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Posted by Amontillado
Dec 3, 2017 at 03:29 PM
The problem with add-ons is they can break with Word updates. I used Pages for correspondence. Then came an update that broke the mail merge script I was using.
I don’t remember why I got Nisus over Mellel. I remember liking Nisus for simplicity of use and good style sheet support.
Scrivener is great, but I could also be happy writing long form in Nisus.
Posted by Graham Rhind
Dec 3, 2017 at 03:55 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
Graham Rhind wrote:
>May I ask why this document needs to end up as an MS Word file? Is it
>your choice or an external requirement?
You may.
It doesn’t actually end up as a Word file. It ends up as a pdf. There are a lot of reasons why this version of this book is managed in Word. The first is history - I write all my books in Word and did so with this one. The first version was around 500 pages and Word managed it fine (and, as that version was published as a physical book, the publisher required it in Word. One of the reasons I continue to use Word is that it does not crash when editing large documents, in my experience. I’ve tried lots of free or cheap word processors that claim to be Word clones but which prove themselves not to be when I try to edit any large document). However, the book is updated regularly and it has expanded to the current 1000+ chapters and 3000+ pages, which Word can manage but which it manages only slowly. I can overcome this easily using Writing Outliner - it’s only the annual step of merging all the files and producing the pdf that can prove troublesome.
Because the resource is now so large moving it to a new platform would be a very, very time-consuming requirement - it took over two years to make a copy in ConnectedText, so it’s not a step I would make lightly. I’m sure that various DTP products might handle the files better, but as I make no money from this free resource I’m not willing to spend too much on it (and Adobe software isn’t cheap). I do look at other ways of managing the chapters, such as with Whizfolders, Scrivener and so on, but RTF-based software doesn’t have the layout options Word has - the document is image- and table-heavy - so those would generally slow me down.
Finally, as mentioned, I have a copy in ConnectedText. The CT version is for publication on a website. The pdf version is for users who prefer a local version. I’m just too nice to my user base, frankly ...
Posted by tightbeam
Dec 3, 2017 at 04:17 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
>I have found it unsuitable for dealing with 300+ page documents (with
>multiple chapters, EndNote references, multiple images and tables,
>headings, TOC etc.), so I can’t image trying to use it for 3000+ page
>docs.
Word handles large documents, including ones with all the complexities you list, just fine.
>It would suggest to me that you might need a more professional
>typesetting (desktop publishing) software, if that’s the need. I’ve
>never used one, but I presume that’s what the likes of Adobe InCopy and
>InDesign do.
After editing in Word, I import documents into Adobe Indesign for layout, typography, etc. - but I don’t think anyone would seriously recommend InDesign for *writing* a book.
Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 3, 2017 at 05:40 PM
bobmclain wrote:
>Word handles large documents, including ones with all the complexities
>you list, just fine.
Well, it depends what you mean by “handling.” It didn’t meet my definition. Partly it was the EndNote add-on that slowed things down, but even the time it takes to save a large file, crashes etc. just made it unusuable for my use case.
>After editing in Word, I import documents into Adobe Indesign for
>layout, typography, etc. - but I don’t think anyone would seriously
>recommend InDesign for *writing* a book.
I wasn’t suggesting that either. What I’m saying is that Word is several tools rolled into one for different stages of the outlining, writing, editing, formatting, and typesetting processes, and it does not equally excel at all those functions.
There can be benefits to disaggregating those roles and using more specialist software for each of those stages.
Posted by xtabber
Dec 4, 2017 at 12:18 AM
Graham Rhind wrote:
>However, the book is updated regularly and it has expanded to
>the current 1000+ chapters and 3000+ pages, which Word can manage but
>which it manages only slowly.
What version of Word are you using? Office comes in 32 bit and 64 bit versions for the Windows environment. The 32 bit version is what is installed by default and recommended by MS for most users for compatibility reasons, but the 64 bit version (at least in Office 2016) is far better for handling large documents.