On Sunday 09 September 2001 13:10, Nicholas Piper wrote:
> I got QuickWord free with my HandEra. It isn't as comprehensive as
> WordSmith, but my LyX/Palm system only calls for a very basic editor.
I wanted something more comprehensive as I am going to be doing a lot more
work with the machine on the road. Basically, I am treating this as a laptop
instead of getting a laptop. I know, may be a bit strange to do something
like that, but the power and functionality for what I need is there, and the
expense is significantly less. So, it seem(s) appropriate to me.
> I use the normal "doc" format. I convert with txt2pdbdoc, but you can
> use anything. There are loads of answers to txt <-> doc.
Yeah, I thought WordSmith was using JDoc, but as it turns out, it is using
the normal doc format.
> I use CVS. I keep a CVS respository, and checkout once for LyX to
> edit, and once for the palm. I use txt2pdbdoc to convert the .lyx file
> from one checkout, and then the same program to convert it back to
> text (.lyx) and copy it over the existing version when I'm done
> editing on the palm. CVS will merge things by itself.
Yeah, I was thinking about doing something with CVS, but hadn't thought it
all the way through yet. Glad to see that I am on the right track there.
> I'm going to write some helper apps when I need them, for now I just
> have Makefile rules to help a little with the conversions.
Makefile's would be a good way to handle the conversion for now. But, I
think having a set of tools, or better a "wrapper" application for this might
be more useful. Should be something that even I could work on once I have
the right tools in place.
> Note that this system gives a rather messy "internal" file on the
> palm, with all the LyX commands and stuff in. It's not so bad though,
> it means you can use all the LyX features if you hunt around in the
> file for a place you used it before and copy the syntax :-)
That is the problem that I was trying to get around. When I am writing, I
don't really want to have all of the codes being displayed, that's the reason
that I use LyX for writing, instead of using a TeX or LaTeX front end with
emacs or vi.
> I don't use it to change major parts of the file, only to add things
> or make adjustments to the content; leaving the formatting pretty much
> alone until I get back home.
This is the other part for me. I work on _lots_ of documents, and make heavy
edits to them on a very frequent basis... That can mean chaning the
structure, or formatting, etc. Or, even more so, I end up creating a lot of
documents. So, the more transparent the markup is, the better for me.
I was thinking that I can keep pretty easily to a standard template, just
enough to mark headings and outlines, that's the major stuff that I need. I
don't need to do diagrams, floats or tables (well, maybe an occasional
table).
As I look more at things here, it seems that WordSmith uses RTF for it's
conversion layer. That means that with the right interface from LyX to RTF
it should be possible to have a template that preserves the structural
formatting. That would make it much easier to convert back and forth between
LyX and WordSmith.
There are quite a few tools that do things like SGML<->RTF conversion, and
other formats. Will just have to investigate them some more.
But, I really, really, like the idea of using CVS to manage the files. The
major trick then remains to move from CVS->WordSmith and back.
Question: what software are you using to sync your HandEra under Linux? I've
been trying to use KPilot, but it's been a pain (doable, but a real pain).
Thanks for the input!
// George
