1 #LyX 1.3 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/
15 \use_numerical_citations 0
16 \paperorientation portrait
19 \paragraph_separation indent
21 \quotes_language english
25 \paperpagestyle default
29 LyX Frequently Asked Questions with Answers
38 If you have comments or error corrections, please send them to the LyX Documenta
39 tion mailing list, <lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org>.
45 This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions for LyX, the Open Source
46 document processor that provides a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Mean environment
47 for producing high quality documents.
48 For further help, you may wish to contact the LyX User Group mailing list
51 lyx-users@lists.lyx.org
57 you have read through the docs.
64 \begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents{}
71 Introduction and General Information
77 LyX is a program that provides a more modern approach to writing documents
78 with a computer, an approach that breaks with the obsolete tradition of
80 \begin_inset Quotes eld
84 \begin_inset Quotes erd
87 It is designed for authors who want professional output quickly with a
88 minimum of effort without becoming specialists in typesetting.
89 The job of typesetting is done mostly by the computer, not the author;
90 with LyX, the author can concentrate on the contents of her writing.
94 \begin_inset Quotes eld
98 \begin_inset Quotes erd
101 view of the document.
103 \begin_inset Quotes eld
107 \begin_inset Quotes erd
110 means that the line- and page-breaks are not displayed exactly as they
111 will appear in the printed document.
112 However, that's not really necessary, since LyX uses a separate typesetter
113 program (called LaTeX) to perform the final formatting of your text.
114 While LyX contains everything it needs to be a comfortable user interface,
115 the typesetting program contains everything necessary to format text, and
116 do so very, very well.
120 So, line- and page-breaks aren't your problem anymore.
121 Remembering which number to use for the next subsection isn't your problem
123 Recalling what font you used for all of your section headings isn't your
125 You tell LyX (and LaTeX) what
129 of document you're editing and what
133 of paragraph this-or-that text is, the computer can typeset it accordingly.
134 Of course you can also still do some low-level formatting for fine-tuning.
135 However, the proper way with LyX is to tell the computer what the text
140 , not what it should look like.
141 So, we like to say that LyX gives you WYSIWYM editing (What You See Is
149 That's fine, but is it useful?
153 The following type of documents have been produced with LyX:
162 Dissertations (260 pages in a single document, longer using include files)
167 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.fee.uva.nl/scholar/mdw/leuven/thesis.pdf}
175 Lecture notes (133 pages, 27 figures on a 33 MHz 486 machine!)
178 Seminar notebooks (500+ pages)
181 Conference proceedings (Proceedings of the Second Continental Workshop on
182 the Geoid in Europe, (Finnish Geodetic Institute Report 98:4), 292 pages)
185 Software Documentation (the LyX User Guide is about 120 pages)
193 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.postgresql.org/docs/awbook.html}
197 for an example on PostgreSQL
200 Donnay, J-P., Barnsley, M.J., and Longley, P.A., eds., 2001, Remote Sensing and
201 Urban Analysis (Taylor and Francis: London).
204 Herbert Voss: Praktische Kryptologie mit Java 286 pages, lots of equations,
209 Yann Collette and Patrick Siarry, Optimisation multiobjectifs, 2002, Eyrolles
213 Papers published in the following refereed journals:
217 Astronomy & Astrophysics (Suetterlin, P.
218 1998, A&A, 333, 305; Suetterlin, P.
223 Astronomical Journal (Ressler, M.
230 Novels (400+ page novel due out in September 2000; an 836 page novel is
231 currently with an agent)
234 Scripts for plays and movies
237 Business proposals for > $1 M (US)
244 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.lyx.org}
248 is the first place to go for anything related to LyX.
249 News, examples, downloads, and lots of other stuff is available there.
250 After you have installed LyX and started it the first time, read the Tutorial
253 Help\SpecialChar \menuseparator
257 Yes, I really mean that.
260 Another basic introductory guide may be found at
261 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.bilkent.edu.tr/~robin/lyxguide.pdf}
268 Does LyX run on my computer?
271 At this time, you need to have the X Window system to run LyX.
272 OS/2 and Win32 ports exist, but you need to have an Xserver
280 and running on these systems.
281 LyX is known to run on the following platforms (and probably a zillion
285 Linux: RedHat 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, SUSE 5.x, Mandrake 7.0, 7.2
288 SparcLinux: RedHat 6.0
300 OSF1 flore V4.0 1091 alpha
303 How much hard disk space does LyX need?
306 On my system, the LyX binary consumes 2.0 MB of disk space, while the supporting
307 files occupy another 12.6 MB (9.1 MB of which is consumed by the docs! You
308 can delete the languages you don't care about to save some space).
309 Of course, you do need to have something like teTeX installed which consumes
310 a mere 115 MB, as well as ghostscript, which is another 10 MB!
313 Is LyX really Open Source?
317 Some may quibble that since the freely available X toolkit that LyX uses,
318 xforms, is currently closed source, LyX is less than Pure and Holy.
320 The LyX source itself is available under a slightly modified version of
321 the GPL, so it qualifies.
322 Also, the developers of LyX are working on making it toolkit independent,
323 so that next major version 1.3.0 will have Qt2/3 support; and even if not,
324 version 1.0 of xforms will be released under the LGPL (at the time of this
325 writing, prereleases of version 1.0 are available in source form from
326 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/xforms/OpenSource/}
336 Where should I look on the World Wide Web for LyX stuff?
340 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.lyx.org}
348 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{bugzilla.lyx.org}
352 , if you want to report a bug in LyX.
356 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.devel.lyx.org}
360 , if you are interested in the real blood and guts.
363 Known mirror sites include:
368 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.mx.lyx.org}
376 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.no.lyx.org}
384 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.it.lyx.org}
392 Where can I get LyX material by FTP?
395 ftp.lyx.org in /pub/lyx (also known as ftp.via.ecp.fr)
398 What mailing lists are there?
401 lyx-announce@lists.lyx.org (very low volume), for announcements related to
405 lyx-users@lists.lyx.org (medium volume), for general usage issues
408 lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org (high volume), for development and debugging issues
411 lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org (excruciatingly low volume), for documentation issues
415 Generally, you would send email to lyx-foo-subscribe@lists.lyx.org to subscribe
416 to these lists or to lyx-foo-unsubscribe@lists.lyx.org to unsubscribe, where
418 \begin_inset Quotes eld
422 \begin_inset Quotes erd
426 \begin_inset Quotes eld
430 \begin_inset Quotes erd
434 \begin_inset Quotes eld
438 \begin_inset Quotes erd
442 \begin_inset Quotes eld
446 \begin_inset Quotes erd
450 \begin_inset Quotes eld
454 \begin_inset Quotes erd
458 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.lyx.org/internet/mailing.php3}
462 for the full details.
465 Are the mailing lists archived anywhere?
472 Okay, wise guy! Where are they archived?
476 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-announce@lists.lyx.org/}
484 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-users@lists.lyx.org/}
492 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org/}
499 Compatibility with other word/document processors
502 Can I read/write LaTeX files?
506 LyX outputs LaTeX files that are either machine or human friendly.
507 The reLyX program that comes with LyX does a decent job of converting LaTeX
509 It's not perfect, but it will usually get at least 95% of the job done
513 Can I read/write Word files?
517 People have had some level of success with the following sequence: LyX
518 \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$
522 \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$
526 \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$
529 Word, and vice versa.
530 However, Word is inherently not a markup language like LyX and LaTeX are,
531 so conversions are usually difficult and almost meaningless.
534 However, here are a few suggestions which were sent in:
537 word2x produces LaTeX, HTML and plain text output.
538 The LaTeX is importable in principle (and is rather clean) but I often
539 prefer plain text and add the formatting back in.
540 (This requires that you have knowledge on the original formatting).
541 On last writing did not yet handle Office 2000 Word.
544 wvware (found at www.wvware.com, or the abisource CVS repository for the latest).
545 This was previously called msWordView.
546 Very good, only tends to produce visually formatted LaTeX/HTML.
547 Is however highly configurable: a config file
551 guides the translation process.
552 Handles also the newest Office formats.
555 Ted This is the editor to use when someone sends you an RTF file created
558 Mail yourself the converted version (plain text or HTML).
561 Finally, when all else fails, use any word processor (WordPerfect, StarOffice,
562 ...) which understands Word.
563 Then export as the file as plain text and add the formatting by hand in
565 For me personally, at least, it's faster doing this than cleaning up attempts
566 at a conversion, though it is certainly unsatisfactory if you need to go
567 back and forth a lot.
570 Can I read/write HTML files?
573 You can output HTML files using the
574 \begin_inset Quotes eld
578 \begin_inset Quotes erd
581 converter program, amongst others.
583 \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$
586 LaTeX program available which allows you to convert the other direction.
589 Obtaining and Compiling LyX
595 LyX source code: lyx-1.x.x.tar.gz
598 XForms library: xforms-0.88 or higher (using the latest version available
602 A LaTeX installation: we strongly recommend teTeX-1.0 or higher
605 A PostScript® interpreter: ghostscript 7.0 or higher
608 A modern C++ compiler.
609 If you are using gcc, LyX requires at least version 2.95.2.
621 make install (usually as root, though you don't have to be if you add flags
622 to the configure command)
625 See the INSTALL file for more details.
629 Where are precompiled binaries?
632 Most of the above packages are available as precompiled binaries for a variety
633 of Linux systems, perhaps others as well.
634 The LyX binaries are available as RPMS and a few other formats and may
636 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/bin/}
643 The Windows port is available at
644 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.fh-hannover.de/mbau/tim/hentschel/lyx/index.html}
651 Questions about Evil Red Text (IMPORTANT!)
654 What is Evil Red Text (aka ERT)?
657 ERT (Evil Red Text) refers to raw LaTeX commands which are inserted into
659 Certain troglodytes in the development group coined this term when they
660 complained about the unsightly appearance it leads to in LyX documents.
661 The more enlightened among us know that it is extremely useful, even though
662 it does qualify as URT (Ugly Red Text), but ERT seems to have stuck.
666 How do I enter Evil Red Text?
669 Aesthetic arguments aside, many of the answers in this FAQ require that
670 you use ERT, so whenever we say
671 \begin_inset Quotes eld
674 insert the following LaTeX code
675 \begin_inset Quotes erd
681 Click the TeX toolbar button or select
686 nsert\SpecialChar \menuseparator
696 Type the command as it is written in the normal way
699 The new ERT inset is really inconvenient !
702 A lot of people have been complaining about the ERT inset introduced in
704 However, since there is little hope of to see the old LaTeX font return
705 from the grave (it was really a hack), here are a couple of things to ponder:
708 You can collapse the ERT like any other floats by using
713 dit\SpecialChar \menuseparator
727 You can also set it to
728 \begin_inset Quotes eld
732 \begin_inset Quotes erd
735 by using the properties dialog obtained by right-clicking anywhere in the
739 Is there an alternative?
742 LaTeX commands can also be inserted in the
743 \begin_inset Quotes eld
747 \begin_inset Quotes erd
750 , a form in LyX that is inserted verbatim into the LaTeX file which is generated
752 This is especially useful for including nonstandard LaTeX packages, defining
753 global shortcuts to be used within the document, etc.
756 Questions Related to Using LyX
759 In this section, we attempt to address the truly most frequently asked questions.
760 For a broader range of not-so-frequently asked questions and many
761 \begin_inset Quotes eld
765 \begin_inset Quotes erd
768 topics, see Herbert Voss' spectacular collection at
769 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.educat.hu-berlin.de/~voss/lyx}
774 You are doing yourself a large disservice if you don't check there before
775 sending a message to the mailing lists!
779 \layout Subsubsection
781 How do I get rid of the date under the title?
784 The simplest solution is to open the menu
789 ayout\SpecialChar \menuseparator
804 in the preamble window.
805 \layout Subsubsection
807 How do I change the spacing in an Itemize/\SpecialChar \-
808 Enumerate/\SpecialChar \-
809 Description list environment
813 You'll have to do this by hand: for example, for one particular list, you
814 can add the following LaTeX code at the beginning of the list:
824 \layout Subsubsection
826 How do I number equations by section?
829 Add the following two lines to your LaTeX preamble:
834 @addtoreset{equation}{section}
846 \layout Subsubsection
848 Is it possible to do this for figures and tables as well?
882 Don't forget to adapt the
884 @addtoreset command, too.
885 \layout Subsubsection
887 How do I change to footnote numbers to symbols (star, dagger, etc.)?
900 to your LaTeX preamble.
901 \layout Subsubsection
903 How do I kill widows and orphans?
906 Okay, we are not playing Duke Nukem here! To eliminate widows and orphans
907 (first line from a paragraph at the bottom of the page and the last line
908 from a paragraph at the top of the page), add the following to the LaTeX
930 \layout Subsubsection
932 How do I get a formatted list which starts with e.g.
937 If you want a list which looks like
944 b) Second alternative
950 then try the following
960 b) Second alternative
966 where {} is in ERT (i.e.
967 a placeholder not generating output.
968 Specifically, set the style to
969 \begin_inset Quotes eld
973 \begin_inset Quotes erd
976 , enter the brackets in ERT, change the environment depth, and add the three
978 LyX will auto-label the entries.
979 \layout Subsubsection
981 How do I count words in LyX?
984 Run a spellcheck; it will display the total number of words checked.
985 Make sure the cursor is at the top of the document when you start the spellchec
986 ker so that everything is counted.
987 \layout Subsubsection
989 How do I insert a fixed amount of horizontal space?
992 There are various ERT commands to use:
1034 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1038 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1041 is roughly the width of the letter
1042 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1046 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1049 in the current font.
1050 The length argument of the
1056 command is any valid TeX length; units can be
1072 (points = 1/72 inch),
1077 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1081 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1089 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1093 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1110 \layout Subsubsection
1112 How can I make citations show up as [1,2,3,6] or [1-3,6] rather than [1][2][3][6
1122 into the LaTeX preamble.
1123 Most LaTeX distributions should have this package included.
1124 LyX supports this package, if you insert multiple citations separated by
1125 commas into the citation dialog, e.
1127 [Smalley_JCP,Jarrold_Sci], instead of just one citation after the other:
1128 [Smalley_JCP] [Jarrold_Sci].
1131 Figure related questions
1132 \layout Subsubsection
1134 What is the difference between a
1135 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1139 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1143 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1147 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1153 This is an example of less-than-ideal terminology.
1155 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1159 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1162 is what I would really call a
1163 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1167 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1170 ; it basically means insert a picture file.
1172 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1176 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1179 is more what one means by a figure in a paper: it includes the graphic,
1180 the caption, the figure label, etc.
1181 You should almost always insert a figure float first, then put a figure
1185 Tables work in the same manner.
1186 Put a table float in first, then insert the table within that.
1187 \layout Subsubsection
1189 How do I get LyX to put the figure exactly where I want it?
1194 Layout\SpecialChar \menuseparator
1203 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1211 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1215 This tells LaTeX to try really hard to put the figure here first, then
1216 the top of a page, then on a page by itself.
1217 This is a global setting: all figure will then obey this rule set.
1220 If you want to control how each figure behaves, right-click in the figure
1221 float and you will get a dialog allowing to control the figure behavior.
1222 \layout Subsubsection
1225 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1228 Too many unprocessed floats
1229 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1235 LaTeX can handle only a limited number of floating elements floating at
1237 For example, if Figure 4 can't be fit in a good location (using the default
1238 rules of top of the page, then bottom, then a page of its own) and Figure
1239 5 comes along, they will both continue to float toward the end of the document
1240 until a good location can be found.
1241 If nothing good turns up, they will just be placed at the end of the document.
1242 If there are too many of these, LaTeX overruns a counter and emits the
1244 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1247 too many unprocessed floats
1248 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1252 This is not a bug in LaTeX, this is simply too many figures with too little
1256 The easiest way to work around this is to insert a
1262 command somewhere in the document where a pagebreak would be appropriate.
1263 While a pagebreak would simply start a new page,
1269 processes all remaining floats, then begins a new page.
1270 This may lead to an unsightly stack of figures in the middle of your document;
1271 you may need to use several
1277 to make things balance nicely.
1280 Math related questions
1281 \layout Subsubsection
1283 How do I put normal text inside a mathematical equation?
1287 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1295 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1298 while inside the equation to enter
1299 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1303 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1307 \layout Subsubsection
1309 How do I make a cube root (or higher)?
1313 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1321 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1325 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1329 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1333 Use the cursor keys to navigate the entry boxes.
1336 Questions Related to Running LyX
1339 How do I convert LyX files to LaTeX from the command line?
1342 File export was vastly improved in version 1.1.6.
1346 lyx --export latex <yourfile>.lyx
1349 and that is all you need to do.
1352 If you have an older version of LyX, you can use the same syntax if you
1353 are running X, because it will cause LyX windows to pop up onto your screen.
1354 If you have the Xvfb command available, you can resort to a deeper level
1355 of subterfuge (under
1364 (Xvfb :1 -once -terminate &); rm <file>.tex; lyx -display :1 --export latex
1368 Under csh/tcsh it is simply
1373 Xvfb :1 -once -terminate &; rm <file>.tex; lyx -display :1 --export latex
1377 This should work anywhere, whether or not X is actually running.
1380 How do I create PDF files from my LyX document?
1383 Read Section 5.3.6 of the
1390 Why do the fonts in my document look so bad in
1397 The problem and the solution are also discussed in Section 5.3.6 of the
1404 Why doesn't my latest and greatest version of Ghostscript render EPS inline
1408 [Note: this only applies to versions of LyX older than 1.2.0, since the graphics
1409 rendering code has been rewritten in this version]
1412 A couple of users reported that they couldn't get recent Ghostscript versions
1413 to display inline figures in LyX.
1414 It transpires that this is a Ghostscript bug:
1418 \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=124957&group_id=1897}
1425 This bug appears to affect Ghostscript 6.22 and upwards.
1426 After applying the above mentioned patch, rendering in Lyx works fine again.
1427 GNU Ghostscript 6.53 and above include this fix.
1430 Questions Related to LyX on Windows
1433 Why do the menus and the toolbar flicker ?
1436 You are probably using the XWin32 X server.
1437 This is a bug in XWin32: you can work around the problem by disabling the
1439 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1443 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1446 option of XWin32, and using a color mode other than PseudoColor.
1449 How to get further assistance
1452 You still haven't answered my question!
1455 Then RTFM, especially the Tutorial.
1456 The documentation really is quite good.
1457 (Besides, I helped write parts of it :-) If you think your problem may
1458 be LaTeX related, then look in
1460 LaTeX, A Document Preparation System, 2nd Ed.
1463 by Leslie Lamport (1994).
1464 There are also numerous example files included with LyX.
1467 File\SpecialChar \menuseparator
1468 Open\SpecialChar \menuseparator
1474 I want to mail someone about my problem.
1478 Send email to the LyX Users list lyx-users@lists.lyx.org.
1479 If LyX is actually crashing or otherwise non-functional, then try the developer
1480 s' list at lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org.
1483 What to put in a request for help.
1486 Include your version of LyX and a description of what you are trying to
1487 do, along with evidence that you've actually read the docs.
1490 If LyX has crashed, include the version of LyX, the operating system, the
1491 version of xforms (if it seems to be a screen drawing problem), and a precise
1492 description of the events that lead to the crash.
1493 The easier it is for the developers to reproduce your crash, the more likely
1495 If you're brave and like to hack, use gdb to generate a backtrace and include
1496 the results with your mail.
1497 If you have no clue what I'm talking about, just describe what you did
1498 as completely as you can.
1501 Administrative information and acknowledgments
1504 Feedback is invited.
1508 Send comments, suggested additions, world record document claims, etc.
1511 lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org.
1514 Formats in which this FAQ is available.
1518 The LyX file original is included in the LyX source distribution, converted
1519 versions in HTML and ASCII should soon be available at the website.
1520 A German version is also available with the distribution.
1523 Authorship and acknowledgments.
1526 Bernhard Iselborn, David Johnson, and Paul Evans were responsible for the
1527 FAQ through version 0.2.2 which covered LyX-0.10.7.
1528 The FAQ as of version 0.3.0 was written from scratch and covers LyX-1.0 and
1530 Many people contributed pieces to the current version; Mike Ressler of
1531 the Doc Team collected them into this file.
1534 Disclaimer and Copyright.
1538 I don't claim anything in this document is accurate to within a factor of
1540 \begin_inset Formula $\pi$
1543 ; after all, I'm just an astronomer, and we like to set
1544 \begin_inset Formula $c=h=k=\pi=1$
1548 When the answer is wrong, we just redefine the units.
1549 This file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
1550 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
1551 FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
1552 See the GNU General Public License for more details.
1553 In other words, it's not my fault if you lose your dissertation the night
1554 before your doctoral defense because you forgot to save it before the power
1555 failed while wondering how a fundamental physical constant expressed in
1557 \begin_inset Formula $\textrm{m s}^{-1}$
1560 could possibly be equal to one expressed as
1561 \begin_inset Formula $\textrm{kg m s}^{-2}\textrm{ K}^{-1}$
1565 This file is Copyright © 2000 by Michael E.
1566 Ressler on behalf of the LyX Documentation Team.