This is a LyX
1.
0.x (stable) release
------------------------------------
What is LyX?
LyX is a modern approach of writing documents with a computer
which breaks with the tradition of the obsolete typewriter
concept. It is designed for people who want a professional
output with a minimum of time effort, without becoming specia-
lists
in typesetting. Compared
to common word processors LyX
will increase the productivity a lot, since most of the
type-
setting will be done by the computer, not the author. With LyX
the author can concentrate on the contents of his writing,
since the computer will take care of the look.
You can
read more about this concept
in the documentation,
which you
'll find under the Help menu. If you plan to use LyX,
you actually should
read about it
to be able
to make the best of
it.
What is LyX not?
LyX is not just another word processor that claims
to be a
Desktop Publishing
program. It
's a more modern way of
creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting
time with layout-fiddling. For these reasons you might need
little time
to get used
to the differences.
If you are looking for a free Desktop Publishing
program for
Unix, you will be disappointed.
What
do I need
to run LyX?
A Unix-like system or OS/
2 with XFree
At least X11 Release
5
A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX or NTeX)
Optionally ghostscript and ghostview (or compatible)
Perl5.
002 or later
to import LaTeX files into LyX
What
's new?
Read WHATSNEW.
How
do I install a binary distribution of LyX?
Unpack it and run it. We recommend unpacking it
in /usr/local,
but it should work anywhere.
In particular, you can try LyX
in a temporary directory before installing permanently by
typing
"bin/lyx".
We recommend that you configure LyX system-wide by copying the
file share/lyx/lyxrc.example
to share/lyx/lyxrc, and
then
reading and modifying it.
You should
read the notes regarding this particular build
in
the
file README.bin.
How
do I upgrade from an earlier LyX version?
Read the
file UPGRADING for info on this subject.
If you are upgrading from version
0.
12.
0, you don
't need to do
anything special.
What
do I need
to compile LyX from the source distribution?
1. A good c++ compiler. Development is being done mainly on
gcc/g++, but many others work.
2. The Xforms library version
0.
81,
0.
86 or
0.
88.
3. LibXpm version
4.
7 (or newer).
Read the
file "INSTALL" for more information on compiling.
Okay, I
've installed LyX. What now?
Once you
've installed it, and everything looks fine, go read
the
"Introduction" item under the Help menu. After that, you
should also
read "Help/LaTeX configuration" which provides info
on your LaTeX configuration as LyX sees it. You might be missing
a package or two that you
'd like to have.
User-level configuration is possible with a
file "~/.lyx/lyxrc".
You can
use the system-wide lyxrc
file (which should be somewhere
like /usr/local/share/lyx/lyxrc) as a template for your personal
lyxrc
file. Remember that a personal configuration
file will be
used instead of, not
in addition
to, any system-wide
file.
Does LyX have support for non-English speakers/writers/readers?
Yes. LyX supports writing
in many languages.
Menus and error messages have been translated
to the following
languages (* means there are language-specific keyboard menu
bindings as well):
Danish (da)
German (de) *
Spanish (es)
Finnish (fi)
French (fr) *
Hungarian (hu) *
Dutch (nl)
Norwegian (no)
Russian (ru)
Slovenian (sl)
Swedish (sv) *
Turkish (tr)
Keymaps can ease typing
in one or more of the following languages:
Czech
French, Swiss French
German, Swiss German
Greek
Hungarian (Magyar)
Polish
Portugese
Romanian
Slovenian
Turkish
Internet resources of relevance
to LyX
The LyX homepage
contains valuable information about LyX and the
various LyX mailing lists, as well as links
to mirrors and other
LyX homepages around the world:
http://www.lyx.org/
Main LyX archive site:
ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
The LyX Development page has information about the development
effort. LyX is now under CVS control, so you can get the very
latest sources from there at any time.
http://www.devel.lyx.org/
ftp://www.devel.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
What is the numbering scheme for releases? Is it like the Linux kernel?
Yes, it
's like the Linux kernel since LyX version 0.8:
0.
10.x,
0.
12.x,
1.
0.x ... are stable,
public releases
0.
11.x,
0.
13.x,
1.
1.x ... are developer releases
Of course you may also
use the developer releases, but only
at your own risk. This is definitely higher than your risk when
using the
public releases, even
if this is your own risk, too.
How
do I submit a bug report?
If possible,
read the
"Known Bugs" document found under the
Help menu. You
'll find detailed info on submitting bug reports
there.
You should also check the BUGS
file in this directory.
If you can
't do that, send details to the LyX Developers mailing
list. Don
't forget to mention which version you are having
problems with!
How
do I prepare a binary distribution for the
use of others?
1) Compile LyX with the right compiler switches for your
architecture.
In particular you might want
to ensure that libraries
like xforms and xpm are statically linked.
To this
end, you
can
use a command like
make LYX_LIBS=
'/foo/libforms.a /bar/libXpm.a'
Moreover, make sure you
use the --without-latex-config switch
of configure, since others might not be interested by your
configuration :-)
2) Create a
file README.bin describing your distribution and
referring
to *you*
if problems arise. As a model, you can
use the
file development/tools/README.bin.example which was originally
written for Linux by David L. Johnson.
Do *not*
use directly
the
file in the distribution, since it refers
to Linux and
points
to David L. Johnson for help. However, it can be a good
starting point. Note that removing the
file completely is
better than not editing it at all.
3)
Type `make bindist
'. This will create a file
lyx-
1.xx.yy-bin.tar.gz. Rename it
to reflect you architecture
and the peculiarities of your build (e.g. static vs. dynamic).
4) Check that everything is correct by unpacking the distribution
in some
private place and running it.
In particular, check the
output of `ldd lyx
' to know which libraries are really needed.
5) Upload your binary
file to ftp.lyx.org:/pub/lyx/uploads.
How can I participate
in the development of LyX?
Any help with the development of LyX is greatly appreciated--
after all LyX wouldn
't be what it is today without the help
of volunteers. We need your help!
If you want
to work on LyX, you should contact the developer
's
mailing list for discussion on how
to do your stuff. LyX is being
cleaned up, and therefore it
's important to follow some rules.
Read about those rules
in development/Code_rules/.
If you don
't know C++, there are many other ways to contribute.
Write documentation. Help
to internationalize LyX by translating
documentation or menus/error messages, or by writing a new keymap.
Write a new textclass. Work on reLyX (Perl). Find bugs (but please
read the list of known bugs first). Contribute money. Or just offer
feature suggestions (but please
read the online TODO list first).
Thank you for trying LyX, and we appreciate your feedback
in the mailing
lists.
The LyX Team.