LM could be a good help in writing an essay or an academic piece. I
will refer to LM Professional here, but most features can be found
in LM2000 as well.

1. Collecting and storing notes
-------------------------------------

This is the basic LM part. LM categorizes and stores selected
pieces of information. These information parts are paragraphs (short
passages) or (self-contained) statements.

See the No #1 animated demo (run from
http://www.literarymachine.com/LMP_3_3.htm ) and basic parts of LM
documentation
( http://www.literarymachine.com/help/source/helpfiles/lmp1100.htm ).

Your LM Notes can be reached from your dictionary (or with search
commands). The dictionary contains selected words that
are connected to the notes ("LM Items") in direct or indirect ways.


2. "Themes"
-------------
--snip--
By applying these themes to sections of e.g. a academic paper in an
outline, you can get an overview of which notes actually fit into
which parts of the outline.
--snip--

It sounds like an innovative way to write by "attracting" text
as leaves to branches. I would not say that LM supports it
directly.

I would say that you have two kinds of themes in LM:

a) A concept (word) connecting LM Items

b) LM Projects created as extra chains of LM Items (not using
keywords)


Type a) is the usual deck of cards spilled on the desktop when you
drop the cursor from a word (or concept). It can be handled as a
continuous text via the Bookmode function. (See "bookmode" in help).
If you want to work with this text, you should conserve it as a "b)
Project"

Type b) is the "LM Project" (a questionable term). The LM project is
created as a new entity/line in the LM Project window. Its LM-
generic use is to be a container for a deck of selected cards.

Start reading about Projects at:
http://www.literarymachine.com/help/source/helpfiles/lmp1160.htm

An extension of the b) Project concept is the "alternative" text
file assigned to the Project. The LM Items are atomic units not
really owned by a project. That is you should not modify an item
within a project (theme), since it could be used by other Projects
as well. Instead you can transfer the item texts to a single text
file and make further edits in this text file. When making Outline
output, you can select to output a Project plain text instead of its
items.


3. Outlines
------------

See the No #4 animated demo ( run from
http://www.literarymachine.com/LMP_3_3.htm ). This demo was made
with LM Pro 1.0 and thus differs in details from both current LM Pro
and LM2000, but you should be able to get the main message.

Look upon your "themes/LM Projects" as chapters in your book. The
Outline features orders your chapters to a book.

By using the "HTML output from outlines"-command you get
high-quality presentation, optionally with pictures,
headers, keywords as margin comments or end-of-book index
and endnotes.

The HTML format of "the book" is basic, however you can also produce
an OEBPS-formatted book (use with MobiPocket, MS LIT or ReaderWorks).

To sum up: LM will help you in the compositional phase. It will also
produce fine output, being used either as high-quality drafts or as
your end product.

Your original research work will accumulate in the LM database.


4. "LM references"
-----------------------
The endnoting part is of a more experimental nature and not
compatible with the EndNote "industry standard". However, I am
really interested in the development of it. LM Pro users are welcome
to require support in using it. (XML definition files, output
formatting and similar.)


5. Develop LM by being active!
--------------------------------------
As a LM Pro user, you are welcome with more specific questions.
These could be of great value for further LM development. I see
academic applications as strategic for the LM program.

Gunnar Sommestad





--- In literarymachine@yahoogroups.com, "Peter Malling"
<malling2003@y...> wrote:
>
> After having considered for a long time, I downloaded LM the other
day, and I'm truly impressed by the concept. It seems to follow what
I've been looking for: a tool where you connect all your notes to
themes (keywords and concepts in LM), By applying these themes to
sections of e.g. a academic paper in an outline, you can get an
overview of which notes actually fit into which parts of the
outline. And continuously, you've got an idea of the balance of
stuff in various sections of your outline.
>
> Am I right that this is what LM can do for me?
>
> And the concrete question: I've tried to work with
projects/outlines, I've read the help on these issues, and I've seen
the outline demo, but I can't get it to work.
> 1. How do you create an outline for a e.g. a new paper, you're
going to write?
> 2. How do you populate the outline with items (notes)?
>
> Sorry for being an LM newbie - but I have to start somewhere.
>
> Peter.
>