On Fri, 9 Aug 2002 11:10:36 +0200 wrote Thomas Templin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
...
> > > > > On Wed, 7 Aug 2002 09:11:26 -0400 wrote Steve Litt
> > > >
> > > > I don't understand what you've written above, so let me
> > > > describe how I envision LyX character styles.
> > > > I envision it as a drop down box very similar to the
> > > > environment drop down box. Highlight the text, select the
> > > > character style, and the text is formatted (in LyX)
> > > > similarly to the intended .ps format, and exactly as desired
> > > > in the final .ps output. Character styles would be created
> > > > similar to environments -- in a .layout file or a style
> > > > file, and then incorporated using edit->reconfigure.
I thought about character styles that are local to the document, similar to
the macro
> > > \newcommand{\company} [1] {\textbf{#1}}
in the LaTeX preamble.
If the macros should be used for a whole bunch of documents, they could be
saved in a template file and would be available for all documents using this
template.
-> I argue that this is easier to do for the average user than writing a
*.layout file.
-> It makes the documents more portable - you can mail them to another
LyX-user without the need to give him/her the layout file too.
This is already working :-) but without GUI support :-(
My proposal is a GUI support for macros (i.e. the LaTeX \newcommand{}) that
I envision similar to the existing math-macro support: In the GUI you see a
WYSIWYM representation, for latex it is a \newcommand.
BTW: I'd prefer it without the 1.1.6 bug: math-macros are session-local in
the GUI but document-local in the file.
Also, included lyx files should be scanned for macro definitions.
A drop down menu that lets you choose between all the macros in
the actual document is a good idea! (may be context-sensitive: all
math-macros when in mathed and all text-macros when in text mode)
And indeed it would be nice, if macros with placeholder ({#1}) would "wrap"
around the selection (if there is any) and open a box otherwise.
> > > Couldnt this be done by some kind of "special" latex include
> > > file?
Actually with a lyx include file. (With the chance to relyx your
existing latex file.)
This works (in 1.1.6) with 2 drawbacks:
- only for math mode (math-macros)
- only if you open the included file in LyX before opening the
including file (it might be closed afterwards, LyX remembers the
macros for the session).
> > Using your standalone preamble idea, how do you envision the
> > process of actually tagging text as the character style in such
> > a way that it's fast and brainless for the author, ...
I'd like to see a twofold access:
1. a function use-macro with the optional argument name that can be
bound to a kay (say '\' or something easier to access on a German
keybord).
Often used macros could also be bound directly to a key, e.g. via
bind M-a s "use-macro "DNS"
If called without argument, it should insert a little box at the cursor
position and wait for the name (ended by a space character)
Now, the macro name gets replaces by the graphic representation of the
"compiled" macro (with Desoxyribonucleinsaeure, say) with placeholders
represented by a little box again or filled with a marked region. Exit
the placeholder box in a way you do with the footnote box just now and
again: replace the content with a graphical representation of WYM (the
content in BOLD in our company example).
2. a menu >Macros that lets you choose all your defined macros by name. If
the macros from included files would go to submenues, it would be easy
to define a per-document hierarchical structure for easy access to all
the macros that will be defined during a 4 years Phd phase :-)
It is up to the user do write a file Character_Styles.lyx and
insert it in the Troubleshooters.lyx template.
Advantages: Often used macros are easy to access (either by knowing the name
or by a custom keybinding).
Rarely used macros are recallable by the menu.
> A better way would be a script which is looking for words from a
> list which should appear in a special character style and change
> the lyx file itself. But I think this might be a way which is much
> harder to implement into a LyX gui than using a standalone "style
> file".
Actually, I would not like too much automatism here. Nice option for a
post-processing of a lyx-file though.
Recalls my feature request for an interface to arbitrary user-provided
scripts: On a keypress
save the current buffer
call a script with the file as argument (or your favourite text editor :-)
restore buffer (and goto previous position)
Guenter
--
G.Milde at physik.tu-dresden.de
