What is LyX?

    LyX is a document processor that encourages an approach to
    writing based on the structure of your documents, not their
    appearance. It is released under a Free Software / Open Source
    license.

    LyX is for people that write and want their writing to look great,
    right out of the box. No more endless tinkering with formatting
    details, 'finger painting' font attributes or futzing around with
    page boundaries. You just write. In the background, Prof. Knuth's
    legendary TeX typesetting engine makes you look good.

    On screen, LyX looks like any word processor; its printed output
    --- or richly cross-referenced PDF, just as readily produced ---
    looks like nothing else. Gone are the days of industrially bland
    .docs, all looking similarly not-quite-right, yet coming out
    unpredictably different on different printer drivers. Gone are the
    crashes 'eating' your dissertation the evening before going to
    press.

    LyX is stable and fully featured. It is a multi-platform, fully
    internationalized application running natively on Unix/Linux and
    the Macintosh and modern Windows platforms.

What do I need to run LyX?

    Either:
    * a Unix-like system (including Windows with Cygwin)
    * Windows 2000 or newer
    * Mac OS 10.4 or newer

    A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. TeX Live for Linux, MikTeX for
    Windows).

    Python 2.7 to convert old LyX files and for helper scripts.
    Note: Python 3 (3.3 or later) support is work in progress.

How does the LyX version scheme work?

    LyX uses a contiguous numbering scheme for versions, where a
    number "2.x.y" indicates a stable release '2.x', maintenance
    release 'y'.  In other words, LyX 2.2.0 was the first stable
    release in the 2.2-series of LyX. At the time of writing, the
    latest maintenance release in the 2.2-series is LyX 2.2.4.

    Please note that maintenance releases are designed primarily to
    fix bugs, and that the file format will _never_ change due to a
    maintenance release.

    In addition to the stable releases and maintenance releases, some
    users may want to give a ''release candidate'' a try. This is a
    release that should be stable enough for daily work, but yet may
    be potentially unstable. If no major bugs are found, the release
    candidate is soon released as the first stable release in a new
    series. To summarize, there are three possible types of file names
    that are of interest to normal users:

       lyx-2.3.0.tar.gz     -- stable release, first in the 2.3-series
       lyx-2.2.4.tar.gz     -- fourth maintenance release of LyX 2.2
       lyx-2.4.0rc1.tar.gz  -- potentially unstable release candidate

    Note that the goal is not parallel development as for the Linux
    kernel --- the team is too small to afford that --- but rather to
    include all the simple and safe bug fixes. This is so that the
    maintenance burden on us is not too high, and so that system
    administrators can install new releases without fear. Experience
    shows that these releases will contain a few new features, and
    that the bulk of the patches will be documentation updates.

    If you get the source from Git, the version string will look like
    one of:

       2.3.1dev     -- this is the stable branch on which maintenance
               release 2.3.1 will eventually be tagged.
       2.4.0dev     -- this is the main branch on which stable
               release 2.4.0 will eventually be tagged.

What's new?

    Read NEWS.

How do I upgrade from an earlier LyX version?

    Read the file UPGRADING for info on this subject.

What do I need to compile LyX from the source distribution?

    * A good C++ compiler.  Development is being done mainly with
      gcc/g++, but some others work also. As of LyX 2.3.0, you need
      at least gcc 4.6.x.

    * The Qt library, at least version 4.8.0. For all features
      newer versions (e.g. Qt 5.6) are recommended.

    Read the file "INSTALL" for more information on compiling.

Okay, I've installed LyX. What now?

    Once you've installed it, and everything looks fine, go read
    the "Introduction" item under the Help menu.  You should follow
    the instructions there, which tell you to read (or at least skim)
    the Tutorial. After that, you should also read "Help>LaTeX
    configuration" which provides info on your LaTeX configuration
    as LyX sees it.  You might be missing a package or two that you'd
    like to have.

    User-level configuration is possible via the Tools>Preferences menu.

Does LyX have support for non-English speakers/writers/readers?

    Yes. LyX supports writing in many languages, including
    right-to-left languages like Arabic or Hebrew.

    Menus and error messages have been translated to many languages.
    For the status of the different translations, see
    http://www.lyx.org/I18n

    Keymaps can ease typing in many languages.

Internet resources of relevance to LyX

    The LyX homepage contains valuable information about LyX and the
    various LyX mailing lists, as well as links to mirrors and other
    LyX homepages around the world:
	http://www.lyx.org/

    The LyX Wiki is the place where users can share information on
    setting up and using LyX.
	http://wiki.lyx.org/

    The main LyX archive site:
	ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/

    The LyX Development page has information about the development
    effort. LyX is under Git version control, so you can get the very
    latest sources from there at any time.
	http://www.lyx.org/Development

How do I submit a bug report?

    If possible, read the Introduction found under the Help menu in LyX.
    You'll find detailed info on submitting bug reports there.

    If you can't do that, send details to the LyX Developers' mailing
    list, or use the LyX bug tracker at
    http://www.lyx.org/trac/wiki/BugTrackerHome .
    Don't forget to mention which version you are having problems with!

How can I participate in the development of LyX?

    Any help with the development of LyX is greatly appreciated ---
    after all, LyX wouldn't be what it is today without the help
    of volunteers. We need your help!

    If you want to work on LyX, you should contact the developer's
    mailing list for discussion on how to do your stuff.  LyX is being
    cleaned up, and therefore it's important to follow some rules.
    Read about those rules in development/Code_rules/.

    If you don't know C++, there are many other ways to
    contribute. Write documentation. Help to internationalize LyX
    by translating documentation or menus/error messages, or by
    writing a new keymap. Write a new textclass. Find bugs (but
    please read the list of known bugs first). Contribute money.
    Or just offer feature suggestions (but please read the online
    TODO list first).

Thank you for trying LyX. We appreciate your feedback in the mailing
lists.

The LyX Team.

LyX/Cygwin
==========

Ruurd Reitsma  <R.A.Reitsma@wbmt.tudelft.nl>
Bo Peng <ben.bob#gmail.com>


Building LyX on Cygwin
======================

To build lyx, you will need to install the following cygwin packages

    aspell        gzip             libpng           libQtGui4-devel
    aspell-dev    gettext          libQtCore4       pkg-config
    gcc           gettext-devel    libQtCore4-devel python
    gcc4          libiconv         libQtGui4

Currently only the traditional autotools (autoconf, automake, make etc)
build system is recommended to build LyX on cygwin. It does not differ
from building lyx on any typical posix system, so you are referred to the
INSTALL file.
Note that it is not advisable using the cmake build system on cygwin for
the reasons explained here: http://www.cmake.org/Bug/view.php?id=10122

When lyx is built as outlined above, it will be a X-Window application,
so you will need a X-server for running it. It is possible to build lyx
as a cygwin application but using the native Windows GDI backend instead
of X11. You are referred to the lyx wiki for instructions:
http://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/LyXOnCygwin


Acknowledgements
================

Many thanks to Steven van Dijk, Claus Hentschel and Miyata Shigeru for
starting the porting business, and Enrico Forestieri for many cygwin-related
improvements.

LyX for Windows
===============

Since July 2005, an official native Windows version of LyX is available.
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 are currently supported.

Binary Releases
===============

Ready-to-use installers can be downloaded from http://www.lyx.org/Download
Additional information and tips are also available on this site.

Compiling
=========

If you want to participate in the development of LyX and need to compile
LyX for Windows yourself, please follow the instructions in INSTALL.Win32

	Localization/Translation FAQ
                (2007-2018)

    by Ran Rutenberg, Pavel Sanda, Michael Gerz


PART I - Interface translation
------------------------------

This file is mainly intended for those who have no or little experience using
.po files, but want to contribute by translating the LyX interface (i.e. menu
and dialog items, console messages) into their native language.


1) WHERE DO I START?

The file you need to edit is an xx.po file where xx stands for your language's
two letter code. For a list of language codes look at:

  https://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/html_mono/gettext.html#Language-Codes

If you want to start from scratch then you should obtain a copy of the lyx.pot
and name it after your language. German would be for example de.po and Polish
pl.po. This file is generated in the "po" directory of the source tree during
the compilation.

There are basically two source trees you can start to work with - trunk
(development version) and branch (stable version). Unless the development
version is shortly before release it is better to start your translating
work on the stable version. If you have no idea how to get those trees you
can follow https://www.lyx.org/HowToUseGIT page.


2) HOW DO I EDIT PO FILES?

PO files can be edited with any text editor available for your system (e.g.
Vim, jEdit etc.). Yet another option is to use a specialized editor for .po
files. You can e.g. use the editor "Poedit", Linux users can
additionally use e.g. "Lokalize". Using these editors usually makes things easier
as they have many tools to assist the translator.
If you use Poedit, please uncheck in its settings the option to break lines after
80 characters.


3) WHAT DO I NEED TO TRANSLATE?

If you are using a simple text editor you should translate the strings that
appear in the msgid line and write the translation into the msgstr line. Note
that a "#, fuzzy" line is just a hint for translation from compiler - in order
to get the translation of the current item working you have to delete this
line. It is recommended that you take a look at another .po file - that way you
can get an idea of what to do. If you are using a specialized po editor
then you will see in it the untranslated strings and a place to write your
translation for them.


4) WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE '&', '|', '$, '%' {} AND [[]] CHARACTERS?

'&' stands for underlined characters (shortcut) in dialog boxes.
'|' stands for underlined characters in menus.

These chars should be somehow used in your translations, however you'll have to
invent your own working shortcuts for dialog and menu entries and resolve
possible conflicts of the same shortcut chars in one menu...

Note also that there are already used global shortcuts (such as p k x c m s a)
and you should avoid using these characters for first-level menu shortcuts.

'$' and '%' are usually used as handlers for formatting or variables to be
inserted into the strings. Character sequences like %1$s or %1$d MUST also
appear in your translations! Please take them exactly as they are or you may
experience crashes when running LyX.

[[Context]] is used to distinguish otherwise identical strings, which could
have different translations depending on the Context. It can also be used to
indicate what is substituted for a placeholder. [[Context]] appears only in
msgid string and should not be repeated in the translated version.

{} refer to counters and must not be translated. An example would be:
msgid "Algorithm \\arabic{theorem}"
msgstr "Algoritmus \\arabic{theorem}"


5) WHAT IS pocheck.pl AND HOW DO I USE IT?

This is a small script located in the "po" directory of the source that helps
you find common errors in your translation. In order to use this script you
need the script language Perl installed.
Run ./pocheck.pl -h to see all possible switches.


6) HOW CAN I TEST MY TRANSLATION?

In order to test your translation you need to obtain the LyX sources
(from the git repository) and replace the existing .po with yours.
Afterwards, you should compile and optionally install LyX (check the
INSTALL file for your OS). Note that, as of LyX 2.1, it is not
necessary anymore to install anything.

In order to run LyX with your translation, change the current language
in Preferences dialog or use the appropriate LANG variable:

  On Linux: LANG=xx_CC lyx
  On Windows, you need to change the lyx.bat file and write: set LANG=xx_CC

xx stands for your language code. CC stands for your country code. So to get,
e.g., Czech, the code is "cs_CZ".

Another possibility is to use the Preferences dialog to set LyX UI to
use your language. Note that, as of LyX 2.2, a newly introduced
language will not appear in the languages combox unless it corresponds
to an entry of the lib/languages file that has a "HasGuiSupport true"
property. See this file for more details.

The most comfortable way to see your updated translation while
editing, is running (in linux) "make xx.gmo" in the po directory to
compile updated xx.po translation and then run LyX.

For advanced users - if you want to remerge your files against current source:

- on Linux: execute the command: make update-po
- on Windows: if you compile LyX in install mode, the po files are automatically
	updated and output to the folder <compilation output folder>\po
	Another option is to build the target "update-po" in MSVC.


7) HOW TO CONTRIBUTE MY WORK?

Send your edited xx.po file to po-updates@lyx.org.

Also you can check https://www.lyx.org/trac/browser/lyxgit/?rev=master to track
changes or watch updates.


8) SHALL ALL THE UNUSED STRINGS AT THE BOTTOM OF .PO FILE BE REMOVED,
   OR SHALL THEY STAY?

As you wish. They can be reused for generating fuzzy hints when completely
new strings appear, no other function.


9) REFERENCES

For a basic idea of how the translation works, you can look at

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettext

For detailed reference (including a full list of country and language codes),
have a look at

  https://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html


Consider subscribing to the documentation list, lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org (rather
silent), or the developer's mailing list, lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org (high
volume).



PART II - Translation of Math environments and Floats in the final output
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

As of 2.0 LyX allows automatic translation in tex/dvi/ps/pdf output for math
environment strings (and some floats) which are not automatically translated via
babel package to the localized form.  For example the environment "Exercise"
becomes "Aufgabe" in the output of the documents with language set to German.

These translations are taken from the previously translated .po file before the
final major LyX release (e.g. 2.0.0) and are fixed for all next minor releases
(e.g. 2.0.x) in order to have fixed output of LyX documents.

The current translation for your language can be found in the file
lib/layouttranslations. An easy way to check many of the translations is to
simply load lib/examples/localization_test.lyx in LyX and read its
instructions.

The problematic strings can be then fixed in the .po file. For inspiration the
typical places in .po files, where to fix the translation, can be seen on the
following commit: https://www.lyx.org/trac/changeset/38169.

If you need to manually regenerate the layouttranslations file from .po files
- Under Linux: If using autotools, execute the command
 `make ../lib/layouttranslations'
 in the po directory. If using CMake, execute the command
 `make layouttranslations1'
 in the build directory.
 The Python polib library is needed for building the output file.
- Under Windows:
 1. install the Python extensions "polib". To do this,
 1.1 open a commen line prompt in the folder where you find the file "pip.exe"
     withing the python installation folder.
 1.2 execute the command
     pip install polib
 2. close the command prompt and open the file "lyx.sln" with MSVC. You find
    file in the compilation result folder you set for LyX
 3. right click in MSVC on the target "layouttranslations1" and choose "Rebuild"

Optionally - to quickly check whether some new translatable strings appeared
for your language you can always check ../lib/layouttranslations.review.

Q: Running make ../lib/layouttranslations returns with just saying
   ../lib/layouttranslations is up to date.
A: To force regerenation, use something like (XX is your language)
   make -W XX.po ../lib/layouttranslations