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\begin_layout Title
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Introduction to LyX
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\begin_layout Author
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by the LyX Team
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-Principal maintainer of this file is
-\noun on
-John Weiss
-\noun default
-.
- If you have comments or error corrections, please send them to the LyX
- Documentation mailing list, <lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org>.
+If you have comments or error corrections, please send them to the LyX Documenta
+tion mailing list, <lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org>.
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\begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents{}
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\begin_layout Chapter
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The Philosophy of LyX
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-
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-
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\hfill
--- Jeff MacNelly in
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\begin_layout Section
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What is LyX?
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LyX is a document preparation system.
It excels at letting you create complex technical and scientific articles
with mathematics, cross-references, bibliographies, indices, etc.
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LyX is a program that provides a modern approach to writing documents with
a computer by using a markup language paradigm, an approach that breaks
with the obsolete tradition of the
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Part of the initial challenge of using LyX comes from the change in thinking
that you, the user, must make.
At one time, all we had for creating documents were typewriters, so we
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\begin_layout Standard
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In other words, we've all been trained to worry about the little details
of which character goes where.
Consequently, almost all word processors have this mentality.
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This is where LyX differs from an ordinary word processor.
You don't concern yourself with what character goes where.
You tell LyX
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To be fair, most recent versions of the most popular office suites now have
some sort of style sheets which follow a similar markup method.
However, our experience is that they are still rarely used in practice.
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\begin_layout Standard
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Suppose you are writing a report.
To begin your report, you want a section called
\begin_inset Quotes eld
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\begin_layout Standard
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In LyX, you go to the pull-down on the far left of the button bar and select
\family sans
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\begin_layout Standard
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Yes, that's all.
If you cut and paste the section, it will automatically be renumbered ---
everywhere.
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Now let's look at the problem of consistency.
Five days later, you reopen your report and start Section\InsetSpace ~
4.
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Here's another example.
Suppose you're making a list.
In other word processors, a list is just a bunch of tab stops and newlines.
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So, the basic idea behind LyX is: specify
\emph on
what
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\begin_layout Section
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Differences between LyX and Other Word
\newline
Processors
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LyX and Other Word Processors
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No, we're not trying to start (or win) a word processor holy war here.
But we do think it's important to describe LyX's features.
And one of LyX's main features, WYSIWYM, is a fundamentally different concept
\end_layout
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Here's a list of things you won't find in LyX:
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\begin_layout Itemize
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The document ruler
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Tab stops
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\begin_layout Itemize
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Extra whitespace (i.e.
hitting
\family sans
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Tab stops, along with a ruler showing you the position of things on the
page, are useless in LyX.
The program worries about where things go on the page, not you.
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Here are some things that exist in LyX, but aren't used as you might think:
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Indenting controls
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Page breaks
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Line spacing (i.e.
single spaced, double spaced, etc.)
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Whitespace, horizontal and vertical
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Fonts and font sizes
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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Typefaces (bold, italic, underline, etc.)
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Although they exist in LyX, you generally don't need them.
LyX will take care of these things for you, depending on what you're doing.
Different parts of the document are automatically set in a different typeface
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There are ways to adjust all of these (only some of which require knowledge
of LaTeX), either for a whole document or for a specific location in a
document.
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Lastly, there are a few areas where we believe LyX (and LaTeX) surpasses
many word processors:
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Hyphenation
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Lists of any type
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Mathematics
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Tables
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Cross-referencing
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Granted, many modern word processors can handle mathematical symbols, tables,
and hyphenation, and many have moved towards style definitions and the
WYSIWYM concept.
However, they've only recently been able to do so, whereas LyX is built
upon the LaTeX document preparation system.
- LaTeX has been around for over 15 years, and
+ LaTeX has been around for decades, and
\emph on
works
\emph default
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\begin_layout Section
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What the heck
\emph on
is
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LaTeX is a document preparation system designed by Leslie Lamport in 1985.
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The source for the info in this section is
\begin_inset Quotes eld
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If it weren't for one other feature, all TeX would be is a typesetting engine.
However, TeX also allows you to define macros.
This is where the action begins.
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Most people who use TeX are actually using a macro package which Knuth created
to hide a lot of the typesetting details.
This is what most people think of when they think of TeX\SpecialChar \@.
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Now, in parallel with the development and growth of LaTeX, other folks were
creating their own custom macro packages for TeX, ones to make slides or
articles for math journals and so on.
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There are two ways to extend LaTeX: classes and styles.
A
\emph on
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Here's a summary:
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\begin_layout List
\labelwidthstring 00.00.0000
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TeX: Typesetting language with macro capability.
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LaTeX: Macro package built upon TeX\SpecialChar \@.
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\begin_layout List
\labelwidthstring 00.00.0000
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classes: Descriptions of a type of document, using LaTeX\SpecialChar \@.
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\begin_layout List
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styles: Alters the default behavior of LaTeX in some way.
\end_layout
\begin_layout List
\labelwidthstring 00.00.0000
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LyX: Visual, WYSIWYM word-processor that uses LaTeX in all its glory to
do its printing.
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The idea of this section was to try and explain
\emph on
why
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Oh --- one last thing.
LaTeX is pronounced like TeX is.
It rhymes with
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or
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\begin_layout Chapter
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Navigating the Documentation
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To make it easier to answer your questions and describe all of the features
of LyX, the documentation has been split up into several different files.
Each one has its own purpose, as described below.
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\begin_layout Standard
-
Although LyX is now well past the
\begin_inset Quotes eld
\end_inset
\end_inset
, families, dishes to clean, kitty litter to dispose of, et cetera.
- If you want to help out, be sure to read Section\InsetSpace ~
+ If you want to help out, be sure to read Chapter\InsetSpace ~
-\begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec:Contrib}
+\begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{chp:Contrib}
\end_inset
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\begin_layout Standard
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Also, please do us a favor---if anything in these manuals confuses you,
is unclear, or wrong, don't hesitate to let us know! You can reach the
current document maintainers by mailing to
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The Format of the Manuals
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\begin_layout Standard
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Some of you may have printed out the manual(s).
Others may be reading it online, within LyX as a file.
For those reading online, there are some differences from the printed version.
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Hi!
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To close me, click on the grey box on the top left of this box, the one
with the word
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In the printed manuals, all cross-references appear as the actual numbers
for a chapter, section, subsection, and so on.
Online, however, all cross-references appear as a grey box like the following:
-\begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec:Contrib}
+\begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{chp:Contrib}
\end_inset
\begin_inset Quotes eld
\end_inset
-sec:Contrib
+chp:Contrib
\begin_inset Quotes erd
\end_inset
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\begin_layout Standard
-
Now that we've cleared up some of the differences between the printed and
online versions of this file, we can start looking at the format of this
document.
\begin_layout Itemize
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\emph on
Emphasized Style
\emph default
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\family typewriter
Typewriter
\family default
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\family sans
Sans Serif
\family default
\begin_layout Itemize
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\noun on
Noun Style
\noun default
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\begin_layout Standard
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For menu accelerator keys and other more obscure keybindings, you'll probably
get referred to the
\emph on
\end_layout
\begin_layout Itemize
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-
\begin_inset Quotes eld
\end_inset
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\begin_layout Itemize
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-
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\begin_layout Itemize
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\family sans
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\begin_layout Itemize
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\family sans
Return
\family default
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\begin_layout Standard
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You'll also see something like
\begin_inset Quotes eld
\end_inset
\end_layout
\begin_layout Section
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The Manuals
\end_layout
\begin_layout Standard
-
The following list describes the contents of each of the files in the documentat
ion:
\end_layout
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
Introduction
\end_layout
\begin_deeper
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This file.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
Tutorial
\end_layout
\begin_deeper
\begin_layout Standard
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If you are new to LyX, and have never used LaTeX before, you should start
here.
If you think LaTeX is the stuff they make condoms out of, then you definitely
\end_layout
\begin_layout Standard
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If you
\emph on
have
\end_layout
\begin_layout Standard
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If, at any time, you find yourself feeling a bit clueless with respect to
LyX, try perusing the
\emph on
before diving into any of the other manuals.
It's a good springboard.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
User's\InsetSpace ~
Guide
\begin_deeper
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The primary documentation.
We'll cover
\emph on
\emph default
.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
Extended\InsetSpace ~
Features
\begin_deeper
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Extension of the
\emph on
User's Guide
e editing features, and includes some of the (rather bizarre, but nifty)
tricks of the LaTeX masters.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
Customization
\end_layout
\begin_deeper
\begin_layout Standard
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A description of advanced LyX features, including how to customize the overall
behavior of LyX\SpecialChar \@.
This includes such things as keybindings, internationalization,
\emph default
.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Description
-
\emph on
LaTeX\InsetSpace ~
configuration
\begin_deeper
\begin_layout Standard
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LyX investigates your system upon installation.
This file contains info on what LyX learned about your installation.
Check it to see if you're missing something you might like to have.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
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These files will reference one another as necessary.
For example, the
\emph on
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We'll state again an important point:
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-
\begin_inset VSpace bigskip
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-
-
\begin_inset VSpace bigskip
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Otherwise, you could needlessly frustrate yourself.
LyX does all that you need a word processor to do, but using a different
approach.
\end_layout
\begin_layout Chapter
-
-
-\begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec:Contrib}
+\begin_inset LatexCommand \label{chp:Contrib}
\end_inset
\end_layout
\begin_layout Section
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Contributing to LyX
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\begin_layout Standard
-
-LyX is mostly written in C++ (the LaTeX importer is written in Perl).
+LyX is mostly written in C++.
It is a large project, and as a result it is not free from bugs, or the
need for improvements in the source code.
\end_layout
\begin_layout Subsection
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Reporting a bug
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\begin_layout Standard
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While using LyX, you may find behaviour which you consider a bug.
Crashes, though rare, can happen.
User interface problems are considered major bugs by the LyX team: especially
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LyX has a bug tracking system, which you can find at
\family typewriter
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\begin_layout Standard
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A good (useful) bug report will at a minimum include the version of LyX
you are having the problem with.
Accurate, detailed descriptions are preferred - the more time developers
\end_layout
\begin_layout Standard
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If you can make LyX crash, please take the time to produce a backtrace with
a non-stripped lyx executable.
The one built in the source directory is per default not stripped, while
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if you want to be thorough, use the
\begin_inset Quotes eld
\end_inset
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\begin_layout Subsection
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Contributing fixes and new features
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\begin_layout Standard
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If you have made changes to LyX's source that you think should become part
of LyX, send your changes as a diff file (in unified format) to the development
list referenced above, along with a change log, and a description of what
\end_layout
\begin_layout Section
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Contributing to the Documentation
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\begin_layout Standard
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LyX's documentation is extensive; however LyX is under constant development,
and each new release adds new features.
You may find some documentation needs improvement.
\end_layout
\begin_layout Subsection
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Reporting Errors in the Manuals
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\begin_layout Standard
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If you find a problem with the documentation, send a message to the mailing
list
\family typewriter
\end_layout
\begin_layout Subsection
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Joining the Documentation Team.
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The LyX Documentation Project, like anything else in the LyX project, can
always use assistance! If you're interested in contributing to the Documentatio
n Project, you need to do the following assignment
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\begin_layout Enumerate
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Get the latest LyX source code.
Untar it.
\begin_inset Foot
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The more adventurous can grab the latest documentation anonymously from
the LyX CVS repository - it is contained in the
\family typewriter
\end_layout
\begin_layout Enumerate
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Next, read the
\emph on
User's Guide
\begin_deeper
\begin_layout Standard
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The point of this exercise is to give you ideas.
The
\emph on
You should be able to glean some insights into how we want the manuals
to read and to look.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
\begin_layout Enumerate
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Contact the team at:
\end_layout
\begin_deeper
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\family typewriter
lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org
\end_layout
\begin_layout Standard
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to discuss your intended changes, and get some feedback on them.
\end_layout
+
\end_deeper
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The changes you wish to make may range from improving clarity of the text,
to doing major re-structuring of the documentation.
Any and all improvements are gladly received.
projects / lyx.git / blobdiff