Word vs. LaTeX - Revision history

Bill Flanagan: Corrected a type.

2009-04-28T16:50:46Z

Corrected a type.

←Older revision		Revision as of 16:50, 28 April 2009
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	== Conclusions ==		== Conclusions ==

-	'''Bottom line''': If you need to write a ''short'' letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who ~~things~~ LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in ''Word''. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.	+	'''Bottom line''': If you need to write a ''short'' letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who thinks LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in ''Word''. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

	If you are writing a ''long document'' like a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with ''LaTeX''. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.		If you are writing a ''long document'' like a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with ''LaTeX''. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.

Jakob Suckale: /* Links */

2007-09-07T13:50:53Z

Links

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:50, 7 September 2007
Line 54:		Line 54:
	== Links ==		== Links ==

-	on OpenWetWare: [[LaTeX]], [[User:Austin J. Che/Extensions/LatexDoc\|LaTeX OWW wiki extension]], [[LaTeX template for PhD thesis]]	+	on OpenWetWare:
		+	* [[LaTeX]]
		+	* [[User:Austin J. Che/Extensions/LatexDoc\|LaTeX OWW wiki extension]]
		+	* [[LaTeX template for PhD thesis]]

-	in Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Word Word], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX LaTeX], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_word_processors Comparison of word processors]	+	in Wikipedia:
		+	* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Word Word]
		+	* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX LaTeX]
		+	* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_word_processors Comparison of word processors]

	other comparisons:		other comparisons:

Jakob Suckale: /* Links */

2007-09-07T13:50:16Z

Links

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:50, 7 September 2007
Line 54:		Line 54:
	== Links ==		== Links ==

-	~~OWW~~: [[LaTeX]], [[User:Austin J. Che/Extensions/LatexDoc\|LaTeX OWW wiki extension]]	+	on OpenWetWare: [[LaTeX]], [[User:Austin J. Che/Extensions/LatexDoc\|LaTeX OWW wiki extension]], [[LaTeX template for PhD thesis]]

-	Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Word Word], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX LaTeX], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_word_processors Comparison of word processors]	+	in Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Word Word], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX LaTeX], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_word_processors Comparison of word processors]

	other comparisons:		other comparisons:

Jakob Suckale: /* Conclusions */

2007-09-05T13:08:28Z

Conclusions

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 5 September 2007
Line 48:		Line 48:
	== Conclusions ==		== Conclusions ==

-	'''Bottom line''': If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.	+	'''Bottom line''': If you need to write a ''short'' letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in ''Word''. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

-	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.	+	If you are writing a ''long document'' like a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with ''LaTeX''. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.

	== Links ==		== Links ==

Jakob Suckale: /* Conclusions */

2007-09-05T13:07:26Z

Conclusions

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:07, 5 September 2007
Line 48:		Line 48:
	== Conclusions ==		== Conclusions ==

-	Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.	+	'''Bottom line''': If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.		If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.

Jakob Suckale: total star score

2007-09-05T13:06:17Z

total star score

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:06, 5 September 2007
Line 25:		Line 25:
	\|-		\|-
	\| layout quality		\| layout quality
-	\| [[Image:~~1star~~.png]] Word type setting quality is ok for most purposes but its far from professional. Plus, you will only be able to reach good quality if you know Word well, which is not the case for the average users. [http://nitens.org/taraborelli/latex Details]	+	\| [[Image:2stars.png]] Word type setting quality is ok for most purposes but its far from professional. Plus, you will only be able to reach good quality if you know Word well, which is not the case for the average users. [http://nitens.org/taraborelli/latex Details]
	\| [[Image:3stars.png]] LaTeX, on the other hand, provides you with professional layout out of the box. If you want to get into the nitty gritty, you can adapt the default to your own taste but the standard is already very high without any customisations.		\| [[Image:3stars.png]] LaTeX, on the other hand, provides you with professional layout out of the box. If you want to get into the nitty gritty, you can adapt the default to your own taste but the standard is already very high without any customisations.
	\|-		\|-
Line 39:		Line 39:
	\| [[Image:2stars.png]] MS Word developers make almost no effort to facilitate exchange with foreign programmes. You may not experience that, because Word is so widespread. But even between flavours of Word there are compatibility problems, e.g. WinWord vs. MacWord or latest version to older version.		\| [[Image:2stars.png]] MS Word developers make almost no effort to facilitate exchange with foreign programmes. You may not experience that, because Word is so widespread. But even between flavours of Word there are compatibility problems, e.g. WinWord vs. MacWord or latest version to older version.
	\| [[Image:2stars.png]] This is not the case with LaTeX. The main output format is PDF, which is the same over all OSs. LaTeX editors exist for all types of systems and are highly compatible. You will also see that many programmes allow import and export. BibDesk can read Endnote, for example, but not the other way round. Still, the PDF is not editable and your collaborator might not know LaTeX.		\| [[Image:2stars.png]] This is not the case with LaTeX. The main output format is PDF, which is the same over all OSs. LaTeX editors exist for all types of systems and are highly compatible. You will also see that many programmes allow import and export. BibDesk can read Endnote, for example, but not the other way round. Still, the PDF is not editable and your collaborator might not know LaTeX.
		+	\|-
		+	\| '''total'''
		+	\| '''13 out of 21'''
		+	\| '''18 out of 21'''
	\|}		\|}

Jakob Suckale: adjusted compatibility scoring

2007-09-05T13:01:26Z

adjusted compatibility scoring

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:01, 5 September 2007
Line 37:		Line 37:
	\|-		\|-
	\| compatibility		\| compatibility
-	\| [[Image:~~1star~~.png]] MS Word developers make almost no effort to facilitate exchange with foreign programmes. You may not experience that, because Word is so widespread. But even between ~~operating system~~ flavours of Word there are compatibility problems. ~~Windows~~ .~~docs usually show some conversion errors when opened with Mac Word~~.	+	\| [[Image:2stars.png]] MS Word developers make almost no effort to facilitate exchange with foreign programmes. You may not experience that, because Word is so widespread. But even between flavours of Word there are compatibility problems, e.g. WinWord vs. MacWord or latest version to older version.
-	\| [[Image:~~3stars~~.png]] This is not the case with LaTeX. The main output format is PDF, which is the same over all OSs. LaTeX editors exist for all types of systems and are highly compatible. You will also see that many programmes allow import and export. BibDesk can read Endnote, for example, but not the other way round.	+	\| [[Image:2stars.png]] This is not the case with LaTeX. The main output format is PDF, which is the same over all OSs. LaTeX editors exist for all types of systems and are highly compatible. You will also see that many programmes allow import and export. BibDesk can read Endnote, for example, but not the other way round. Still, the PDF is not editable and your collaborator might not know LaTeX.
	\|}		\|}

Jakob Suckale: /* Conclusions */

2007-08-01T12:21:51Z

Conclusions

←Older revision		Revision as of 12:21, 1 August 2007
Line 46:		Line 46:
	Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.		Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

-	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work.	+	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work. Here, it's advisable to use a template and adapt it.

	== Links ==		== Links ==

Jakob Suckale: links

2007-08-01T12:10:56Z

links

←Older revision		Revision as of 12:10, 1 August 2007
Line 46:		Line 46:
	Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.		Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

-	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a ~~similiar~~ amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work.	+	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work.

	== Links ==		== Links ==
		+
		+	OWW: [[LaTeX]], [[User:Austin J. Che/Extensions/LatexDoc\|LaTeX OWW wiki extension]]
		+
		+	Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Word Word], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX LaTeX], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_word_processors Comparison of word processors]
		+
		+	other comparisons:
		+	* [http://nitens.org/taraborelli/latex layout differences]
		+	* [http://www.osnews.com/story.php/10766/LaTeX-isnt-for-everyone-but-it-could-be-for-you/page1/ 4 page review by Andy Roberts]
		+	* [http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~smcpeak/latex/whatislatex.html intro to LaTeX by Scott McPeak from UCB]
		+	* [http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/textprocessing/latex_advocacy.html comparison of LaTeX text processing, Uni Cambridge]

Jakob Suckale: conclusions

2007-08-01T11:56:58Z

conclusions

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:56, 1 August 2007
Line 34:		Line 34:
	\| price + availability		\| price + availability
	\| [[Image:1star.png]] This is obvious. You have to pay for Word and Referencing software. Your lab may do this for you, but how do you know the next one will and you won't end up with an Endnote database and the next place only uses Reference Manager forcing you to convert or pay up yourself.		\| [[Image:1star.png]] This is obvious. You have to pay for Word and Referencing software. Your lab may do this for you, but how do you know the next one will and you won't end up with an Endnote database and the next place only uses Reference Manager forcing you to convert or pay up yourself.
-	\| [[Image:3stars.png]] LaTeX is free of charge. So are most text editors, like [~~TeXShop~~ http://www.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/], and citation managers, like [http://bibdesk.sourceforge.net/ BiBDesk]. Therefore, you can rest assured that you will have access to the software and won't experience lock-in typical for commercial software.	+	\| [[Image:3stars.png]] LaTeX is free of charge. So are most text editors, like [http://www.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/ TeXShop], and citation managers, like [http://bibdesk.sourceforge.net/ BiBDesk]. Therefore, you can rest assured that you will have access to the software and won't experience lock-in typical for commercial software.
	\|-		\|-
	\| compatibility		\| compatibility
Line 46:		Line 46:
	Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.		Bottom line: If you need to write a short letter, a cover page, or a report to the administration, who things LaTeX is something kinky, you are best of writing in Word. For simple documents, you don't need fancy layout. So, you can save time by writing with a WYSIWYG editor like Word.

-	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the	+	If you are writing a master/PhD thesis, an article, or a review, you are better of with LaTeX. If you have never used it before, you will have to invest some time before you can get cracking on the actual task. But with Word the you will probably need a similiar amount of time at the end to get the formatting right, move figures, and iron out layout glitches. So, LaTeX on big documents will be slower at the start and faster at the end, probably overtaking Word during the last rounds since the automatic figure positioning routines, automated numbering, indexing, TOC generation will save you plenty of work.

	== Links ==		== Links ==