[CLUE-Tech] Reliable writing editors?

[Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier]

On Sun, 2 Feb 2003, Jeffery Cann wrote:

> I generally use VIM for most of my work.  However, when I need to write prose
> (often in in text format), I find VIM hard to work with.  I love it for
> coding, but not for writing.

Why? What is it about writing "prose" that makes it unpleasant while
it's a good editor for coding?

> I have tried these programs on Linux:  Kate, Kwrite, Nedit, Mozilla, and Star
> Office.  All have failed me in one way or another, in particular I loose
> valuable thoughts when the program crashes or have such a frustrating time
> with formatting bugs and font displays that it becomes unproductive.

How long ago was it that you tried Star Office? Have you tried
OpenOffice? I've used OpenOffice a little bit to test it out, never had
a crash -- but then I haven't used it for long periods, so it's hard to
say just how reliable it would be long-term.

Sounds like you've tried the majority of Linux editors / word
processors...

Since you mention Mozilla, I'm guessing that you're okay with saving in
HTML? What about Quanta Gold or Bluefish, have you tried either of
those?

If you're in an experimental mood, you could also try jedit... it's a
GUI text editor written in Java. I just downloaded it, installed just
fine on my Mandrake box. It seems to be speedy enough, though I'm
running it on a box with a AMD Athlon 2000+ XP and a gig of RAM, so...
it should be.

> So, I am pleading to my fellow authors / CLUEbies:  Get me a real (GUI)
> editor!  Which editors do you use for writing?  Why?  What problems do you
> have with them?  How is their presentation within the GUI?  How is stability?
Well... I'm afraid my answer won't help much. I hate GUI word processors
for writing. I do virtually all of my writing in Vim unless I'm doing a
review of another editor. I've found that Vim is perfect for writing, so
long as you don't have to save in *gag* Word format... happily, most of
my editors are quite happy to take everything in plain-text format or
HTML...

Good luck,

Zonker
--
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
http://www.dissociatedpress.net/