2013-08-28

LyX - The document processor

Both at work and at home, I write and edit many documents. Personally, I prefer LyX as my writing tool altough I also use LibreOffice (at home) and the Office suite from Redmond (at Ordina).

Why using an exotic word processor? Well, because it separates text from lay out. While typing, one can concentrate on the text, without any hassle about font types and size, formats of numbering and bullets, headers and so on. The layout is defined in a template.

LyX - main screen (picture: LyX)

Dedoimedo wrote some interesting and useful articles about this document processor. First of all, he argues the way documents are meant to be written. He explains how to install LyX and how to get started. Furthermore, he gives us some tips and tricks and even more useful tricks. He even learns us how to convert documents to e-books.

Preview document (picture: LyX)

LyX is easy to install and easy to use. It's available for Linux, Mac, Windows, OS/2 and Haiku. I like distractless 'writing', creating professional looking documents. And best of all? As LyX is open source software, it's free (as in freedom). By combining it with the right keyboard layout and even a mechanical keyboard, you create a very productive writing tool.
What's your favorite document processor?

Happy writing!