#LyX 1.3 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/ \lyxformat 221 \textclass article \language english \inputencoding latin1 \fontscheme default \graphics default \paperfontsize default \spacing single \papersize Default \paperpackage a4 \use_geometry 0 \use_amsmath 0 \use_natbib 0 \use_numerical_citations 0 \paperorientation portrait \secnumdepth 3 \tocdepth 3 \paragraph_separation indent \defskip medskip \quotes_language english \quotes_times 2 \papercolumns 1 \papersides 1 \paperpagestyle default \layout Title LyX Frequently Asked Questions with Answers \layout Author by the LyX Team \begin_inset Foot collapsed false \layout Standard \noindent If you have comments or error corrections, please send them to the LyX Documenta tion mailing list, . \end_inset \layout Abstract This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions for LyX, the Open Source document processor that provides a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Mean environment for producing high quality documents. For further help, you may wish to contact the LyX User Group mailing list at \family typewriter lyx-users@lists.lyx.org \family default \emph on after \emph default you have read through the docs. \emph on \layout Abstract \begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents{} \end_inset \layout Section Introduction and General Information \layout Subsection What is LyX? \layout Standard LyX is a program that provides a more modern approach to writing documents with a computer, an approach that breaks with the obsolete tradition of the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset typewriter concept. \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset It is designed for authors who want professional output quickly with a minimum of effort without becoming specialists in typesetting. The job of typesetting is done mostly by the computer, not the author; with LyX, the author can concentrate on the contents of her writing. \layout Standard LyX provides an \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset almost-WYSIWYG \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset view of the document. \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset Almost \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset means that the line- and page-breaks are not displayed exactly as they will appear in the printed document. However, that's not really necessary, since LyX uses a separate typesetter program (called LaTeX) to perform the final formatting of your text. While LyX contains everything it needs to be a comfortable user interface, the typesetting program contains everything necessary to format text, and do so very, very well. \layout Standard So, line- and page-breaks aren't your problem anymore. Remembering which number to use for the next subsection isn't your problem anymore. Recalling what font you used for all of your section headings isn't your problem anymore. You tell LyX (and LaTeX) what \emph on kind \emph default of document you're editing and what \emph on type \emph default of paragraph this-or-that text is, the computer can typeset it accordingly. Of course you can also still do some low-level formatting for fine-tuning. However, the proper way with LyX is to tell the computer what the text \emph on is \emph default , not what it should look like. So, we like to say that LyX gives you WYSIWYM editing (What You See Is What You \emph on Mean \emph default ). \layout Subsection That's fine, but is it useful? \layout Standard Absolutely. The following type of documents have been produced with LyX: \layout Itemize Memos \layout Itemize Letters \layout Itemize Dissertations (260 pages in a single document, longer using include files) \begin_deeper \layout Itemize for example, \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.fee.uva.nl/scholar/mdw/leuven/thesis.pdf} \end_inset \end_deeper \layout Itemize Lecture notes (133 pages, 27 figures on a 33 MHz 486 machine!) \layout Itemize Seminar notebooks (500+ pages) \layout Itemize Conference proceedings (Proceedings of the Second Continental Workshop on the Geoid in Europe, (Finnish Geodetic Institute Report 98:4), 292 pages) \layout Itemize Software Documentation (the LyX User Guide is about 120 pages) \layout Itemize Books \begin_deeper \layout Itemize see \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.postgresql.org/docs/awbook.html} \end_inset for an example on PostgreSQL \layout Itemize Donnay, J-P., Barnsley, M.J., and Longley, P.A., eds., 2001, Remote Sensing and Urban Analysis (Taylor and Francis: London). \layout Itemize Herbert Voss: Praktische Kryptologie mit Java 286 pages, lots of equations, tables, figures. ISBN 3-8311-1458-7 \layout Itemize Yann Collette and Patrick Siarry, Optimisation multiobjectifs, 2002, Eyrolles \end_deeper \layout Itemize Papers published in the following refereed journals: \begin_deeper \layout Itemize Astronomy & Astrophysics (Suetterlin, P. 1998, A&A, 333, 305; Suetterlin, P. & Wiehr, E. 1998, A&A, 336, 367) \layout Itemize Astronomical Journal (Ressler, M. E. & Barsony, M. 2001, AJ, 121, 1098) \end_deeper \layout Itemize Novels (400+ page novel due out in September 2000; an 836 page novel is currently with an agent) \layout Itemize Scripts for plays and movies \layout Itemize Business proposals for > $1 M (US) \layout Subsection Where do I start? \layout Standard The website \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.lyx.org} \end_inset is the first place to go for anything related to LyX. News, examples, downloads, and lots of other stuff is available there. After you have installed LyX and started it the first time, read the Tutorial ( \family sans Help\SpecialChar \menuseparator Tutorial \family default ). Yes, I really mean that. \layout Standard Another basic introductory guide may be found at \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.bilkent.edu.tr/~robin/lyxguide.pdf} \end_inset \layout Subsection Does LyX run on my computer? \layout Standard At this time, you need to have the X Window system to run LyX. OS/2 and Win32 ports exist, but you need to have an Xserver \emph on \emph default installed \emph on \emph default and running on these systems. LyX is known to run on the following platforms (and probably a zillion others): \layout Itemize Linux: RedHat 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, SUSE 5.x, Mandrake 7.0, 7.2 \layout Itemize SparcLinux: RedHat 6.0 \layout Itemize Sun Solaris 2.6, 2.7 \layout Itemize Tru64 Unix 4.0f \layout Itemize HP-UX \layout Itemize OSF1 flore V4.0 1091 alpha \layout Subsection How much hard disk space does LyX need? \layout Standard On my system, the LyX binary consumes 2.0 MB of disk space, while the supporting files occupy another 12.6 MB (9.1 MB of which is consumed by the docs! You can delete the languages you don't care about to save some space). Of course, you do need to have something like teTeX installed which consumes a mere 115 MB, as well as ghostscript, which is another 10 MB! \layout Subsection Is LyX really Open Source? \layout Standard Yes. Some may quibble that since the freely available X toolkit that LyX uses, xforms, is currently closed source, LyX is less than Pure and Holy. Nonsense. The LyX source itself is available under a slightly modified version of the GPL, so it qualifies. Also, the developers of LyX are working on making it toolkit independent, so that next major version 1.3.0 will have Qt2/3 support; and even if not, version 1.0 of xforms will be released under the LGPL (at the time of this writing, prereleases of version 1.0 are available in source form from \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/xforms/OpenSource/} \end_inset . \layout Section Internet Resources \layout Subsection Where should I look on the World Wide Web for LyX stuff? \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.lyx.org} \end_inset \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{bugzilla.lyx.org} \end_inset , if you want to report a bug in LyX. \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.devel.lyx.org} \end_inset , if you are interested in the real blood and guts. \layout Itemize Known mirror sites include: \begin_deeper \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.mx.lyx.org} \end_inset \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.no.lyx.org} \end_inset \layout Itemize \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{www.it.lyx.org} \end_inset \end_deeper \layout Subsection Where can I get LyX material by FTP? \layout Itemize ftp.lyx.org in /pub/lyx (also known as ftp.via.ecp.fr) \layout Subsection What mailing lists are there? \layout Itemize lyx-announce@lists.lyx.org (very low volume), for announcements related to LyX \layout Itemize lyx-users@lists.lyx.org (medium volume), for general usage issues \layout Itemize lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org (high volume), for development and debugging issues \layout Itemize lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org (excruciatingly low volume), for documentation issues \layout Standard Generally, you would send email to lyx-foo-subscribe@lists.lyx.org to subscribe to these lists or to lyx-foo-unsubscribe@lists.lyx.org to unsubscribe, where \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset foo \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset is one of \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset announce \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset users \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset devel \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , or \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset docs \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ; definitely see \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.lyx.org/internet/mailing.php3} \end_inset for the full details. \layout Subsection Are the mailing lists archived anywhere? \layout Standard Yes. :-) \layout Subsection Okay, wise guy! Where are they archived? \layout Itemize Announce: \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-announce@lists.lyx.org/} \end_inset \layout Itemize Users: \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-users@lists.lyx.org/} \end_inset \layout Itemize Devel: \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.mail-archive.com/lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org/} \end_inset \layout Section Compatibility with other word/document processors \layout Subsection Can I read/write LaTeX files? \layout Standard Yes. LyX outputs LaTeX files that are either machine or human friendly. The reLyX program that comes with LyX does a decent job of converting LaTeX into LyX. It's not perfect, but it will usually get at least 95% of the job done for you. \layout Subsection Can I read/write Word files? \layout Standard Not trivially. People have had some level of success with the following sequence: LyX \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$ \end_inset LaTeX \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$ \end_inset RTF \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$ \end_inset Word, and vice versa. However, Word is inherently not a markup language like LyX and LaTeX are, so conversions are usually difficult and almost meaningless. \layout Standard However, here are a few suggestions which were sent in: \layout Description word2x produces LaTeX, HTML and plain text output. The LaTeX is importable in principle (and is rather clean) but I often prefer plain text and add the formatting back in. (This requires that you have knowledge on the original formatting). On last writing did not yet handle Office 2000 Word. \layout Description wvware (found at www.wvware.com, or the abisource CVS repository for the latest). This was previously called msWordView. Very good, only tends to produce visually formatted LaTeX/HTML. Is however highly configurable: a config file \family typewriter wvLaTeX.xml \family default guides the translation process. Handles also the newest Office formats. \layout Description Ted This is the editor to use when someone sends you an RTF file created by Word. Fine product. Mail yourself the converted version (plain text or HTML). \layout Standard Finally, when all else fails, use any word processor (WordPerfect, StarOffice, ...) which understands Word. Then export as the file as plain text and add the formatting by hand in LyX. For me personally, at least, it's faster doing this than cleaning up attempts at a conversion, though it is certainly unsatisfactory if you need to go back and forth a lot. \layout Subsection Can I read/write HTML files? \layout Standard You can output HTML files using the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset tth \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset converter program, amongst others. There may be a HTML \begin_inset Formula $\rightarrow$ \end_inset LaTeX program available which allows you to convert the other direction. \layout Section Obtaining and Compiling LyX \layout Subsection What do I need? \layout Itemize LyX source code: lyx-1.x.x.tar.gz \layout Itemize XForms library: xforms-0.88 or higher (using the latest version available is recommended) \layout Itemize A LaTeX installation: we strongly recommend teTeX-1.0 or higher \layout Itemize A PostScript® interpreter: ghostscript 7.0 or higher \layout Itemize A modern C++ compiler. If you are using gcc, LyX requires at least version 2.95.2. \layout Subsection How do I compile it? \layout Itemize ./configure \layout Itemize make \layout Itemize make install (usually as root, though you don't have to be if you add flags to the configure command) \layout Standard See the INSTALL file for more details. \layout Subsection I hate compiling. Where are precompiled binaries? \layout Standard Most of the above packages are available as precompiled binaries for a variety of Linux systems, perhaps others as well. The LyX binaries are available as RPMS and a few other formats and may be obtained from \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/bin/} \end_inset . \layout Standard The Windows port is available at \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.fh-hannover.de/mbau/tim/hentschel/lyx/index.html} \end_inset \layout Section Questions about Evil Red Text (IMPORTANT!) \layout Subsection What is Evil Red Text (aka ERT)? \layout Standard ERT (Evil Red Text) refers to raw LaTeX commands which are inserted into your LyX document. Certain troglodytes in the development group coined this term when they complained about the unsightly appearance it leads to in LyX documents. The more enlightened among us know that it is extremely useful, even though it does qualify as URT (Ugly Red Text), but ERT seems to have stuck. \layout Subsection How do I enter Evil Red Text? \layout Standard Aesthetic arguments aside, many of the answers in this FAQ require that you use ERT, so whenever we say \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset insert the following LaTeX code \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , do the following \layout Enumerate Click the TeX toolbar button or select \family sans \bar under I \bar default nsert\SpecialChar \menuseparator \bar under T \bar default eX \family default . \layout Enumerate Type the command as it is written in the normal way \layout Subsection The new ERT inset is really inconvenient ! \layout Standard A lot of people have been complaining about the ERT inset introduced in version 1.2.0. However, since there is little hope of to see the old LaTeX font return from the grave (it was really a hack), here are a couple of things to ponder: \layout Itemize You can collapse the ERT like any other floats by using \family sans \bar under E \bar default dit\SpecialChar \menuseparator Open/C \bar under l \bar default ose float \family default (bound to \family sans C-i \family default by default) \layout Itemize You can also set it to \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset inlined \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset by using the properties dialog obtained by right-clicking anywhere in the inset \layout Subsection Is there an alternative? \layout Standard LaTeX commands can also be inserted in the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset LaTeX Preamble \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , a form in LyX that is inserted verbatim into the LaTeX file which is generated during processing. This is especially useful for including nonstandard LaTeX packages, defining global shortcuts to be used within the document, etc. \layout Section Questions Related to Using LyX \layout Standard In this section, we attempt to address the truly most frequently asked questions. For a broader range of not-so-frequently asked questions and many \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset how do I? \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset topics, see Herbert Voss' spectacular collection at \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://www.educat.hu-berlin.de/~voss/lyx} \end_inset . You are doing yourself a large disservice if you don't check there before sending a message to the mailing lists! \layout Subsection General questions \layout Subsubsection How do I get rid of the date under the title? \layout Standard The simplest solution is to open the menu \family sans \bar under L \bar default ayout\SpecialChar \menuseparator P \bar under r \bar default eamble \family default and add the line \layout LyX-Code \backslash date{} \layout Standard in the preamble window. \layout Subsubsection How do I change the spacing in an Itemize/\SpecialChar \- Enumerate/\SpecialChar \- Description list environment ? \layout Standard You'll have to do this by hand: for example, for one particular list, you can add the following LaTeX code at the beginning of the list: \layout Standard \family typewriter \backslash setlength{ \backslash itemsep}{0mm} \layout Subsubsection How do I number equations by section? \layout Standard Add the following two lines to your LaTeX preamble: \layout LyX-Code \backslash @addtoreset{equation}{section} \layout LyX-Code \backslash renewcommand{ \backslash theequation}{ \backslash thesection. \backslash arabic{equation}} \layout Subsubsection Is it possible to do this for figures and tables as well? \layout Standard Replace the phrase \family typewriter \backslash theequation \family default with \family typewriter \backslash thetable \family default or \family typewriter \backslash thefigure \family default and then replace \family typewriter equation \family default with \family typewriter table \family default or \family typewriter figure \family default . Don't forget to adapt the \backslash @addtoreset command, too. \layout Subsubsection How do I change to footnote numbers to symbols (star, dagger, etc.)? \layout Standard Add \family typewriter \backslash renewcommand{ \backslash thefootnote}{ \backslash fnsymbol{footnote}} \family default to your LaTeX preamble. \layout Subsubsection How do I kill widows and orphans? \layout Standard Okay, we are not playing Duke Nukem here! To eliminate widows and orphans (first line from a paragraph at the bottom of the page and the last line from a paragraph at the top of the page), add the following to the LaTeX preamble: \layout LyX-Code \backslash widowpenalty=10000 \layout LyX-Code \backslash clubpenalty=10000 \layout Standard and perhaps \layout LyX-Code \backslash raggedbottom \layout LyX-Code \layout Subsubsection How do I get a formatted list which starts with e.g. 1. a)? \layout Standard If you want a list which looks like \layout LyX-Code 1. a) First alternative \layout LyX-Code b) Second alternative \layout LyX-Code c) Third alternative \layout Standard then try the following \layout LyX-Code 1. {} \layout LyX-Code a) First alternative \layout LyX-Code b) Second alternative \layout LyX-Code c) Third \layout Standard where {} is in ERT (i.e. a placeholder not generating output. Specifically, set the style to \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset enumerate \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset , enter the brackets in ERT, change the environment depth, and add the three elements. LyX will auto-label the entries. \layout Subsubsection How do I count words in LyX? \layout Standard Run a spellcheck; it will display the total number of words checked. Make sure the cursor is at the top of the document when you start the spellchec ker so that everything is counted. \layout Subsubsection How do I insert a fixed amount of horizontal space? \layout Standard There are various ERT commands to use: \family typewriter \backslash enspace \family default (1/2 em), \family typewriter \backslash thinspace \family default (1/6 em), \family typewriter \backslash negthinspace \family default (-1/6 em), \family typewriter \backslash quad \family default (1 em), \family typewriter \backslash qquad \family default (2 em), \family typewriter \backslash hspace{ \emph on length \emph default } \family default , etc. An \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset em \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset is roughly the width of the letter \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset m \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset in the current font. The length argument of the \family typewriter \backslash hspace \family default command is any valid TeX length; units can be \family typewriter mm \family default (millimeters), \family typewriter cm \family default (centimeters), \family typewriter in \family default (inches), \family typewriter pt \family default (points = 1/72 inch), \family typewriter em \family default (width of letter \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset m \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ), or \family typewriter ex \family default (height of letter \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset x \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ). Examples: \family typewriter \backslash hspace{1in} \family default , \family typewriter \backslash hspace{2.5em} \family default , etc. \layout Subsubsection How can I make citations show up as [1,2,3,6] or [1-3,6] rather than [1][2][3][6 ]? \layout Standard Insert \family typewriter \backslash usepackage{cite} \family default into the LaTeX preamble. Most LaTeX distributions should have this package included. LyX supports this package, if you insert multiple citations separated by commas into the citation dialog, e. g. [Smalley_JCP,Jarrold_Sci], instead of just one citation after the other: [Smalley_JCP] [Jarrold_Sci]. \layout Subsection Figure related questions \layout Subsubsection What is the difference between a \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset figure \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset and a \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset figure float \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ? \layout Standard This is an example of less-than-ideal terminology. \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset Figure \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset is what I would really call a \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset graphic \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ; it basically means insert a picture file. \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset Figure float \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset is more what one means by a figure in a paper: it includes the graphic, the caption, the figure label, etc. You should almost always insert a figure float first, then put a figure inside that. \layout Standard Tables work in the same manner. Put a table float in first, then insert the table within that. \layout Subsubsection How do I get LyX to put the figure exactly where I want it? \layout Standard Select \family sans Layout\SpecialChar \menuseparator Document \family default . In the \family sans Float Placement \family default box, type \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset \family typewriter !htp \family default \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset . This tells LaTeX to try really hard to put the figure here first, then the top of a page, then on a page by itself. This is a global setting: all figure will then obey this rule set. \layout Standard If you want to control how each figure behaves, right-click in the figure float and you will get a dialog allowing to control the figure behavior. \layout Subsubsection What does \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset Too many unprocessed floats \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset mean? \layout Standard LaTeX can handle only a limited number of floating elements floating at a given time. For example, if Figure 4 can't be fit in a good location (using the default rules of top of the page, then bottom, then a page of its own) and Figure 5 comes along, they will both continue to float toward the end of the document until a good location can be found. If nothing good turns up, they will just be placed at the end of the document. If there are too many of these, LaTeX overruns a counter and emits the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset too many unprocessed floats \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset error. This is not a bug in LaTeX, this is simply too many figures with too little text :-) \layout Standard The easiest way to work around this is to insert a \family typewriter \backslash clearpage \family default command somewhere in the document where a pagebreak would be appropriate. While a pagebreak would simply start a new page, \family typewriter \backslash clearpage \family default processes all remaining floats, then begins a new page. This may lead to an unsightly stack of figures in the middle of your document; you may need to use several \family typewriter \backslash clearpages \family default to make things balance nicely. \layout Subsection Math related questions \layout Subsubsection How do I put normal text inside a mathematical equation? \layout Standard Type \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset \family typewriter M-m m \family default \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset while inside the equation to enter \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset math text mode \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset . \layout Subsubsection How do I make a cube root (or higher)? \layout Standard Type \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset \family typewriter M-m r \family default \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset to insert a nifty \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset root box \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset . Use the cursor keys to navigate the entry boxes. \layout Section Questions Related to Running LyX \layout Subsection How do I convert LyX files to LaTeX from the command line? \layout Standard File export was vastly improved in version 1.1.6. Simply say \layout LyX-Code lyx --export latex .lyx \layout Standard and that is all you need to do. \layout Standard If you have an older version of LyX, you can use the same syntax if you are running X, because it will cause LyX windows to pop up onto your screen. If you have the Xvfb command available, you can resort to a deeper level of subterfuge (under \family typewriter bash \family default ): \layout Standard \family typewriter (Xvfb :1 -once -terminate &); rm .tex; lyx -display :1 --export latex .lyx \layout Standard \noindent Under csh/tcsh it is simply \layout Standard \family typewriter Xvfb :1 -once -terminate &; rm .tex; lyx -display :1 --export latex .lyx \layout Standard \noindent This should work anywhere, whether or not X is actually running. \layout Subsection How do I create PDF files from my LyX document? \layout Standard Read Section 5.3.6 of the \emph on Extended Features \emph default manual. \layout Subsection Why do the fonts in my document look so bad in \family typewriter acroread \family default ? \layout Standard The problem and the solution are also discussed in Section 5.3.6 of the \emph on Extended Features \emph default manual. \layout Subsection Why doesn't my latest and greatest version of Ghostscript render EPS inline figures properly? \layout Standard [Note: this only applies to versions of LyX older than 1.2.0, since the graphics rendering code has been rewritten in this version] \layout Standard A couple of users reported that they couldn't get recent Ghostscript versions to display inline figures in LyX. It transpires that this is a Ghostscript bug: \layout Standard \begin_inset LatexCommand \url{http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=124957&group_id=1897} \end_inset \layout Standard \noindent This bug appears to affect Ghostscript 6.22 and upwards. After applying the above mentioned patch, rendering in Lyx works fine again. GNU Ghostscript 6.53 and above include this fix. \layout Section Questions Related to LyX on Windows \layout Subsection Why do the menus and the toolbar flicker ? \layout Standard You are probably using the XWin32 X server. This is a bug in XWin32: you can work around the problem by disabling the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset Use Reserved Colors \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset option of XWin32, and using a color mode other than PseudoColor. \layout Section How to get further assistance \layout Subsection You still haven't answered my question! \layout Standard Then RTFM, especially the Tutorial. The documentation really is quite good. (Besides, I helped write parts of it :-) If you think your problem may be LaTeX related, then look in \emph on LaTeX, A Document Preparation System, 2nd Ed. \emph default by Leslie Lamport (1994). There are also numerous example files included with LyX. Try \family sans File\SpecialChar \menuseparator Open\SpecialChar \menuseparator Examples \family default . \layout Subsection I want to mail someone about my problem. \layout Standard Send email to the LyX Users list lyx-users@lists.lyx.org. If LyX is actually crashing or otherwise non-functional, then try the developer s' list at lyx-devel@lists.lyx.org. \layout Subsection What to put in a request for help. \layout Standard Include your version of LyX and a description of what you are trying to do, along with evidence that you've actually read the docs. \layout Standard If LyX has crashed, include the version of LyX, the operating system, the version of xforms (if it seems to be a screen drawing problem), and a precise description of the events that lead to the crash. The easier it is for the developers to reproduce your crash, the more likely it will get fixed. If you're brave and like to hack, use gdb to generate a backtrace and include the results with your mail. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, just describe what you did as completely as you can. \layout Section Administrative information and acknowledgments \layout Subsection Feedback is invited. \layout Standard Send comments, suggested additions, world record document claims, etc. to \emph on lyx-docs@lists.lyx.org. \layout Subsection Formats in which this FAQ is available. \layout Standard The LyX file original is included in the LyX source distribution, converted versions in HTML and ASCII should soon be available at the website. A German version is also available with the distribution. \layout Subsection Authorship and acknowledgments. \layout Standard Bernhard Iselborn, David Johnson, and Paul Evans were responsible for the FAQ through version 0.2.2 which covered LyX-0.10.7. The FAQ as of version 0.3.0 was written from scratch and covers LyX-1.0 and higher. Many people contributed pieces to the current version; Mike Ressler of the Doc Team collected them into this file. \layout Subsection Disclaimer and Copyright. \layout Standard I don't claim anything in this document is accurate to within a factor of \begin_inset Formula $\pi$ \end_inset ; after all, I'm just an astronomer, and we like to set \begin_inset Formula $c=h=k=\pi=1$ \end_inset . When the answer is wrong, we just redefine the units. This file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. In other words, it's not my fault if you lose your dissertation the night before your doctoral defense because you forgot to save it before the power failed while wondering how a fundamental physical constant expressed in units of \begin_inset Formula $\textrm{m s}^{-1}$ \end_inset could possibly be equal to one expressed as \begin_inset Formula $\textrm{kg m s}^{-2}\textrm{ K}^{-1}$ \end_inset . This file is Copyright © 2000 by Michael E. Ressler on behalf of the LyX Documentation Team. \the_end