The assumption is, that the user is already familiar with the LaTeX software package, has used the texlive distribution many times and is able to create an academic paper which includes a table of contents, and a larger amount of included float figures. And now the user likes to know how to master the publishing workflow outside the TeX ecosystem and he is prefering especially the Scribus software.
The advantage of Scribus is, that it has much in common with the Adobe pagemaker software but is is available as open source. So let us start the journey.
First thing to mention is, that the workflow needs to be planned much better. If LaTeX and especially modern frontend likes Overleaf and Lyx have much in common with the python scripting language, the Scribus software is using a more linear workflow. That means at first the text is written in a word processor which is Libreoffice writer and then the document gets imported into Scribus. After the text was imported it is not possible to modify the text anymore so the content has to be froozen first.
Scribus works with the page concept. That means, the designer defines each page for it self. On page 1 it is possible to activate a twocoumn layout and on page 2 only a one column layout is visible. It is difficult to ochange a page later, so there is a need to plan the process. At first, the layout designer imagines a rough idea for the document. He makes decision about the amount the column and where the pictures should be placed. Then he is realizing the idea in the scribus software.
A common task is to create a new text frame or a new graphics frame. These functions are used so frequently that a shortcut is available. The grid system on each page helps to position a frame and then the content is send to this box.
Especially the import filter in Scribus is an early stage. In most cases the importet stylesheets have to be assigned again. This is done manually over context menu. The duration until a short document was created is long. That means, the layout process will take endless amount of hours, and then the designer will recognize that major components like the page number or the table of contents are missing. So these registers have to be created manual or half automatic.
The perhaps most obvious difference between latex and scribus has to do with changing an existing document. Suppose the well written report contains of 8 pages. The document was rendered once into the pdf format and it looks well formatted. Then, the author likes to add a single paragraph on page 4 somewhere in the middle of the text. Such a request is denied. The reason is, that after inserting a paragraph, the existing text will move to a different position and the position of the images won't match to the text anymore. Because of this reason, Scribus requires more pre planning than latex. The content needs to be written already, has to be proofread and it is not possible to change it drastically. The only thing what can be realized within scribus are smaller adjustments, for example adding a word into a section or adding a coma in a sentence.
If the author of a text likes to add an entire paragraph or likes to rewrite larger parts of the text a new project has to be started. That means, the text has to be written again in libreoffice and then it can be imported into a new scribus document.
In contrast, it is much easier to change the graphics. The reason is, that scribus creates in the document only a link and the graphics is stored in the working directory. After adapting the graphics, it gets rendered automatically in Scribus.
Perhaps it makes sense to explain which kind of workflow can be realized in scribus very well. The idea is, that that creation of the text is done by different users and at a different date in the calendar than formatting the layout. For example, in January person A and B are writing the text in libreoffice and in Febrauary this document gets imported by Person C and D into Scribus. So the final pdf file can be printed in March. In contrast the interactive single person workflow of LaTeX can't be realized with Scribus. The typical Latex project is done by a single person in a single month and if a mistake was found in the text it gets fixed on the fly. So we can say latex has much in common with the Python programming language and Scribus has much in common with the Cobol language printed on punch cards.
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