If you aren't a fan of Word, aren't interested in purchasing a full office suite, or you really just need a new, free word processor, check out the best of the best below. Word Online offers what is almost a full-fledged version of the popular word processor from right within your browser window, providing the ability to view or edit existing documents or create new ones in a number of different templates including calendars, resumes, cover letters, APA and MLA style papers and much more. All of these word processor programs are 100 percent freeware, which means that you won't ever have to purchase the program, uninstall it after so-many days, donate a small fee, purchase add-ons for basic functionality, etc. The word processor tools below are free to download at no cost.

So a bonus would be that files could easily be converted to.docx to ease sending them to my PI for reviews. Here are a few non-Word options I have come across in my search for the best dissertation-writing software that seem to be favorites: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux/Unix Cost: free LaTeX is an open-source document preparation system that was designed for scholarly and technical writing, and is great for handling large documents. It is a powerful and highly customizable typesetting system that, in contrast to MS Word, separates the content and document design. LaTeX is a markup language—it’s not exactly a programming language, but it does have similarities to coding. Because of this, there is definitely a learning curve when starting out.

To meet the needs of your writing project. There isn’t always one perfect option—you may find that integrating multiple writing programs works best for the writing, compiling, and editing stages. Maybe all you really need is a to get the job done. Check out these other helpful resources for and for a. What software are you using to write your dissertation, and what do you love about it? Please share it with us in the comments!

It even has a dual-column A/V template, which is really handy if you do commercial video scripting (although I prefer the way Celtx handles the A/V format). Fade In also imports and exports to Final Draft (among many other file formats), so even if you’re working with people who require a Final Draft file, you’re not stuck having to use it. Aside from Fade In’s seamless functionality, I also appreciate that it doesn’t look like it was time-portaled in from the mid-90s. Irene I used to be a Final Draft Fundamentalist, but when I needed to collaborate with people I don’t see very often, and when I began looking around for ways to write without having to put my beloved laptop at risk in the wild, Fade In and Celtx came to the rescue. I have to admit that Celtx is slowly winning me away from Fade In, however. I’ll miss the $ I spent on Fade In, but Celtx is so easy to use. I’m also a big fan of Scrivener, but I use that mainly for non-screenwriting purposes, probably because I began using it to write and compile ebooks for Kindle.

Remember, Reveal Codes. And easier formatting. Oh, and another thing that might be working against it: Back in the 1990’s, it had more bugs, weevils,and maggots than a ten-day-old corpse. I remember it spontaneously changing fonts (while I was typing), periodically deciding the ONLY font in the library was “Courier New,” and–everyone’s favorite–freezing during the 20-minute autosave (since this was still the DOS era, you’d have to warm-start the computer to clear it, losing all your data.) And I’m not sure about Word, but I know OpenOffice doesn’t have native import capability for WordPerfect files, so you’re always having to convert it for everyone else. Firstly, most of what Scrivener is so lauded for, like drag-drop sections/scenes/chapters, etc., originated in Word. Most people don’t know how to do it because they don’t bother to learn to use the tools of their trade.

I, too, think it’s hard to beat for the money. No install copy utility for mac. I’m also a fan of very stripped down software: in fact, I just used MS Word with a screenwriting stylesheet on the past. I think there’s a danger of getting distracted by the bells and whistles (as if writers needed more distraction) and soon we get so caught up with the tool we forget about the work. That being said, Celtx’s features are incredibly useful and easy to use. For that reason and the cost it is my go-to writing program (after pen and paper).

With all sections collapsed I just have a list of all tests performed and this gives SO MUCH overview!

You can import and work with MS Word documents, allowing you to insert images, and edit content as needed. Zoho Writer offers all the standard text formatting and document creation features and can export to DOCX, ODF, PDF, Latex, RTF, TXT and even HTML. It can plug into Echosign for digital signatures, publish the document to a blog or make it public for all to see. Zoho Docs is completely free to use. Downloadable Microsoft Word Alternatives Some people are reluctant to cut the ties to their local computer and put all their work and business documents online.