3 ms·

A bit off topic but what’s an easy to use FOSS WYSIWYG text processor for Linux? I’ve tried OpenOffice and I became frustrated.

by Condition1952 3y ago

ye-olde-sysrq 3y ago
OpenOffice is a zombie living on the old name alone. LibreOffice is the "new" (it's like over a decade old i think) current one and e.g. ships preinstalled on big ubuntu images, for instance.
whalesalad 3y ago
Libreoffice.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
It depends on what features you need. Libre Office is a suite with database, word processor, spreadsheet, Abiword is just a word processor, WordGrinder is terminal based program specifically for first drafts that can export to ODT, HTML, etc., O20.Word is a clone of MS Word 2019, there are more: Calligrawords, Focuswriter, etc. Abiword is probably the best compromise between simplicity, familiarity, and features. It's also very lightweight. You should also consider Emacs Org-mode.
- hollerith 3y ago
  >>WYSIWYG text processor >Emacs Org-mode How is org mode WYSIWYG?
  - pests 3y ago
    I think it fits. But also so do programs like notepad. You literally get what you see. Type some text. There ya go. Its some text.
    - Condition1952 3y ago
      He he he. I meant “you compose, you set margins, you print”. WYSIWYP
  - kwhitefoot 3y ago
    You are quite right, it was just a sudden thought before I hit the submit button that such a tool can actually be just as useful as a WYSIWYG word processor. Does anyone remember Wordstar? It was not WYSIWYG but it was perfectly usable. I wrote hundreds of pages of documentation using it on a Z80 extension to an Apple ][. In my opinion such a word processor is in fact more productive than WYSIWYG. Moving to MS Word was a step backwards.
bee_rider 3y ago
You can try LibreOffice like all the other comments said, but WYSIWYG is just inherently frustrating and imprecise I think.
beanaroo 3y ago
Additionally, there is https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/DesktopEditors https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/DesktopEditors I personally find it a bit easier to use with better docx support.
cpach 3y ago
KDE has Calligra: https://calligra.org https://calligra.org TeXmacs is another option: https://www.texmacs.org https://www.texmacs.org (NB, despite the name it doesn’t use code from neither Emacs nor TeX)

A bit off topic but what’s an easy to use FOSS WYSIWYG text processor for Linux? I’ve tried OpenOffice and I became frustrated.

ye-olde-sysrq 3y ago

OpenOffice is a zombie living on the old name alone. LibreOffice is the "new" (it's like over a decade old i think) current one and e.g. ships preinstalled on big ubuntu images, for instance.

whalesalad 3y ago

Libreoffice.

kwhitefoot 3y ago

It depends on what features you need. Libre Office is a suite with database, word processor, spreadsheet, Abiword is just a word processor, WordGrinder is terminal based program specifically for first drafts that can export to ODT, HTML, etc., O20.Word is a clone of MS Word 2019, there are more: Calligrawords, Focuswriter, etc. Abiword is probably the best compromise between simplicity, familiarity, and features. It's also very lightweight. You should also consider Emacs Org-mode.

hollerith 3y ago
>>WYSIWYG text processor >Emacs Org-mode How is org mode WYSIWYG?
- pests 3y ago
  I think it fits. But also so do programs like notepad. You literally get what you see. Type some text. There ya go. Its some text.
  - Condition1952 3y ago
    He he he. I meant “you compose, you set margins, you print”. WYSIWYP
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  You are quite right, it was just a sudden thought before I hit the submit button that such a tool can actually be just as useful as a WYSIWYG word processor. Does anyone remember Wordstar? It was not WYSIWYG but it was perfectly usable. I wrote hundreds of pages of documentation using it on a Z80 extension to an Apple ][. In my opinion such a word processor is in fact more productive than WYSIWYG. Moving to MS Word was a step backwards.

bee_rider 3y ago

You can try LibreOffice like all the other comments said, but WYSIWYG is just inherently frustrating and imprecise I think.

beanaroo 3y ago

Additionally, there is https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/DesktopEditors https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/DesktopEditors I personally find it a bit easier to use with better docx support.

cpach 3y ago

KDE has Calligra: https://calligra.org https://calligra.org TeXmacs is another option: https://www.texmacs.org https://www.texmacs.org (NB, despite the name it doesn’t use code from neither Emacs nor TeX)