeX document class and style files for the doc. Since
your client is using it, one would suppose they have that already
developed.
I have often been sorry that there haven't been decent LaTeX class
files available for tech docs, in fact. If your client has one that
can be shared, I would be most interested in receiving it.
I cannot say I have used it enough to be any sort of authority--the
projects I have done have been very small and not numerous. It is one
of my goals this year to increase that knowledge now that I have
enough time on my hands, though.
For those who have never used an editor like LyX, it is considered a
"What You Get Is What You Mean" application. Essentially, you can
forget complex formatting while writing, and the styles you assign are
formatted by the document definition files.
With LyX, footnotes and numbering are both trivial. Move an element,
and the numbering automagically changes to remain fully consistent
without any effort on your part, to give just one small example.
By contrast, the document style definition files are at first blush
quite complex. This is what I'll be delving into shortly myself.
However, if you can get one from CTAN or elsewhere that fills your
need, using the application is extraordinarily simple.
As for the one you mention, I have no idea how it might be to work
with. As I am not dealing with Windows these days, it would be
impossible to find out unless it happens to run on Linux through WINE.
I may download it and give that a shot, though, to see what it may be
like.
David
> From: "Monique Semp" <monique -dot- semp -at- earthlink -dot- net>
> To: "techwr-l" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 09:30:38 -0700
> Subject: LaTeX - anyone using a wysiwyg editor for it?
> Hello, Techrl-l-ers,
>
> No, this is not a message that's been in the email ether for 2 decades -- I actually have a new client who is using LaTeX!
>
> I haven't used it, and although I'm looking forward to diving into something so retro, I do think I'd rather use a WYSIWYG editor than deal with this in text format. (There're lots of equations and line drawings in their doc.)
>
> I've googled, and found several WYSIWYG editors (for Windows systems), and wonder if anyone has used any of them? I'm also looking at the wikipedia article on LaTeX, which has a nice editor comparison chart (although it doesn't cover the most promising looking editor, BaKoMa-TeX, http://www.bakoma-tex.com/menu/about.php).
>
> Looking forward to your replies,
> -Monique
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