[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       lyx-users
Subject:    Re: Strategies for Writing Co-operation with Non-LyX Users?
From:       Jürgen_Spitzmüller <juergen () spitzmueller ! org>
Date:       2009-01-26 7:42:25
Message-ID: 200901260842.25404.juergen () spitzmueller ! org
[Download RAW message or body]

Peter Baumgartner wrote:
> But there is one problem I do not know how to solve: In my scientific
> environment (education, humanities) nobody is using LyX and just one
> co-operation partner uses LaTex. But I have many projects where several
> people are contributing to a report or a book. Normally in these projects
> people are using MS Word or OpenOffice. Conversion texts from LyX to OO and
> back is pretty cumbersome and does not preserve the great advantages of LyX
> formatting.

I'm pretty much in the same situation. My "strategy" is as follows:
If I'm the editor of a volume, people send their texts usually as Word 
documents. I'm importing them to LyX via OOo and the book is typeset with 
LyX/LaTeX.

If I'm contributing to a journal or other people's volume, I still write the 
draft with LyX, using a very "plain" class, then export to RTF or OOo, do the 
final polishment in a word processor and submit. I still prefer this to using 
OOo directly, since I'm used to LyX, and since I heavily rely on BibTeX.

I have convinced some colleagues to use LyX or LaTeX, but since people in the 
humanities are often technically rather unskilled, this usually entails a 
significant amount of personal administration service, and you need to find 
the time for that.

I think we have to face the fact that the humanities are pretty much dominated 
by *.doc(x) and *.ppt. If you are not publishing a book or volume yourself 
(where you can send a PDF to the publisher), the MS formats are typically the 
only way to go. Once, I have published a paper in a journal, and they wanted 
"word documents only", so I exported my paper from LyX. When I received the 
galley proofs, I noticed that they did the final version with LaTeX. I asked 
the editor why LaTeX files cannot be submitted, but got no answer. I guess the 
reason is that all involved people except for the typesetters (i.e, reviewers, 
editors, etc.) use MS Word exclusively.

The good thing is that you can always impress people with a LaTeX-typeset book 
or a beamer presentation ;-)

Jürgen

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]