Xref: utzoo comp.text.desktop:852 comp.sys.ibm.pc:30584 sci.med:10871
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!alberta!calgary!cpsc!darragh
From: darragh@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (John Darragh)
Newsgroups: comp.text.desktop,comp.sys.ibm.pc,sci.med
Subject: Medical writing and reference database software
Summary: Need advise for an MD friend starting a book (nutritional medicine)
Message-ID: <1557@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP>
Date: 25 Jun 89 01:00:59 GMT
Sender: news@calgary.UUCP
Lines: 27


An MD friend of mine in starting to write a heavily referenced book on
nutritional medicine and needs advise on software options.  He has a
PC-XT at home and an AT clone with a 40Meg disk and color monitor at
his office.  He currently uses a simple screen editor for text
"processing" and a 24 pin dot matrix printer for output.

His immediate goal is to find reference database software and in-text
citation programs with features similar to refer or bibtex.  He currently
uses BRS and has a large personal library of medical books and journals
which he would eventually like to incorporate into a coherent reference
database for use in his writing.

Any advise about software options for technical medical writing using
his current hardware would be greatly appreciated.  Software that is
easy to learn and use is critical.  Descriptions of the personal tools
and methodologies used by technical writers on the net (particularly
sci.med types) would most be helpful.

(The ability to handle mathematics, tables, figures, footnotes and cross
references will likely be required in the future.  Migration to a
desktop publishing environment is being contemplated and DP system
suggestions (both hardware and software) would also be welcomed.)

Thank you.
--
John J. Darragh				darragh@cpsc.ucalgary.ca