NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/comp/text/tex/14199

Text File | 1992-12-15 | 4.7 KB | 99 lines

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From: [e-mail] (Ernst Willand)
Subject: Re: WYSIWYG Editor, Scientific-Word
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Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 15:38:53 GMT
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Newsgroups: comp.text
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From: [e-mail] (Ernst Willand)
Subject: Re: WYSIWYG editor for TeX
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Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 08:14:22 GMT
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------------------------- Original Article -------------------------
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From: [e-mail] (Budi Rahardjo)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Vincent Smeets) wr
>>Has anybody ever heard of an WYSIWYG editor which generates TeX or LaTeX?
>>We are looking for one!

>No, but there is a program that can convert a WordPerfect file to latex.
>(I think it's called WP2LATEX or something like that).
>ry simtel20 and its mirrors.

There is an other approach called Scientific Word by TCI on the marked.
I just tested the 1.0-Version:

- needs 386-PC and Windows 3.x
- needs about 18 MB Diskspace

Short description:
  Not really WYSIWYG (which is not possible with TeX on a 386-PC at all)
  But a comfortable Editor which hides (nearly) all TeX-syntax and
  gives a good idea how the output might look. The logical structure,
  text attributes and formulas are clearly readable.
  (headings are large, bold face, \tt, \sc and math typing is shown
  in the corresponding font, labels and cross-references are visible)
  !! Very good Math-editor, mouse-orientated, you see quite exactly what
     you will get immediately after each input command.
     (in fact it ist the same math-editor as in AMI-PRO by Lotus,
      but about 10-times faster... (Sci-Word selled it to Lotus))
  The editor produces LaTeX-output which is acceptet by any LaTeX-
  installation if you include a file TCILATEX.TEX. The program reads
  LaTeX-files converts them to C++ objects in the Editor and saves
  as LaTeX-files again.
  The TeX and Preview programs (ost-processing the editor-output)
  are somewhat slow (due to windows) and not too comfortable I think.

My opinion:
  + Easy to start for people having no idea about TeX
  + Great Formular-part
  + Good for standart applications (if you dont want to use all the
    (power of TeX, defining own commands and layouts)
  + Spell-checker (Microspell)
  - Somewhat buggy yet, especially if you want to load TeX-files
    not created with Sci-Word (usually Sci-Word AND Windows crashes!)
  - For some important things like tabular, footnotes ... you have
    to open a TeX-box and enter the usual TeX-code. No WYSIWYG-display
    for this part (it is said that version 2.0 coming up early next year
    has tables implemented)
  - German Styles and hyphenation not yet available (version 2.0 feature
  - Difficult to implement your own STYLE-files, put possible if you
    have a good knowledge of TeX.
  - It is possible to produce TeX-output which cause error messages
    of TeX... Than you have to know enough about TeX to find the error.
  - Grafic implementation printer-dependant (PCL for HP-Laserjet
    or EPS for Postscript-Printers)
  - Expensive (twice the price of AMI-Pro, approx. 1300.- DM (700$ ?)
    for English version, german update and spell-checker)

Resumee:
- Good for secretary use if there is allways a TeX-Guru at hand.
- Good to type Math and export single formulas to other TeX-files
  (But that is also possible with AMI-Pro)
- Don't think you can just take a TeX-File of site X and load it
  into SCI-Word (too buggy yet?), but you can create LaTeX-output
  for other sites very easy if you only want to do standart things
  like Text, List, Bibliography, Index, and FORMULAS!!
- Interesting devellopment, migth become a good program if devellopment
  and support goes on.

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 Institute for geotechnique                           //// -------
 University of Stuttgart             I G S          ///// --------
 Prof,Dr.-Ing. U. Smoltczyk        ---------  ____////// ---------
 --------------------------       --------  /////////// ----------
   Dipl.-Ing. E. Willand         -------- //////////// -----------
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