LyX ⇒ Few questions from a newbie

[ndrea]

Hi everybody,
A few days ago I started to use LyX and I was trying to figure out how to setup a document for my thesis. After having read the tutorial and the other user's guides I think I have a general understanding of how LyX works, but I still have some doubts.
First, my computer settings:
Windows Vista SP2
LyX 1.6.5 (I downloaded the alternate installer just released on 7th December)

Some more general questions:
- Sometimes it's suggested to install certain packages in my local texmf directory.
Should I do that even when I could install it through MiKTeX?
To be sure, is the local texmf folder a way to store my personal packages so that I don't lose them in case I change/uninstall LyX?
- Should I rely on MiKTeX to find out unambiguously which packages I already have?
Even though I once installed csqoutes in the texmf dir and added the path in the MiKTeX roots, the package manager doesn't know it.
- I don't have always clear in mind if every new package has to be loaded in the preamble or not; e.g. CTAN says ifthen has to be loaded, while the Biblatex manual says it's loaded automatically (then maybe it's not a contradiction and if I load biblatex it does it for me, while in other cases I have to do it alone, right?)


On my project:
Actually I don't have very strict formatting specifications (mainly font size 12pt, side margins and bibliographic style).
- I have been suggested to start with a report KOMA-script class. I read in the manual the way it calculates and creates the type area; does it work inefficiently if I give page margins constraints in the document settings?
- I'll follow the Chicago style for my thesis in History and I found the biblatex-chicago package. Before getting to that I decided to try to get biblatex working, but still I don't have any good result.
I followed the instructions in the LyX wiki; let's say I want an authortitle style, so I skip point 1. (the biblatex.module), put in the preamble

Code: Select all

\usepackage[style=authortitle]{biblatex}
\bibliography{biblio}

("biblio" as my bib file without the extension), insert the workarounds in my documents (TOC in LyX note and ERT \printbibliography; points 4. and 5.) and write a couple of sentences with footnote citations.
Now, if I put the full path {C:\Users\...\biblio} I get a preable error (actually 5 equal) "undefined control sequence" with description "\begin{document} etc..."
I tried once to consider my working directory as my full path starting point, but I get the same error.
If I set my working path at the same level of my document, where there is also my .bib file I get no error but the pdf prints just the reference keys in the citation, while the bibliography page has only the title with no entry.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion!

Andrea

[monamipierrot]

1 - Should I do that even when I could install it through MiKTeX?
2 To be sure, is the local texmf folder a way to store my personal packages so that I don't lose them in case I change/uninstall LyX?
3 - Should I rely on MiKTeX to find out unambiguously which packages I already have?
4 Even though I once installed csqoutes in the texmf dir and added the path in the MiKTeX roots, the package manager doesn't know it.
5 - if I load biblatex it does it for me, while in other cases I have to do it alone, right?)
On my project:
6 - does it work inefficiently if I give page margins constraints in the document settings?
7 -

Code: Select all

\usepackage[style=authortitle]{biblatex}
\bibliography{biblio}

Ciao Andrea,
good to see you here!
I'll reply for points:
1 - NO, of course! Manual install is only for those very few packages not included in MikTeX (BibLaTeX is one of them)
2 - YES but in the future if things are not working well, you may want to reinstall MikTeX ant the whole TeX/LaTeX thing - so better remember what you installed
3- YES
4- CSQUOTES is in MikTeX: install it with the browser option
5 It should
6 No idea on this. You shouldn't worry NOW about this, unless your document have specific graphical needs (e.g. many images or tables which need to already know the exact page size, but I guess for history things this is not needed in 99% cases)
7 With BibLaTeX Put ALWAYS the exact full path ("C:/MyLaTeXThings/Biblio..."!! And better not use spaces or strange characters in path. Tell me if it still doesn't works.

In general, I noticed you worry a lot about the "look" of your document. Good. But the point of LyX/LaTeX is NOT WORRYING, cause the computer, with the help of LaTeX and of the community, will make it look fantastic. So, write your thesis and begin "worrying" only when specific problems turn out. The main point is that you can change the look (biblio style is a part of it) at the very last moment.
The main points at the beginning are:
- chose the right class (few will suggest you something different than koma report), although you can change it in the fly, by some editing
- choose your own style in writing, cause much of it is not automated in LyX or LaTeX (e.g. types of quotation marks, where to put footnotes and how big, where to cite and more or less the citation style you will use, cause it causes changes in the text flow in footnotes, when and how to use emphasized text, upper case initials and so on: in short, all things you can find in your writing style manual)
- WRITE and not worrying as you would have done (at the beginning, middle and end) with MSOffice or OpenOffice!

Hope it was of any help
Regards
Piero

[ndrea]

7 With BibLaTeX Put ALWAYS the exact full path ("C:/MyLaTeXThings/Biblio..."!! And better not use spaces or strange characters in path. Tell me if it still doesn't works.

I got it! The mistake was writing the full path using backslashes (C:\...\Thesis\biblio), as it is common under MS Windows, instead of slashes (C:/.../Thesis/biblio).
After that I noticed that LyX always highlight backslashes in blue in the preamble, so I suppose it interprets it as a command like for \usepackage.

I have just tried to compile under biblatex, biblatex-chicago and biblatex-historian and I don't get any error, great!
It remains to fix which fields of the .bib file should appear, because the pdf prints things like articletype, issn, jstor link... I probably have to read through the manuals to find out whether options for such things are available, or should I hack the file directly?

In general, I noticed you worry a lot about the "look" of your document. Good. But the point of LyX/LaTeX is NOT WORRYING, cause the computer, with the help of LaTeX and of the community, will make it look fantastic. So, write your thesis and begin "worrying" only when specific problems turn out

After this obstacle I feel much relieved, as I got convinced I can write my thesis with LyX without spending much time for each reference and eventually obtaining a consistent and qualitative document.
I admit I get quite easily addicted for such things and go frequently into the very details; for example I am not really satisfied with typefaces' quality and I saw a potential solution in XeTeX, which seems to give good results (missing something? Other options?).
Anyhow I'll start to write only in a month and I don't have to hurry up. By then I'll fix the citation problem, since the advisor wants me to send each chapter once written, and then there is nothing really much more to do than writing!
Thank you a lot for your advices!

andrea