Certainly LyX is very nice for beginners, and yes you can start typing without reading the manual (Although I do recommend reading the manual). But there are lots of problems with compatibility (like Lyx 2.X cannot open Lyx 1.6.x files or something like that). And sometimes if you do \usepackage{whatever} in the preamble and that package was going to be loaded by LyX, then you wil end up with a package clash... and there is where the beginner gets lost. The citation manager that I like to use with LyX (or LaTeX) is called Jabref (F5 to open the look for dialog; choose database ->pubmed; input pubmed id; click on import and generate key; and finally with one button you can push that reference into LyX). Why I like about sharelatex is that you can start by a minimum input, others can watch you in real time...far away...and then they can be as good ..as you (limiting factor) in a couple of days.
2015-05-19 11:39 GMT-05:00 Mooers, Blaine H.M. (HSC) < blaine-moo...@ouhsc.edu>: > Hi Randy, > > You could use a LyX-->LaTeXiT-->MS Word workflow to solve the equation > editing issue without anyone learning LaTeX syntax. > > The LyX document with equations can be exported to a LaTeX *.tex file, > and you can open this tex file in any text editor to copy the equations > encoded in LaTeX syntax for pasting into the LaTeXiT gui. Alternatively, > you can select and copy the equation in the LyX document and paste it > directly into the LaTeXiT gui to get back the LaTeX encoding. > > LyX gui is very easy to start using productively without reading the > manual. However, I do not know of a way to directly use ENDNOTE with LyX. I > use LyX to assemble my early drafts, and then I move the draft into MS Word > when I need to start adding citations. In MS Word 2011 on a Mac, it is > painful to scroll through a large document (>10 pages) with tables and > figures, whereas a 1000 page document in LyX can be scrolled through in a > flash. LyX has been used to assemble books. > > Best regards, > > Blaine > > Blaine Mooers, Ph.D. > Assistant Professor > Director of the Laboratory of Biomolecular Structure and Function > Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center > S.L. Young Biomedical Research Center Rm. 466 > > Shipping address: > 975 NE 10th Street, BRC 466 > Oklahoma City, OK 73104-5419 > > Letter address: > P.O. Box 26901, BRC 466 > Oklahoma City, OK 73190 > > office: (405) 271-8300 lab: (405) 271-8313 fax: (405) 271-3910 > e-mail: blaine-moo...@ouhsc.edu > > Faculty webpage: > http://www.oumedicine.com/department-of-biochemistry-and-molecular-biology/faculty/blaine-mooers-ph-d- > > Small Angle Scattering webpage: > http://www.oumedicine.com/docs/default-source/ad-biochemistry-workfiles/small-angle-scattering-links-27aug2014.html?sfvrsn=0 > > X-ray lab webpage: > http://www.oumedicine.com/department-of-biochemistry-and-molecular-biology/department-facilities/macromolecular-crystallography-laboratory > > > ________________________________________ > From: CCP4 bulletin board [CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK] on behalf of George > Reeke [re...@mail.rockefeller.edu] > Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:17 AM > To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK > Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Equation Editor woes with Office 2011 for Mac > > Dear Randy et al, > May I suggest Lyx, an open-source wysiwyg editor that outputs > Latex. The interface is so much like other word processors that > it is a snap to learn quickly and you get those Latex files with > equations that journals, at least math and physics journals, like. > Maybe you could get your colleagues to try it--I did even though > I was sure I didn't want to learn Latex. I use it in Linux, > where you do one of those configure-make-install-from-source- > code installs. Here is the online info for using it on a mac: > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__wiki.lyx.org_Mac_Mac&d=AwIFaQ&c=qRnFByZajCb3ogDwk-HidsbrxD-31vTsTBEIa6TCCEk&r=39ovrj_9gtbpqLqHj52qObHez22uGBx1oHrj21rIdII&m=LcTP6vjD81n8gdU8pO7MO0O_G5V4cd6IYIjH5HR5LAQ&s=ZKNr8DjE1hiSYE6bjdgorDpAUWU_3gUFfRH9urzCZxI&e= > George Reeke > > On Mon, 2015-05-18 at 09:10 +0100, Randy Read wrote: > > Rather off-topic, but maybe someone on the list has found a way to work > around this! > > > > There’s a problem with the Equation Editor in Office 2011 for Mac (i.e. > the one that is based on a stripped-down version of MathType, which you get > with Insert->Object->Microsoft Equation). You can insert an equation, > re-open it and edit it several times, and then suddenly (and seemingly > randomly) the equation object will be replaced by a picture showing the > equation, which can no longer be edited. I’m writing a rather > equation-heavy paper at the moment, and this is driving me crazy. > > > > This seems to be a known bug, which has existed from the release of > Office 2011. Apparently it happens, unpredictably, when an AutoSave copy > of the document is saved, so you can avoid it by turning off the AutoSave > feature. The last time this drove me crazy, several years ago, I did try > turning off AutoSave. For a while, I was very good about manually saving > frequently, but I got into bad habits and eventually Word crashed after I > had worked for several hours on a grant proposal without manually saving. > So I turned AutoSave back on. > > > > At the moment, the least-bad solution seems to be to turn off AutoSave > while I’m working on a document with lots of equations and then (hopefully) > remember to turn it back on after that document is finished. But it would > be great if someone has come up with a better cure for this problem. > > > > No doubt someone will suggest switching from Word to LaTeX, but I need > to be able to collaborate on paper-writing, and even though I might be > willing to invest the effort in learning LaTeX, I can’t really expect that > of my collaborators. Most people in our field do use Microsoft Word, > regardless of its failings. I’ve also tried using the professional version > of MathType, but that requires your collaborators to install it as well — > and I don’t think that cured the equation to picture problem anyway. > > > > Thanks! > > > > ----- > > Randy J. Read > > Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge > > Cambridge Institute for Medical Research Tel: +44 1223 336500 > > Wellcome Trust/MRC Building Fax: +44 1223 336827 > > Hills Road > E-mail: rj...@cam.ac.uk > > Cambridge CB2 0XY, U.K. > www-structmed.cimr.cam.ac.uk >