Re: Newbie questions

[Hans Hagen <pragma@wxs.nl>]

Thomas Moore wrote:
> The Six Ideas texts (first edition) were typeset as AppleWorks  
> drawings, if you can believe it. To go to the third edition, I have  
> to migrate to something more modern -- either InDesign or something  
> TeX-based. Problems with figure and equation references, indexing  
> issues, and inconsistent styles were driving me crazy with  
> AppleWorks, and many of these problems would persist in InDesign. I  
> have also been having difficulty setting up mathematics in a  
> satisfactory way. On the other hand, I am a very visual thinker, and  
> I don't remember commands well, so even ConTexT (which seems a lot  
> simpler than LaTeX) is a big stretch for me. We will see...
>   
it's a stepwise process 

- first set up a basic page style (next time in a big bookshop i'll take a look at the series) and set up a font; that way you get an idea how well things will fit  

- then develop the structure + associated style mapping while writing (or converting) 

ask yourself: 

- do i need to render this differently
- do i get the feeling that i enter too much code

if so, then add structure 

This is how context itself evolved (after all, it was written in an educational context where structure, reuse etc is important). Just don't try to make up the style at the beginning, polishing it every now and then is a nice distraction.  

Also, using metapost for the graphics is fun in itself (and may save you lots of time). 

Hans 

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