7 Open-source Document Creation Tools III
Isaac Mulolani
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, the reader will be able to:
- Identify other open-source latex-based tools useful for creating OER
- Describe the process of creating OER independent of the technology tool
- Explain the process of making use of online Latex editors to create documents
- Describe the more hybrid development tools available for creation of OER
Additional TeX-based Open-source tools
In this section, there will be an examination of some additional TeX-based tools that relate to the creation of open resources. These are in addition to those presented in the previous chapters. Hopefully, these will be a useful addition to the tools already described. The tools to be described are listed below:
It is useful to note that two of these tools do not require any installation since they are online tools: Overleaf and Papeeria. The focus of both of these is collaborative editing of resources online. The advantage of these online tools is that one avoids the need to install the required LaTeX distribution (MiKTeX, TeXLive or MacTeX). In addition, these online tools come with cloud storage for all project files. Another feature of the online editors is the ability to access many different document templates as starting points for documents. This greatly simplifies the use of different classes to something similar to word processing templates.
TeX-based Tools requiring Installation
In a previous chapter, the basic requirements of a TeX-based system have been discussed. For the most popular TeX distributions (MiKTeX, TeXLive, MacTeX), the basic requirement is the installation of the distribution and then an editor on top of that. Editors allow automation of many packages and functions. Unlike, word processors, these TeX-based tools are not WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). Instead, LaTeX provides packages and commands to control the structure and layout of a document. Just about every LaTeX editor available provides a way for the user to preview a processed document – usually an iterative process in the workflow.
In this section, two specific TeX-based tools will be examined that are almost a bridge between traditional LaTeX typesetting and WYSIWYG. The first tool is LyX and the second is TeXmacs. Both tools are open-source options freely downloadable from their respective websites. Both programs run on all Linux/Unix systems, Windows, and Mac OS.
LyX Document Processor
The LyX document processor is released under a GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. LyX is a document processor that facilitates a writing approach that combines structure considerations with the appearance. It is more of a What You See Is What You Mean (WYSIWYM) approach. Combined in this tool is TeX/LaTeX’s power and flexibility with the ease of a graphical user interface. The process supports the creation of mathematical content through its integrated equation editor along with other types of