: Re: What's the best text editor for a technical reference manual? It is my first time writing tech manuals and I don't know what to use. Some people recommend me LATEX but I think it's too complex.

@Sims2267584

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Word is acceptable for short documents. Make sure to set up paragraph styles and always use them (no manual formatting).

When your manual exceeds 50 pages or you have layout requirements beyond the basics, Word becomes increasingly troublesome: instability and document corruption are common in large documents.
You'll also run into trouble with the way Word handles images: you have to use linked images to keep your file size reasonable, but then you have to repair all the links when you move the Word file to a different directory.

For large documents, use e.g. FrameMaker, which is designed for technical documentation and much better at it than Word.

Whatever solution you choose: for printing at a print shop, always create a PDF on your workstation, check if the layout is correct and then take the PDF to the printshop. Never assume the printshop can handle your source document.

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