[aus.mac] Thesis formatting program for word processors??

ccmlh@iceman.jcu.oz (Michael L Hope) (01/12/90)

Hi,

I received the following letter from one of our departments and I was wondering
if someone on the net would be able to help.

       "Increasing numbers of students are now using word processors,
	either on campus or in Colleges to prepare their theses. This is
	commendable, both in terms of quality of presentation and of 
	personal economy.

	Format requirements are laid down for all levels of thesis, from 
	PhD to onours/raduate Diplomas and by Faculties and
	Departments. It would seem logical to develop a program for word
	processors that would offer these different formats as options 
	from which the students could select. This would be a useful aid
	in the preparation of a thesis.

	I would draw attention to the fact that such a program is already
	offered in American and presumably other universities. It would,
	I am sure, be welcomed here both by individual students and the 
	Colleges."

My first reaction was that he was talking about templates made up in each
format required.  Unfortunately the person who sent us the letter is away on
leave, so I can't confirm this.  Would anybody out there know of any program
that fits this description, if so could you let me know.  Any information
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Michael Hope
Programmer
James Cook University
{ccmlh@iceman.jcu.oz}

dougcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Douglas Miller) (01/16/90)

In article <481@iceman.jcu.oz>, ccmlh@iceman.jcu.oz (Michael L Hope) writes:
> Hi,
> 
> I received the following letter from one of our departments and I was wondering
> if someone on the net would be able to help.
> 
>        "Increasing numbers of students are now using word processors,
> 	either on campus or in Colleges to prepare their theses. This is
> 	commendable, both in terms of quality of presentation and of 
> 	personal economy.
> 
> 	Format requirements are laid down for all levels of thesis, from 
> 	PhD to onours/raduate Diplomas and by Faculties and
> 	Departments. It would seem logical to develop a program for word
> 	processors that would offer these different formats as options 
> 	from which the students could select. This would be a useful aid
> 	in the preparation of a thesis.
> 
> 	I would draw attention to the fact that such a program is already
> 	offered in American and presumably other universities. It would,
> 	I am sure, be welcomed here both by individual students and the 
> 	Colleges."
> 
> My first reaction was that he was talking about templates made up in each
> format required.  Unfortunately the person who sent us the letter is away on
> leave, so I can't confirm this.  Would anybody out there know of any program
> that fits this description, if so could you let me know.  Any information
> would be greatly appreciated.


I've had some experience with using LaTeX to achieve something like this.

    [for those unfamiliar with LaTeX:  It is a document preparation that
    concentrates on letting the author express the *content* of their
    document rather than the format.  The LaTeX processor is then used to
    automatically format the document according to a specified document
    style, including:
       o  justifying paragraphs optimally to an appropriate width
       o  choosing fonts for headings, emphasised text etc.
       o  numbering of chapters, sections, lists, footnotes
       o  insertion of page or section numbers for cross references
       o  inserting appropriate vertical space between paragraphs, before
          and after headings and lists, and between items of a list.
       o  inserting indentation for paragraphs and lists, including nested
          indentation for nested lists 
       o  dividing the document into pages; in the process footnotes,
          tables, figures etc. are moved from the body of the text to tops or
          bottoms of pages as appropriate.
       o  inserting page numbers, headers and footers
       This saves work for the author, and ensures that the document is
       formated in a consistent style.  The document is also more
       re-usable; it is possible to mix-n-match documents and document
       styles --- the two are fairly independent.
       LaTeX uses the TeX typesetting system for its formatting.  The source
       for both ae available free, and implementation for a wide range of
       computers are available for prices ranging from nothing to cheap]

Along with many other people, I've tried my hand at a thesis style.  To use
this style you of course start your document with

   \documentstyle{thesis}

I also wrote a style option for Deakin University, so that a Deakin thesis
would start:

   \documentstyle[deakin]{thesis}

In your case, someone with LaTeX and TeX expertise could produce document
styles and options to make possible documents that start like ...

   \documentstyle[jamescook]{thesis}
   \documentstyle[jamescook,phd]{thesis}
   \documentstyle[jamescook,arts,diploma]{thesis}
   \documentstyle[jamescook,chemistry,masters]{thesis}

and so on.