LyX ⇒ Importing LaTeX template for use with LyX

[baropalma]

Hi there,

I'm a semi-newbie, in that I've used LyX for several years, but have rarely progressed past the use of the 'article' class to write simple humanities papers. I've only ventured into ERT for simple matters such as spacing and formatting.

I am about to start writing my dissertation, and up to today I was convinced that I would write it using LyX. However, I spent most of today trying to make a document that would satisfy my university's very specific formatting demands, and eventually gave up, realizing that I needed to either delve into pure LaTeX (which at the moment is way beyond my technological capacities) in order to construct my own layout, or figure out how to import my university's business school's LaTeX template for use with LyX, changing it to suit my particular dissertation. I tried the latter today, and thought I came close to success, but would always run up against errors that I didn't understand hen trying to view as a PDF. My efforts at fixing these errors led me to believe that the .tex template had been imported in a way which really messed with most of the commands.

I was wondering if there was any special method that would create a workable LyX layout from a LaTex template (a .tex file), if the basic "Import—>LaTeX (plain)..." doesn't work.

For further clarification, the business school LaTeX template is here:
http://www.upenn.edu/provost/images/upl ... harton.tex

If you try to import it into LyX, you'll see that the final product is riddled with errors.

If anyone can be of any help, I will be eternally grateful. Save me from having to write my dissertation using Word!

[scottkosty]

Hi baropalma,

You might get more help for this type of question by emailing lyx-users@lists.lyx.org.
For learning how to create layouts, I've heard that this is a good starting point:
http://www.oak-tree.us/blog/index.php/2 ... om-lyx-nih

Good luck!

Scott

[baropalma]

Scott,
thanks for the tips. I did find some helpful information from your link, but ended up solving my problem by another easier route: I found a dissertation class file for my University and a corresponding sample .tex file that I could import into .lyx and alter to my specifications with a minimum of effort (well, about a day's work... but a day well spent in order to be able to write with LyX and not Word).

[scottkosty]

Glad you got it figured out!

Scott