On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 3:40 AM, stephen's mailinglist account < [email protected]> wrote:
> > > > If you're already 250 pages into it then yes, you want to look for > > conversions. At worst you could install OpenOffice, convert the Word > > document, then convert to Lyx (I think you may have to convert to LaTeX, > > then from there to LyX). Between the fundamental differences between > Word > > and LaTeX, and the fact that you've been WYSIWYGing you are guaranteed to > > end up with a messed-up document, which you will have to fix. > > > > But those last 50 pages will still be easier to end up with in LyX if you > > convert now. > > > > I have found conversions painful, they come into LyX OK but do not > necessarily compile well. There are often problem characters - smart > quotes etc > > > My usual route (I have to do it quite often, unfortunately) is the following: 1. Save from word to rtf 2. Convert rtf to Latex with rtf2latex 3. Open the latex file in a text editor and clean it up. I usually have to fix single and double quotes, countless \tab commands at the beginning of paragraphs, and other miscellaneous attempts by rtf2latex to replicate word formatting in latex. 4. Convert biblio to bibtex, if necessary, with endnote --> save to bibtex format --> jabref 5. Import file into lyx, set formatting options (class, etc). 6. Reinsert all bib references manually from converted bibtex database. It is a rather long and tedious process, unfortunately. If you will really need the to convert your file to Lyx/Latex eventually, I would start as soon as possible. The more you wait, the longer and more tedious the process will become. Given that you already have 150 or so pages in Word, it may not be worth it. Is the document going to a publisher? In that case, for instance, you may be better off with Word. On the other hand, if you are sure it will have to be Latex at the end, by all means start right away. And plan for a few days of boring work. Cheers, Stefano > > -- > Stephen > -- __________________________________________________ Stefano Franchi Department of Philosophy Ph: (1) 979 862-2211 Texas A&M University Fax: (1) 979 845-0458 College Station, Texas, USA
