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Is there really a WYSIWYG word processor supporting search and replace for formatting?
I'd be surprised if word doesn't have it. I'd also be surprised if word's implementation was anywhere near as powerful as a full-on search replace on latex using regexps.
One of the best article titles I've ever seen on HN! I actually L'd OL. I think the author's thesis could be summed up as 'I like WYSIWYG more than markup', which is purely a matter of preference. I also know there are several tools which let you do this (to varying degrees of success) with LaTeX as an output. My own preference is having a complete understanding of why everything is where it is in a layout. In my exp…
For people who wish to drive computers as opposed to building them, this seems an unreasonable hurdle and makes paid-for alternatives a rational choice. FWIW I agree.
Different gutters on left and right pages, chapters always starting on a right hand page, consistent and great justification, fine control over how chapter headings appear (and quick to update) etc. etc.
On a side note, is anyone aware of a good way to convert LaTeX (or the produced pdf) into an ePub?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably word processors don't have an analgoue to LaTeX macros, but surely they do have search and replace, don't they?
But in WYSIWYG editors, you can only search for raw text correct? For instance, if I want to search for all bold text, its trivial to do so using a markup language, but I don't think there is really a way to do that with conventional word processors.
Note: The article is from 2016.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But in WYSIWYG editors, you can only search for raw text correct? For instance, if I want to search for all bold text, its trivial to do so using a markup language, but I don't think there is really a way to do that with conventional word processors.
You use the style system built into the word processor. Then when you change the style, it changes all other instances of it. You can also trivially add new styles as you need. In Microsoft Word for Windows it's the "Styles" bar, and on MacOS it's the "Styles Pane".
It would be interesting to see a word processor that enforced style usage...
First, LaTeX was intended for physical publication, so there's no native notion of text reflow or "responsiveness". Worse, everyone distributes their documents as PDFs, which are a PITA to read on a smaller device or ereader. At best, an author could utilize something like pandoc to distribute an HTML version, but alas, publishers never give a damn.
Second, I have been spoiled into expecting that I can modify the way a document looks to my liking, not yours. I can't invert the colors at night. I can't change the font size, line height, or margins--and my God do people use some huge margins with LaTeX.
Then comes the math syntax... Yes it's very powerful, but its a noisy mess to read and write. I really wish we had a simpler syntax akin to ASCIIMath[0].
LaTeX: (\left(\frac{1}{2}\right))
ASCIIMath: (1/2)
I agree with the overall sentiment, but I don't think that any WYSIWYG alternative exists yet that: - Interacts well with version control: it is trivial to maintain a LaTeX document in a git repo, and the diffs are readable (especially with --color-words) - Makes it possible to programmatically generate formatted text, tables, graphs, possibly from external data sources, either with the internal macro language or thr…