To view or edit plain-text files on Athena, the easiest option is to type gedit, followed by the name of the file, followed by an ampersand (e.g., gedit filename &). You need the ampersand on most Athena programs that bring up a window, or you will not get your athena% prompt back until you close the program.
Another tool for editing plain text files is Emacs, which has a bit of a learning curve but is far more powerful than gedit. To get started with Emacs, click the Emacs button at the bottom of the screen, and then open the tutorial from the Help menu.
For formatted documents, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, you can use the OpenOffice.org package. This software is compatible with Microsoft Office files as well as the OpenDocument format. You can run OpenOffice.org by clicking the footprint icon labeled ``Menu'', at the bottom left, and selecting ``Editing/Publishing'', ``Office Productivity Suites'', and ``Open Office''.
When you are writing theses or scientific papers, most departments will want you to use LATEXinstead. For more information on using LATEX, read SIPB's ``Inessential Guide to LATEX'', available online or from our office.