LyXLyx for Ubuntu--why is it so big?

Information and discussion about LyX, a WYSIWYM editor, available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X systems.
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liamg
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:59 am

Lyx for Ubuntu--why is it so big?

Post by liamg »

I've been using LyX on Ubuntu for several years. I have mixed feelings about it, but a lot of my files are already written in it, so I can't afford to give it up at this point. I have a new installation of Ubuntu, so it's time to re-install lyx as well. However, in the Ubuntu software center, LyX is listed as 500mb to download, 1gb when installed (when I download it, it says it is actually 700mb). Why on earth is it so big? It would seem to me that it's a fairly simple program. Is there a lite version, or a way of stripping it down?

Thanks,

Liam

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scottkosty
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:38 am

Re: Lyx for Ubuntu--why is it so big?

Post by scottkosty »

That's too bad that you're kind of forced to use LyX when you don't want to. I've had situations like that with other software and it's not a fun feeling. You should consider installing LyX, exporting all your .lyx files to .tex, and then uninstalling LyX to use a different LaTeX GUI/editor. You can export from the command line with lyx -e pdflatex yourfile.lyx so you can batch process many files.

As far as why it's big, it's because it has to install the libraries and packages it needs. LyX needs Qt and it needs a LaTeX installation.

You might be interested in using https://github.com/scottkosty/install-tl-ubuntu to keep the TeX Live installation to a minimum. You can use the "--profile" option (see examples.profile for an example of the file to give as an argument) and choose only the packages you need.
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