On this page:
1.1 Prerequisites
1.2 How to install
1.3 Beyond that
1.4 Getting more help
1.4.1 Bugs and feature requests
1.4.2 Questions & discussion
1.4.3 Can I see the source for Practical Typography or Typography for Lawyers?
1.4.4 Utilities & libraries
1.4.5 More projects & guides
8.12

1 Installation🔗ℹ

1.1 Prerequisites🔗ℹ

Pollen will run on Mac OS, Linux, or Windows.

Pollen is not a self-contained GUI program like Adobe InDesign. It’s a software package that runs atop the Racket language environment (also a free download).

Your three main tools in Pollen will be a text editor (for those starting out, I recommend DrRacket: The Racket Programming Environment), a terminal window, and a web browser. The terminal commands you’ll be using are simple, but if you haven’t used your terminal window before, this is the moment to learn where it is. (On Mac OS, your terminal window is called Terminal; on Windows it’s called the Windows Command Processor.)

After the initial download, Pollen does not require a network connection.

1.2 How to install🔗ℹ

1.3 Beyond that🔗ℹ

Pollen doesn’t install anything on your machine other than the Racket packages it relies on. It does not gather any information about you or your project. Your data belongs to you. I won’t know that you’re using Pollen unless you tell me.

Pollen’s built-in project web server is a real web server, however. Be mindful if you’re using it on a machine visible on a public network.

This project server is primarily a development & previewing tool. You do not need it to deploy Pollen projects (which generally compile down to a set of static files).

In general, I subscribe to the view that software should let you do what you want, not enroll you in a nanny state. Pollen is, in part, a programming language. Like all programming languages, it will let you do things that are incredibly clever. And also miserably stupid. But that is how we learn.

I’ve been using Pollen daily for several years (and will continue to do so, because my main work is writing). I’ve made Pollen available because a) I’m certain that others have had the same frustrations that I have, and b) feature suggestions and bug reports make it more useful for everyone.

I hope you enjoy using it.

1.4 Getting more help🔗ℹ

1.4.1 Bugs and feature requests🔗ℹ

Can be submitted as issues at the main Pollen source repository.

1.4.2 Questions & discussion🔗ℹ

For general tips and how-to questions, use the Pollen discussion forum. I’ll also use that list to post major changes and new features. You need an account to post (free and easy to set up with an email address).

(BTW, the former “pollenpub” Google Group and the “pollen-users” GitHub repo are now deprecated.)

1.4.3 Can I see the source for Practical Typography or Typography for Lawyers?🔗ℹ

Yes, a tutorial project based on the previous version of Typography for Lawyers is available by installing the pollen-tfl package the same way you installed Pollen.

The current versions of Practical Typography & Typography for Lawyers are generated from a single set of Pollen source files, which is a complication that makes them less suitable for an introductory tutorial. Still, even though this tutorial project is based on an earlier version, the coding techniques are very close to what I still use. Learn with confidence.

1.4.4 Utilities & libraries🔗ℹ

pollen-count: enumeration and cross-referencing library by Malcolm Still

pollen-mode: Emacs mode for Pollen by Junsong Li

Pollen mode: Emacs mode for Pollen by Shrutarshi Basu

Pollen Component: Component-based development for Pollen by Leandro Facchinetti

CSS-expressions: S-expression-based CSS by Leandro Facchinetti

Pollen Rock: rendering server and an in-browser editor for Pollen

Polllen as a front end for Reveal.js by Dave Liepmann. Reveal.js is a library that allows you to create slide presentations in pure HTML/CSS that run in the browser.

1.4.5 More projects & guides🔗ℹ

Digital Words by Júda Ronén [source]

Secretary of Foreign Relations by Joel Dueck [source]

A Poor Guide to Pollen by Ahmed Fasih

The World’s Most Dangerous Racket Programmer and Like a Blind Squirrel in a Ferrari: short talks about Pollen that I gave at RacketCons 2013 and 2014, respectively.

mstill.io blog by Malcolm Still [source]