My Recent Software Discoveries
First an editor that makes LaTeX really rock, then a drawing program that makes flowcharts fun again (not an oxymoron).
Kile – LATEX Editor
I have learned LaTeX only recently but I am already using it for the majority of texts I write and format. While the source code may be written in an arbitrary editor, having a LaTeX-aware environment may help. Kile provides such environment. The features I like the most are tag completion, reference completion, structure view, and quick’n’easy compilation and viewing. The possibility to organize a number of related files into projects is also very helpful. The program has many other features I haven’t tried so far, e.g. math editor, wizards, or character map.
For me, Kile makes writing LaTeX much more convenient, while retaining the benefits and power of a non-WYSIWYG editor.
Kivio – Flowchart Editor
Drawing flowcharts (or any other diagrams, for that matter) with Dia has always been a major pain for me. Dia is feature-rich but has several usability issues which make it rather inconvenient to work with (read: it’s a hell on earth). Recently I needed to draw a few large diagrams and I decided I didn’t want to spend another nerve-cracking afternoon with Dia. A quick search for a “linux flowchart editor” unearthed Kivio, a part of the KOffice suite. Screenshots looked good, feature list was tempting, and the package was in the repositories. What else could I ask for?
Although not very configurable, Kivio does a great job drawing flowcharts and other types of diagrams. It comes with many stencil sets (libraries of shapes), including UML, flowcharting, computer hardware, or even flags. Objects may be organized in layers, precisely positioned, locked… There is also a great split-window view option which makes it possible to work on several parts of the diagram at once. I particularly like the fact that one diagram may be split into several pages within the same file. Again, I’m not going to describe all the features of the program. Try it out and see for yourself :-).
Kivio finally solved my long-standing problem with flowcharts. I still think Dia could be worthy for some types of diagrams, though (ahem, fingers crossed behind the back :-)).
Speak your mind
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