Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with editor

Looking for a lightweight Latex editor

alligatorman — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:19:27 -0800

I'm looking for a lightweight text editor that can easily be configured to work with LaTeX. I don't want an editor that is loaded with features.

I'm essentially looking for a syntax-highlighting Wordpad that would allow me to build and view a LaTeX file by pressing F9 (or something similar).

Does something similar to this exist? Thanks!

Suggest a basic html editor for XP, please!

Cantdosleepy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:14:47 -0800

Anyone know a good basic html editor for Windows XP that will install on a computer for which you don't have admin privileges? I just want something like JuJuedit (http://www.jujusoft.com/software/edit/), a Notepad substitute that has syntax highlighting etc.

I want to use it on a work PC for which I don't have admin privileges. I've installed Filezilla in My Documents and that runs perfectly well, but JuJu's installer says I need admin rights to install.

WYSIWY.... - wait, you want what?

jmnugent — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:48:23 -0800

My employer is searching for an end-user friendly, drag-n-drop, WYSIWYG webpage editor that is neither a CMS or a web hosting panel. Does something like this exist? I think my employer is asking for the impossible, but I'm trying anyways. Can anyone suggest solutions to solve the following requirements:

1.) A very simple/basic drag-n-drop WYSIWYG web page editor for small "mom/pop businesses" that might only need less than 5 static web pages (doesnt need to handle dynamic / complex content)

2.) Is an online (server side) editor (NOT an application the user has to download or configure). We need it to be drop dead stupid simple to use.

3.) Wont require much (if any) support on our backend. (in a perfect world, the ideal solution would be some kind of a PHP script we can automate the installation when a customer calls up to have the service activated.) (for the record, our backend is mostly FreeBSD and Apache with a minor amount of Windows IIS)

4.) Not a CMS or Hosting Control Panel (cPanel/Plesk). Those things are overkill for our needs. We are primarily an ISP, not a hosting company. (unless you can make a good argument for a hosting control panel)

The closest thing I've found (from searching past AskMe's) is Flyspeck , unfortunately their website appears to be "down" at the moment. Its a clean simple PHP script that is only $200-ish for unlimited license. Problem is its functionality is almost to basic. (its not "drag-n-drop" enough)

Other than that. I'm kinda coming up short. It seems like the industry has really moved away from simple editors and towards CMS/Hosting Panels. I'd love to recommend to my company to tweak our backend to support installs of Wordpress/Drupal, but they seem reluctant to consider that as a viable option. ("Our target customer for this project isnt savvy enough to handle a CMS" - and - "we dont want to burden our web dev or support team to have to support CMS questions that might come up.")

Its frustrating me because its kinda like that old joke. "For technical solutions , your options are: "Fast", "Cheap" or "easy" but you can only pick 2. (and my company wants all 3)

What is the next step in my job search?

shesbookish — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:05:16 -0800

What is the next step in my search for a job as an editor/ copy writer? I’ve been searching Craig’s List, Monster, etc. and I’ve submitted applications through some network contacts. I’ve yet to hear back from anyone and I’m wondering what to do next. So, here’s my history: I graduated from a state school with my degree in education, though my specialization is language arts. I took not only literature classes, but courses in communication, research, journalism, etc. I taught for one year and then decided that teaching wasn’t for me. I worked as a barista and then helped a family friend with his small business. After that I moved to Orange County and worked as a retail clerk here just to have a reason to get out of the apartment. Now my husband and I are getting serious about buying a house and it would be helpful if I could bring in a more substantial income.

I feel like I would be qualified to take an entry level position as a copywriter or editor, but I’m not seeing many of these kinds of jobs advertised. Is my next step to simply send out resumes to HR departments and hope for the best? Is there something I can do to improve my resume while I’m waiting? Is there some other entry-level corporate type job that I should try for?

I like the answer to the question here, but I would love answers more specific to this career field or area.

Recommendations for lightweight HTML editor for Mac?

sjuhawk31 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:49:32 -0800

Recommendations for lightweight HTML editor for Mac? I currently have Dreamweaver installed on my Macbook because my company's website used to be managed through that and Contribute. Now we have a fancy CMS whose WYSIWYG text blocks don't handle copy and paste all that well. My workaround is to paste the text into Dreamweaver's "design" window, which does handle copy and paste well, and copy the HTML from the "code window."

Thing is...Dreamweaver is a memory hog, both in RAM and hard drive space. Would love to drop it for a simple editor that has just the functions I'm using. Has anyone used something that fits the bill and they'd recommend?

Freeware is preferred.

Help a small town video editor make the move to a larger market?

bstreep — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:57:42 -0800

Small town video editor wanting to make the move to a larger market. Any suggestions on cities? Some more info...

I've been the editor/motion graphics guy for a small production company in southern Oregon for the past 5 years. Spots, industrial/corporate, promotional pieces, video podcasts, etc. A couple years ago I was also the assistant editor on a small indie feature.

I'd like to work on more features/shorts. So, other than Los Angeles (which isn't out of the question) where else are movies being cut?

Portland, Seattle, Boise, SLC, Austin and Nashville are some of the cities I've thought of.

Also, should I be prepared to become an apprentice? Is that even a paying position? How does the Union hierarchy come into play?

Sorry about the length of this post. Just not sure what to expect when I venture off into the real world.

Thanks.

Dreamhacker

ReiToei — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:30:51 -0800

I would like to write my own HTML/CSS editor. What would be the best way to go about it? (more inside) I've been a professional web developer for the last 8 years or so. I've used Dreamweaver all the way back since the very first beta came out way back when. Without a doubt, it's the best tool for the job (for me).

Saying that, I only ever use Dreamweaver to write code. I don't use any of the visual tools, or any of the built in javascript or back end helper code. I'd say I maybe use 15% of all it's features. It got quite bloated over the years, but it's that 15% that's keeping me from ditching in altogether and going with something like Komodo edit or one of the other open source tools like Bluefish or Aptana.

These features are:

1. The awesome tab completion and code hinting for HTML/CSS
2. Code coloring
3. Color pickers when defining colors on the fly
4. File picker when defining background image files on the fly
5. Code formatting/indentation

My question is, how hard would it be to write my own standalone editor that could do these things, or could I extend another existing software package (like Eclipse) to do it? I would like to make something that would be cross-platform and free.

Apologies for the long-winded post. I throw myself at your feet, hive mind!

Looking for non-WYSIWYG web-based file editor app

scottandrew — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:47:13 -0800

Old-school, non-WYSIWYG web-based file editor apps. Do they still exist? My friend used to pay her webmaster to make updates to her site. Now she wants to make the updates herself. She knows very basic HTML, and doesn't really grasp FTP. She's used to logging into a website and editing in a textarea, not things like Dreamweaver/HomeSite/Nvu etc.

I'm looking for a dead simple editor, preferably written in PHP or Perl, that we can install on her host account that will let her edit pages. As I recall, these web editors were popular pre-2000, usually a CGI that came as part of a hosting package.

Wordpress, Drupal, et al are not an option since she has no one to assist her with migration. Her existing site is all flat files, about ten pages total. She simply wants to edit these files as needed.

I spent quite a bit of time on Freshmeat and Google, but haven't found anything. Suggestions from the hive mind?

opensource html editor

yonation — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:58:59 -0800

what's a good open-source alternative to something like homesite? i'm interested in something that'll make my coding easier - i don't need dreamweaver or frontpage WYSIWYG type stuff, just something that can automatically insert text, highlight syntax, etc. i realize that something like notepad++ does much of the syntax/text functions i need, but i want something that helps me with code snippets for CSS, and might automagically tag text with toolbar buttons, etc. Thanks!

Help a film editor find work in the UK or USA

mooza — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:12:02 -0800

I want to find work as a film editor in the UK. Would it be better to find a permanent job, or freelance? Would I need an agent? If so, do you have any recommendations? I'm Australian, I've been editing for a few years, and I've cut a few tv dramas and series. Ultimately I want to cut dramas in the UK, in TV, and if I'm lucky, in features. How is it done over there? Would I knock on the door of the BBC, or go to independent production companies, or go to the post production houses?

I'm grateful for any advice on where to start. Any specific places I should go to would be great as well.

IN FACT! If you have any advice on how to do all of the above in the USA as well, that would be a godsend. I thought I would have way less visa trouble with England and would start there but ultimately want to end up in the states. Are there any Aussie expats working the USA in this area of the industry who can share their stories on how they made it, that doesn't involve marrying as American?

Entry Level Editing

EatTheWeak — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:33:08 -0800

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with an editor at the local newspaper to get some information on what they look for in employees. I was hoping the web's finest Hive Mind would have some thoughts on how to squeeze the maximum benefit out of tomorrow's encounter. Earlier this week, tired of not quite knowing how to proceed with my career, I decided to call up a bunch of the local businesses that I'm keen to work for to find out what they're after in employees. This included the local daily newspaper, where I left a message with the editor in charge of the layout and copy-editing departments. Of all the potential jobs at a newspaper, it is these two areas that interest me most.

Today, the editor was nice enough to call me back. I told her the purpose of my call, and to my great surprise and delight, she invited me to come meet with her in person tomorrow.

This isn't quite a job interview, of course, just a chance to get some good information from a professional. That said, my aim is to find living wage employment in a field that interests me. So, here's what I'm wondering - what can I do during this meeting tomorrow to make an impression on this editor, and perhaps even squeeze out a job offer? Aside from the usual interview etiquette and a clean appearance, what would catch the eye of the average editor? At the very least, I would like her to have a fond memory of our meeting, so she'll remember my name when she sees it on a resume in a few months.

The meager experience and education I hope to trade upon tomorrow is as follows -

One year with a small town weekly paper, reporting on matters banal as notable local flower gardens and grave as the shooting death of a Sheriff's Deputy. I was also responsible for the weekly police reports and taking photographs. The bad news is that my clippings from this time have gotten lost in the course of a couple cross-country moves.

High marks in my college journalism course, and a great deal of responsibility for the student paper. I wrote news articles, editorials, supplied the cartoons and served as copy-editor. You could have called that paper the EatTheWeekly.

Training and experience as an English tutor, with all the burrowing through The Elements of Style that comes with it.

Thank you so much for any thoughts you might have to offer.

Vim7 won't run in my terminal...

SpecialK — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:06:59 -0800

I want vim 7 ... but in a shell ... on my Mac! How? I'd like to use some of the improvements in vim 7 that turn it from my favorite programming editor into something akin to a full-fledged IDE.

I've got xCode, but vim 7 seems to only come in gVim windowed app flavor. How can I get it to run from the command line in a terminal window?

Best Standalone Javascript WYSIWYG HTML Layout Editor?

judge.mentok.the.mindtaker — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:16:37 -0800

In legacy code land, noone can hear you scream. I'm a web developer and I need a standalone, drop in wysiwyg html editor, preferably something all in JS (like Dojo's Rich Text Editor, but for actual layout with tables etc.) The background is: I need to provide a client with a reasonably featured wysiwyg HTML editor.
I want something LIKE the wysiwyg editor for pages/posts in WordPress BUT the solution needs to be standalone.
We have an existing home-brew system content system, and we're only giving control of the index over to the client, so this shouldn't do anything other than edit a single doc / record etc. How we get the data to and from is irrelevant, I'll hook up the editor whatever what is necessary.

Basically, what is the best (preferably FREE) drop in javascript HTML editor. Something that we can just post the result as a form (again like the way Dojo hijacks a TEXTAREA).

As you can imagine, I looked into Dojo, but only found TEXT editors. If someone knows of a Dojo Rich Layout Editor, that would sure work too!

TIA all.

What's the word on ditching Word?

grumblebee — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 08:47:29 -0800

Help me ditch Word, yet still deliver a document that uses Word templates. When I switched from PC to Mac, I decided not to buy MS Office. I don't miss it, I don't want it, and I've fallen in love with simple text editors like Writeroom and Textmate. But my publisher wants me to use a specific Word template (which he provides).

I'm hoping there's a way I can write in a plain text editor and mark text that ultimately needs to be set to a specific style in the template. E.g. [1]Chapter One[/1] might mean that this text should be changed to Heading 1 style.

Then, later on -- in some other app -- I'd search for [1] ... [/1] and apply the style.

What's that other app? I know I could do it IN Word, but then I have to buy and install Word, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Is there an alternative? Some freeware, shareware or open-source app (Open Office?) that can use a Word templates (and can spit out a Word doc using that template)?

Extra points if it also can interpret Word's track-changes feature, so that my publisher and I can still use it.

Is there a good text-editor-to-doc workflow or do I need to breakdown and buy Word?

Stand-alone editor for bookmarks files?

jfuller — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 07:55:06 -0800

Is there such thing as a stand-alone editor for browser bookmarks files? Mine are large and unwieldy with many sub- and sub-sub-folders, they're on several different machines, and it's becoming painful keeping them synced up. First off, I don't want to keep my bookmarks unified out on some site like icio.us where any drooling h4X0r can find out about all the rubber-duckie-with-fish-sauce fetish sites I visit.

I've tried keeping my mozilla profile on a USB flash drive and carrying it around with me, but USB drives aren't fast enough. The bookmarks file is now so big that doing this introduces lots of annoying delays in browser response while the USB drive light goes blink-blink-blink.

What I'm looking for is a multi-file editor that handles a bookmarks.html file the same way...oh, let's say mozilla's... built-in editor does, displaying the file in its presentation state rather than as raw html (allowing subfolders to appear expanded or collapsed, for instance) while still allowing edits to be made. The problem with using a browser's internal editor is that it will only load one bookmarks file at a time, so you can't just cut and paste between different copies. There are plenty of E-Z website editors out there, from dreamweaver to seamonkey, that will edit multiple files at once and do allow edits to be made in the rendered-page wysiwyg window, but they don't render the way browsers' internal editors do.

So, has anybody ever encountered an editor that understands DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1, loads multiple files at once, and displays them in a wysiwyg-but-editable window in the same form mozilla's Manage Bookmarks page does, or even moderately close? Or is there a better answer I'm too dim to see?

Searching for the copy editing bible

dead_ — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 06:46:11 -0800

What are the best books I can buy to learn how to become a proficient newspaper copy editor?

What easy to use (and free) text editor and ftp clients exist for the Mac?

handee — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:32:21 -0800

Can anyone recommend some easy HTML editing and uploading tools for a mac? (ftp, text editor) I'm going to be teaching a friend basic HTML - he's in a different city though, so this will be remote. He's also a mac user (I'm linux). I'm therefore not sure what software to recommend - a graphical FTP client and a text editor which does syntax highlighting are the basics. Free is good - I know of BBedit, but that (I think) costs money. What should he get?

Plaintext and Excel

imposster — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:23:00 -0800

MS Excel: I need to place quotation marks around the numbers in a column. Is there a better way to do this than I am currently trying or is there a plaintext spreadsheet editor that would be a better solution? Right now, I end up inserting two columns filled with quotation marks around the column of numbers - saving as a csv - opening in Notepad (where the single marks appear as four marks) - edit and replace the spaces between the columns and replace the 4 quotation marks with one on either side of the number. This is then copied and pasted back into Excel where most of the time the quotation marks do not appear (even when the cells are formatted as text). Is there such a thing as a plaintext spreadsheet editor that would work better for this?

Example:
I need to turn this -
1001
1002
1003
Into this -
"1001"
"1002"
"1003"

Decent Letters-to-the-Editor pages?

UbuRoivas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:12:04 -0800

Any recommendations for decent Letters-to-the-Editor pages? Before MetaFilter was invented, the best way I knew of to get my daily fix of what the more intelligent or humourous members of the general public thought about stuff was by reading the Letters to the Editor page of any quality newspaper.

The Times' letters page is probably the venerable grandfather of all, but for parochial & cost reasons I would normally stick to the Herald, if anybody needs any guidance to the kind of thing I am looking for.

My question is this: can anybody point me towards similar sites from American newspapers? Last time I checked the only two I know of that are worth reading (NYT & WaPo), the letters pages seemed very meagre indeed, and quite undemocratic: it seemed that you already had to be a senator, ambassador, hospital director etc to be chosen as worthy for publication.

If anybody knows of any particularly insightful, witty & well-edited letters pages from elsewhere in the world, I would also like to hear your recommendations.

How do I learn editing and layout?

ITheCosmos — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 12:49:58 -0800

I'm in college. I'd like to be trained to do editing and layout for a living. How do I proceed? Do you know anything about Simon Fraser's Editing program? I've always been interested in art, but at the end of high school I opted to go to a 'real' university, rather than an art school. Now I'm in my third year of a BA in Philosophy. I love philosophy, but I don't want to be a professional academic.

While at school, I've been working on a school magazine, and have discovered I really like editing and layout/graphic design.

I'm going to finish my BA, but I've been thinking about subsequently going to school to learn editing and layout. Preferably both, if that's possible. Very preferably in Canada, since that's where I am and I'd like to stay here, but suggestions in America are also welcome.

1. Should I be going to school for this at all, or just looking for internships/entry level jobs?
2. What kind of program should I be looking for?
3. Are there any schools that I should especially avoid or especially try to get into?

Problem with editor

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:29:54 -0800

Unprofessional behavior and bad PR in the book world... am I better off taking my book back from this publisher or sucking up their bad behavior and just being done with it? I've written several books in a particular nonfiction genre and have a good reputation overall. The books have sold well, gotten great reviews, and even won some awards. I have worked with more than one publisher. The publisher in question here has played some serious musical chairs, editor-wise since we signed the contract -- I've had more than one and less than 5 since last summer!

The book has been running late because current editor refused to do her job and actually edit. I practically had to BEG her to edit/give feedback, and have a long and sordid trail of emails to prove it. After she finally edited the manuscript, we agreed that my revisions and new illustrations, etc would be to her by a certain date. I told them I would not provide new illustrations until they signed off on the list, because I didn't want to redo things 5 more times and delay things further.

Of course, she didn't stick to her side of the agreement. Of note -- when at a related trade conference, I heard some pretty nasty things from one of the publisher's national sales accounts which sound as if editor has been lying about me to cover her own you-know-what.

Another author (with different editor) bought her book back from the publisher recently after encountering similar difficulties.

My question boils down to this: will my reputation suffer more if I let them publish the book and then ignore it, PR- and promotion-wise, or if I buy the book back and take it elsewhere / self-publish it? I've really bent over backwards until now, trying to be professional and accommodating, but I've reached my breaking point.

Also of note: the publications that would be reviewing this book are stacked full of personal friends of mine... so I don't have to worry about explaining the publisher change if it happens.

How can I become a freelance editor?

lgyre — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:23:07 -0800

How can I become a freelance editor (or proofreader)? I have a good eye for grammar and whether writing makes sense, and I have an unrelated bachelor's degree from a respectable school. On the other hand, I have no significant experience. I'm hoping to work from home on a freelance basis. Is this crazy? How would I get started?

XML Editor for translations

strawberryviagra — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 18:38:48 -0800

Looking for a free/cheap/convenient (in that order - will pay if it makes life simple) XML editor. [mi] I need to have text within some XML documents translated into Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages.

I'd like to 'mark up/colourise' the text in a way that makes it easier for the translators to identify and translate inline.

I want to minimise double handling/parsing of XML into other formats as much as possible.

*The text is unfortunately part of the XML elements - so using the MS Word reader doesn't show the text separately to the tags.

TextPad for Linux?

cowmix — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:10:47 -0800

What editor for Linux can edit LARGE files (like TextPad)? I am in a situation where I don't have access to a Windows box and and I want to be able to edit any size file, like TextPad. Does any editor under Linux have this support? I would like a native editor and not have to use Wine.

Colorizing Text Editor for DOS?

iconjack — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:37:27 -0800

Does anyone know of a text editor for DOS that does syntax coloring? Yes, DOS. I know this is the 21st century and all, but I have a special need. Thanks.