On 7.04.08, Miguel Daniel Rodríguez Magarzo wrote:
> So I don't know what to do, if I should abandon the idea of building a
> master document,since I don't see clearly which advantages it really
> provides. Anyone could point me any?
You will get the advantage of a common document
* continuous page numbers
* continuous chapter and section numbers
* table of contents for the whole document
* common bibliography section
* cross-references between different chapters "just work"
* ...
as well as the advantages of smaller documents
* faster compiling (i.e. faster preview of just one chapter)
* faster navigation in a document
* improved security: a corrupt sub-document does not affect the whole.
* ...
There are disadvantages as well but this was not the question.
> Besides, the master document has not built-in the sets of child
> documents, has it?
The master document source contains just a link to the child documents.
- this way is it remains a very small file.
The same is used for graphics.
For my thesis, I have a directory structure like
Diss/
main.lyx % master
preamble.tex % used with \input{preamble.tex}
math-macros.lyx % included in master and childs (as branch)
Einleitung/ % chapter 1
einleitung.lyx % child document
plot.eps % vector graphic, included as is
photo1.jpg % pixel graphic, wrapped in eps by LyX
Grundgleichungen/ % chapter 2
feldkopplung.svg % vector graphic, converted to eps by LyX
impulsfolge.gnuplot % gnuplot source of a plot
impulsfolge.eps % gnuplot eps output, included as is
... % more supporting files
... % more chapter subdirectories
zusammenfassung.lyx % a chapter without supporting files
Anhang/ % appendix
... % LyX source and supporting files
which will combined be not take more disk space than a corresponding
openoffice or other office-suite file with included graphics.
I can easily pack it in a zip or tar.bz2 archive if I want to move
or store it as a single file.
> Consequently, the whole set of child docs should be
> there forever, if I've understood it rightly.
No, only as long as the master document is there ;-)
GM
