Trinh,
The help section shows in detail the use of the texhash command and how to add class and style packages to your list that is recognizable by LaTeX.
Here is the catch. LyX being a WYSIWYM claim of an editor doesn't include LyXified support for the enormous archive of options TeX/LaTeX offers.
So this is where the embedded LaTeX command to add such code comes to use.
Assumption: you are on a 'nix style operating system.
Let's take Linux for example:
I use Debian for my LaTeX needs.
If I go to CTAN.org and discover say the beamer or memoir package and want to utilize it I create the following under /usr/local/lib/
/texmf /texmf/tex /texmf/tex/latex
What you are doing is mirroring a structure underneath /usr/local/lib/texmf that texhash will then index and build a meta file to list where latex and say pdftex or other tex engines to look that will archive your particular .cls and .sty files, so on an so forth.
Most if not all class packages include instructions on how to install.
Say I have memoir.tar.gz.
underneath
$cd /usr/local/lib/texmf/tex/latex
$ tar xvzf memoir.tar.gz
resulting in:
$/usr/local/lib/texmf/tex/latex/memoir
Inside there I run the subsequent latex command on the .ins file and .dtx files to generate class and style as well as documentation, usually in dvi. Most packages already include a pdf copy of their class package and what it can do.
How does LyX work with class packages that aren't "natively" supported?
By inserting direct LaTeX code.
Now if you happen to use KDE and get tired of waiting for LyX to include your favorite class packages I suggest Kile.
http://kile.sourceforge.net
I still enjoy and respect LyX but I haven't spent more than ten minutes using in since I started using Kile. The drawback is learning more LaTeX which LyX attempts to remove the user from knowing, but ultimately its a solid but still work-in-progress.
Hope this helps,
Marc
On Apr 15, 2005, at 5:21 PM, Trinh Pham wrote:
I'm a grad student at a UC school, and we have access to .cls and corresponding .sty files for Latex. Since I really like using Lyx, I wanted to write my dissertation in Lyx instead, but it does not recognize this document class or style files. I don't understand how to write a layout file from just reading the Lyx customization help section. Does anyone know an easy way to implement an existing Latex document class in Lyx? Or has anyone already been successful in doing so with a similar document?
Thanks. Trinh
