Word processor for slow computer

[Hanna B]

My old Linux laptop (P133, 80 Mb, 2 GB) will mainly be serving as a portable typewriter. I have Openoffice installed, but just to open it takes forever! and I do not really need compatibility with the MS Word format, rtf should do fine.

A function that I however very much would like is something like MS Word's document map, with which you can navigate in the document by the titles in it. I see that ABIWord is mentioned around, people seem to have good experiences. Does someone who has tried it know if it has this function? Other suggestions on small word processors?

[Dun'kalis]

Ted is a good RTF word processor.

[rdeschene2]

My wife and I have used AbiWord (she uses it for a writing newsletter) for the last 2 years or so, and it's quite good. Pretty fast, and not a real memory and CPU hog like OpenOffice.

As for the particular feature you're looking for, I've never used it in Word so I'm not familiar with the actual application.

However, in Abiword you can insert named Bookmarks anywhere in the document, and then use Edit, Go to, Bookmark and select the Bookmark name from a drop down list. You hit OK and the cursor scrolls down to that Bookmark.

The manual is online at www.abisource.com

Have fun!
Rick D.

[Hanna B]

Sounds like I should have a go with AbiWord. Thanks!

[JohnT]

I'll second abiword.......:D

[otbibb]

I'd say have a go with Lyx. It's a front-end for Latex (a wrapper for Tex) that has tremendous skill at outputting nicely formatted text. The program itself is pretty fast, but the really great thing is that you can learn to write documents in Latex, which only requires a text editor. Instead of seeing the format on the screen, you use special codings to tell the program what kind of text you're writing and it formats it for you.

It's a big change, and not everyone likes it. And if you start using Latex, there is a learning curve for mastering all of the commands and adjusting the formatting parameters. But, I can say, it is totally worth the effort, especially since it gives you a way to compose documents on any platform, using any program whatsoever that can output straight text. This makes your documents completely open as well, which means that you'll never be wondering how to read that file you created 5 years ago. Lyx/Latex supports output to ps, pdf, html, and other common, open formats.

BB

[ALLYOURBASE]

Try KWrite, if you use Mandrake