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List:       lyx-users
Subject:    Re: Lyx for business
From:       Rich Shepard <rshepard () appl-ecosys ! com>
Date:       2008-06-22 14:23:34
Message-ID: Pine.LNX.4.64.0806220706260.32496 () salmo ! appl-ecosys ! com
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On Sun, 22 Jun 2008, Graham Smith wrote:

> A rather vague question, but would anyone like to share their experiences
> of using Lyx in a small business situation, or point me towards some web
> links, with maybe example templates.

> Headed notepaper, business (technical) reports with "smart" covers etc.

Graham,

   I can respond only from the perspective of a small business owner who has
used only linux for more than a decade. As an aside, I keep OpenOffice.org
installed and upgraded because too many of my clients and government
agencies are stuck in the Microsoft world and pass me documents in Word or
Excel format. On exceptionally rare occasions, I need to provide them with a
file in the same format.

   All my technical documents, articles, white papers and so on -- including
my book -- have been written using LyX. Earlier this year I decided to make
the transition complete by using LyX for letters and proposals. There's a
long thread in this mail list's archives on adding the letterhead (a .pdf
file), signature (a .jpg file), and so on. I sent the .lyx file of a working
template to Christian for inclusion in the wiki, so that's a resource, too.

   Among the many advantages of writing with LyX is the inherent LaTeX/TeX
focus on content rather than appearance. I prefer the Palatino type face so
that's the default on everything I write. For letters and proposals I use
the KOMA-script letter2 class, otherwise the regular article, report, and
book classes.

   If you want fancy, learn how the memoir (or KOMA) classes are constructed
and modify to suit your specific needs. The investment in time and effort is
made once and used from then on.

   What you refer to as "smart" covers I would call eye-candy decoration.
Sometimes, they have a valid rationale, but most times I suspect they don't.
It may be that there's an expectation for decorations because that's what
people learned to do with word processors and desktop publication
applications. Were I do really need such a cover, I would create it using
Scribus (the FOSS page layout application), export it as a .pdf file, then
pre-pend it to the rest of the report or book using pdftk (the pdf tool
kit). However, I've never had a client or regulatory agency express an
interest in such a cover.

   The typeset output is superior to anything any word processor can produce
because the units of adjustment are the paragraph and page; word processors'
unit of adjustment is the line.

   On those occasions when a magazine or trade journal asks to republish one
of my articles or white papers, I either export the .lyx file as a plain,
ASCII text file, or I use pdftotext to translate it from the .pdf file. Very
flexible.

   For illustrations, I've used TGIF, Xfig, PSTricks, PyX, and other vector
graphics packages. I've inserted .eps, .jpg, and .pdf images into a LyX
document; with the later I view the developing document with pdflatex before
compiling a final version with the same tool.

HTH,

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |  Integrity            Credibility
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc.        |            Innovation
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>     Voice: 503-667-4517      Fax: 503-667-8863
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