Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Converting DVI to Other Formats?

Posted by Cliff on from the chasing-.DOC dept.

jgrr asks: "I'd like to be able to take a DVI file and convert it to some less palatable format, like MS Word. Some journals I want to submit papers to accept electronic copies as either MS Word or WordPerfect documents, not as TeX. (These are in ecology and zoology, not math journals). People I ask to look at papers don't use TeX either, and like to make the changes to the text itself, so PDF won't work. I know about latex2rtf, but I use some different packages and BiBTeX, and I'd rather not have to re-write the paper in Word after converting it. It seems like the DVI level is better than the TeX level for this, but I can't seem to find any existing software that does it. Any ideas?"

2 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Ugh. by pmz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is genuinely irresponsible for journals to require Word or WordPerfect files.

    TeX and its many add-ons provide a truly great and open resource for scientists to record their findings. It is widely available, text based, and non-proprietary. For those scientists who can't figure out a text editor, there are GUI front-ends to TeX. If there is too much resistence to using TeX, then use one of the SGML applications (e.g. Docbook, HTML). Just don't use Word, for cripes sake!

    --
    Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
  2. Re:Dont accept TeX? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 3, Insightful
    If they dont accept TeX, then tell them to shut their magazine and stay shut....!

    Um, no. When you are trying to get your research published, you can't afford to be a bigot. You are in no position to dictate to them what they must accept. They tell you "If you want to be printed in our journal, here is what you must do." This is life. In the academic community, having your work published in journals is very important. It's now you get it disseminated and how you get your name recognised. You take a poor attitude, like the one you espouse, with the journals, they just won't publish your work. It's that simple. A single, small, researcher is not enough to force any kind of changes on them.

    In the real world, it's the big dogs that dictate the way things get done. In the case of the research community, that is often the journals. You play by their rules or you don't get to play.