I want to go the other direction, where a single space can be converted to double spaces. It's one of those silly (stupid) APA style guide rules. Maybe I'll ask Scrivener to add it as a feature.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How do you choose your word processor?
- Thread starter MacBH928
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I want to go the other direction, where a single space can be converted to double spaces. It's one of those silly (stupid) APA style guide rules. Maybe I'll ask Scrivener to add it as a feature.
How strange. I think it might be better to ask whoever enforces this style to update their guide, but good luck either way.
Well, it's the APA :\ It's the formatting that's used in some academic disciplines. They say it makes it easier to read the papers. Nothing we, the common people, can do about it, sadly.
Are you sure they don't mean double spacing between lines, that definitely makes things easier to read?
I'm using LibreOffice at home and at work. My staff uses a mix of MS Office and G Suite, their choice.
My use of an office suite is fairly simplistic and so I don't need/want to pay for a full suite like MS Office at home. I like MS office as it is The Standard to meet per se. I also like G Suite but I hate how it's dependent on an internet connection and if there are interruptions it messes up my workflow when typing a document. This has happened to me a few times this year and that's when I started using LibreOffice at work and not just at home.
With that said, I am trying to teach myself to use Vim as a document creation program. It has a lot of extensibility which can be used such as markdown language that can help automate formatting and speed up my work. The trick is learning it all and practicing with it before the efficiency of Vim pays dividends in time and effort.
I use Word and pages. Pages for my Resume because I can export to Word and I wanted to get familiar with it. Also without installing any extra IOS apps and using OneDrive I can use Pages to edit my docs also on my IOS devices.
They want double spacing between lines, and after periods/ full stops, according to OWL.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research..._and_style_guide/apa_changes_6th_edition.html
Bizarre, but I suppose we should expect academics to have a few eccentricities. It keeps the world interesting.
Good luck.
Can't Google just have a downloadable GSuite? If it can load in the browser, why can't it load from the HardDrive instead of the web?
Have you thought about using LaTex? I heard that thing format the page to however you want. Not sure if Vim and LaTex is the same thing.
It might be possible with a plugin to have offline use of G Suite, but it doesn't matter all that much to me to investigate it. I'm quite happy with the natively installed LibreOffice.
I've heard of and seen videos of LaTex, and everything I've seen says it's awesome software. I've just always used Vim since it is preinstalled on most Linux distro's. Both are quite similar and do a lot of the same things, so it's just personal preference, I guess. I should give LaTex a try one of these days.
I did find a simple, and easier to use than Vim program yesterday that I'm trying out now. It's called WordGrinder. So far it seems pretty good, but it has limited options and extensibility if someone needs a lot of extras.
I am *SLIGHTLY* familiar with LaTeX. As I understand it, Vim is a writing program, and LaTeX is basically a scripting/ formatting language. You can use Vim/ Notepad/ Textedit/ etc. to create LaTeX documents.
I hope I never, ever, have to write a LaTeX document
Thankfully I don't do a lot of maths.
You guys are a bit off here with respect to vim and LaTeX.
I am *SLIGHTLY* familiar with LaTeX. As I understand it, Vim is a writing program, and LaTeX is basically a scripting/ formatting language. You can use Vim/ Notepad/ Textedit/ etc. to create LaTeX documents.
I hope I never, ever, have to write a LaTeX document
This comment got it right.
Since I've used LaTeX a lot for university as well as having a decent level of knowledge of vim, allow me to elaborate further.
Like with most programming languages, LaTeX needs to be compiled into a document before it has any typesetting. It is as stated by @expat, a typesetting language. For instance, creating the Ω symbol would be \Omega. LaTeX is indeed a very flexible and powerful typesetting language, but it does have a somewhat steep learning curve, and since it is not WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), it's not as direct to work with.
Vim is a text editor. It allows any text editing. Since LaTeX is just a plaintext language that you can then compile into a document, Vim can write LaTeX. Just like Vim can also write Java, C, Swift, bash scripts, websites, notes, whatever. There are programs for LaTeX, but LaTeX its not strictly speaking a program.
Since this topic is about writing programs, I'll once again draw attention to the fact that Pages has support for a lot of LaTeX command.
See attached screenshots:
Attachments
To jump in, I think Excel is the real crown jewel of the Office suite.
If you are comparing LibreOffice and Word there are pluses and minuses and you may prefer one or the other but there isn't a lot of difference.
But for Excel I agree with the above for what it's worth, and if you are a power Excel user you won't be at all happy with Calc. It's ok, but you will see a big difference.
If Vim is just a text editor, whats so special about it not to use any other text editor say like TextEdit? or BBEdit?
Yes, but how many Excel users are Power Excel users?
Nothing special beyond bragging rights among the technorati.
Though be careful with TextEdit, it isn't strictly a plain text editor like VIM or BBEdit. If you need raw plain text, I don't recommend it.Since there is no universally accepted definition of "Excel power user", it isn't worth using that term. Most of the people I've encountered who claimed a "need" for MS Office functionality don't need a specific function/feature that is unique to Excel but only that the "Excel way" is the only thing they're familiar with.
I heavily use MS Office, G Suite, LibreOffice, and Apple iWork. When one of my co-workers laments the fact that they don't have access to MS Office at the time, I can often show them how to accomplish the task with the alternatives... sometimes in an easier way.
Word and Excel are the gold standard for word processing and spreadsheet programs (app). i have used both for 20+ years and nothing comes close, especially with Excel. For sharing documents in the business world, not using Word, you will risk your painstakenly formatted document, to be opened by someone and that document’s formatting being wrong, which makes you look like an amateur without attention to detail.
Well, in a way every program is special in that it's different from other programs. There's a tool for every job, and Vim is regarded as an excellent tool for some people in some situations, but it's definitely not suited to everyone or every situation, but to those whom it's a fit, it's a great fit. That's why the people who love it so will often praise it to the heavens and back.
Vim exists on basically every single modern Unix system. It's a CLI (Command Line Interface) program, so you don't need a GUI to run it. Those two facts alone make it a great fit for SSH'ing into a remote server. Furthermore, it has a comprehensive set of shortcuts and is extremely extensible and customisable. You can quickly spawn multiple cursors, go to a specific line, delete x number of characters/words/lines and so on. It's made for very fast navigation with the keyboard.