8:56 p.m.
...I know everybody in this mailing list use "free software" in
general and gretl in particular. So here is my question:
I have been using openoffice for a while now because it is open source
(well, almost), it has a very nice equation editor and it has built-in
pdf export function. However, I came to realize that maybe I must be
learning how to create documents in latex because it looks like it is
increasingly becoming prefered or even required way for journal
submissions.
I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks very
neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
use for writing articles?
I appreciate any feedback. Sincerely,
A T Yalta
--
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you
nothing. It was here first. - Mark Twain
--
10:26 p.m.
On Thu, June 15, 2006 22:56, Talha Yalta wrote:
I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks
very
neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
use for writing articles?
Go for the real thing. Use LaTeX. If you're addicted to point-and-click and
you don't mind the KDE-Qt style, Kile is not bad, but if you ask me,
Emacs+AucTeX is the definitive answer. You may want to start with Kile and
switch to Emacs later.
On LaTeX, read this first:
http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf
Oh, and don't forget this :-)
http://www.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html
HTH,
Riccardo "Jack" Lucchetti
Dipartimento di Economia
Facoltà di Economia "G. Fuà"
Ancona
7:53 a.m.
El Viernes, 16 de Junio de 2006 00:26, Riccardo Jack Lucchetti escribió:
On Thu, June 15, 2006 22:56, Talha Yalta wrote:
> I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks very
> neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
> Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
> use for writing articles?
Go for the real thing. Use LaTeX. If you're addicted to point-and-click and
you don't mind the KDE-Qt style, Kile is not bad, but if you ask me,
Emacs+AucTeX is the definitive answer. You may want to start with Kile and
switch to Emacs later.
In my case, I was a Windows user, then I passed to Linux. I normally use Latex
with Kile. I tried several times with Emacs but I think definitely this is
not for me. I do not have enough memory to remember so many combination of
keys: cntrl+e, cntrl-x, cntrl-c ,... I am very happy with Kile.
If you use Windows you have a very similar free editor called "Texniccenter".
If you like wysiwyg editors, I think "Texmacs" may be better than Lyx. But I
would not recommend this, I think it is better to write the Latex code
directly with Emacs or Kile.
--
Ignacio Díaz-Emparanza
Dpto. de Economía Aplicada III (Econometría y Estadística)
UPV-EHU
11:17 a.m.
Pn, 2006 06 16 00:26 +0200, Riccardo Jack Lucchetti rašė:
On Thu, June 15, 2006 22:56, Talha Yalta wrote:
> I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks very
> neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
> Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
> use for writing articles?
Go for the real thing. Use LaTeX. If you're addicted to point-and-click and
you don't mind the KDE-Qt style, Kile is not bad, but if you ask me,
Emacs+AucTeX is the definitive answer. You may want to start with Kile and
switch to Emacs later.
Or instead of Emacs you can switch to vim:) The latex support for vim is
vim-latex, it can be downloaded from
http://vim-latex.sf.net
As I am comfortable with vim, I'm exclusively using it for writing latex
documents. But for beginner Kile is clearly the best tool. But when you
are tired of using the mouse Emacs or vim is the way to go.
Vaidotas
8:10 a.m.
Talha Yalta schrieb:
I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks
very
neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
use for writing articles?
Lyx is great! I used to write papers directly in Latex with editors like
Kile or WinEdt or Texniccenter (like the others recommended, and those
are good editors indeed), but with Lyx I am (and you will be) a lot more
productive, especially with formulas. For basic usage, there is very
little you have to learn to use Lyx. For troubleshooting and workarounds
at some point you will need to enter some Latex constructs in your Lyx
document, but that's exactly the point: You have the real Latex thing in
Lyx and you can use it! For example, in the formula editor you *can* but
*don't have to* point-and-click; you can enter \alpha and you will see
the greek letter appearing! You can also use other low-level Latex
features, but most of the time you're operating on a more intuitive
level. Did I already say it's great?
(This marketing is the least I can do to pay back the Lyx developers who
provide such a great tool. I also advertise gretl btw.)
"Choose wisely",
Sven
9:08 a.m.
On Fri, June 16, 2006 10:10, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Talha Yalta schrieb:
> I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks very
> neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
> Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
> use for writing articles?
>
Lyx is great! I used to write papers directly in Latex with editors like
Kile or WinEdt or Texniccenter (like the others recommended, and those
are good editors indeed), but with Lyx I am (and you will be) a lot more
productive, especially with formulas. For basic usage, there is very
little you have to learn to use Lyx. For troubleshooting and workarounds
at some point you will need to enter some Latex constructs in your Lyx
document, but that's exactly the point: You have the real Latex thing in
Lyx and you can use it! For example, in the formula editor you *can* but
*don't have to* point-and-click; you can enter \alpha and you will see
the greek letter appearing! You can also use other low-level Latex
features, but most of the time you're operating on a more intuitive
level. Did I already say it's great?
Of course, it's a matter of taste. A (La)TeX file is an ASCII file, and *I*
like to see it on screen that way. At one point, I was intrigued by
preview-latex (http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/preview-latex), but after a
couple of weeks of "ooh"s and "aah"s I went back to plain editing.
Another thing I don't like about programs like LyX is that LaTeX import/export
can be tricky. This is not a problem if you write on your own. It definitely
becomes a problem if you have co-authors who don't use the same tool you use.
One of my co-authors would use Scientific Workplace (sort of commercial LyX)
and revisions were a nightmare, essentially because, in order to modify my
stuff he had to open it in SciWP and the re-export it back in pure LaTeX; even
changing one line led to a totally different file from what I'd sent him. This
obviously doesn't happen if you operate on the raw ASCII file. Eventually, HE
switched ;-) and he's been thanking me ever since. This sometimes happens with
publishers too: some of them have very strict rules on what you should (and
shouldn't) have in you LaTeX file. Kluwer, for example, have a very cool set
of custom macros you MUST use; Elsevier too. I wouldn't know how to handle
those outside a pure text editor.
I must admit, LyX can come in handy for a beginner, when you know what you
want, but you don't know how to do it. Do it in LyX, see what the LaTeX file
looks like, learn what the trick is.
Riccardo "Jack" Lucchetti
Dipartimento di Economia
Facoltà di Economia "G. Fuà"
Ancona
2:31 p.m.
A Dijous 15 Juny 2006 22:56, Talha Yalta va escriure:
...I know everybody in this mailing list use "free
software" in
general and gretl in particular. So here is my question:
I have been using openoffice for a while now because it is open source
(well, almost), it has a very nice equation editor and it has built-in
pdf export function. However, I came to realize that maybe I must be
learning how to create documents in latex because it looks like it is
increasingly becoming prefered or even required way for journal
submissions.
I searched the web and found a latex editor called LYX. It looks very
neat but do you think it is worth learning how to use this program?
Are there better alternatives? Which programs do you fellow economists
use for writing articles?
If you don't like to write Latex code, use LyX. It's a great program. I use to
write almost all my documents and papers. With LyX you have an very easy way
to write in Latex.
Regards. Griera.
6757
days inactive
6764
days old
6 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
Griera -
Ignacio Díaz-Emparanza -
Riccardo Jack Lucchetti -
Sven Schreiber -
Talha Yalta -
Vaidotas Zemlys