Imagine for a minute that you’re writing a book or technical manual.  Let’s say it’s a book on technology, maybe the open source tools used for scientific writing (to randomly pick an example).  As you write this book, you realize that you need some way to cue the reader into different parts of the text.

For instance, you might want all definitions to appear in bolded text so that a reader pick out key terms quickly.  Or you might want code examples to appear in a different font than the regular text, again, so they’re easy to find.  What’s the best way to do this?

Sure, you could just bold the definitions, or manually change the font for the code examples.  But that’s painful!  Changing typeface and size every time that you have a section of code will eventually result in a lot of lost time.  Moreover, you might make a mistake, which destroys your consistency and makes your writing look unprofessional.  There must be a better way!

Thankfully, there is.  It’s through the consistent use of styles.

Show me more… »

Tags: Customization,LaTeX,LyX
Categories: Computer, Writing and Literature, rapidBOOKS
Comments Off

LyX is a wonderful writing program.  It’s easy to use and produces beautifully typeset output.  More importantly, though, it lets an author focus on the content and structure of his writing; rather than the formatting.  It isn’t so easy to customize, though, which limits its usefulness in a big way.  What if you need to create a new layout or take advantage of one of the thousands of specialized  LaTeX styles?  How, exactly, do you go about doing that?

That’s why this article was written.  Recently, I was asked to help with a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 grant proposal.  After some talk amongst the different investigators, it was decided that we would use LaTeX and LyX to draft it.  Unfortunately, we hit a rather substantial hurdle early in the process:  LyX doesn’t have an NIH grant template.

After additional debate, we decided to proceed with LyX anyway.  But in the process, I found myself saddled with an additional job.  In addition to responsibilities as research flunky and copy editor, I was tasked with creating a LyX and LaTeX template for our NIH grant.  This article will summarize the steps I took and describe how to create a custom template using an available style on CTAN.

Note: All of the files in this tutorial can downloaded here (.zip).

Show me more… »

Tags: LaTeX,LyX
Categories: Computer, Writing and Literature, rapidBOOKS
2 Comments »

In addition to nouns, verbs, and adjectives; there are other tools which supplement the writer’s arsenal. some writers, this is a moleskin notebook and ballpoint pen. For others, writing is synonymous with the usage of computer word processors, such as Microsoft Word.  What is a given, however, is that the choice is intensely personal. If you ask ten different writers, "What is the perfect tool?" Expect ten different answers.

For those who create software, however, this is big problem. Programs can’t be customized to the individual whims of every writer. (A more diverse or idiosyncratic group does not exist.)  It is necessary to select a cross section of features that meet the needs of most people.  Unfortunately, however, this has resulted in some serious compromises and an emphasis on the technical process of writing, often to the exclusion of the creative process.

Show me more… »

Tags: LyX,OpenSource
Categories: Computer, Programming, Writing and Literature
6 Comments »