What is LyX?

	LyX is an advanced, open-source "document processor". Unlike
	standard word processors, LyX encourages writing based on the
	structure of your documents, not their appearance. It lets you
	concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual layout to the
	software.

	You can read more about this concept in the documentation,
	which you'll find under the Help menu.  If you plan to use LyX,
	you really should read about it to be able to make the best of
	it.

What is LyX not?

	LyX is not just another word processor that claims to be a
	Desktop Publishing program.  It's a more modern way of
	creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting
	time with layout-fiddling.  For these reasons you might need
	a little time to get used to the differences.
	If you are looking for a free Desktop Publishing program for
	Unix, you will be disappointed.

What do I need to run LyX?

	Either of :
	* a Unix-like system (or Windows with cygwin, OS/2 with XFree)
	  with at least X11R5 
	* Windows 98 or newer  
	* Mac OS 10.2 or newer  

	A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX for unix) not older
	   than 1995/12/01.
	Python 1.5.2 or later to convert old LyX files

How does the LyX version scheme work?

	LyX uses a continuous numbering scheme in which odd or
	even numbering is not significant. Instead a number '1.x.y'
	indicates stable release '1.x', fix level 'y'. Prereleases
	are labeled with a "pre" suffix. Thus there are three possible
	file names:

	   lyx-1.4.0.tar.gz       -- stable release
	   lyx-1.4.5.tar.gz       -- fifth maintenance release of the
	                             1.4 stable release
	   lyx-1.4.0pre1.tar.gz   -- potentially unstable test release

	The maintenance releases are designed primarily to fix bugs. The
	goal here is not to have parallel development as for the linux
	kernel (the team is too small to afford that), but rather to
	include all the simple (so that the maintenance burden on us
	is not too high) and safe (so that system administrators can
	install them without fear) bug fixes.  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 cvs, the version string will look like
	one of:

	   1.4.1cvs 	-- this is the stable branch on which maintenance
			   release 1.4.1 will eventually be tagged.
	   1.5.0cvs 	-- this is the main branch on which stable
			   release 1.5.0 will eventually be tagged.

What's new?

	Read NEWS.

How do I install .tar.gz a binary distribution of LyX?

	Unpack it and run it.  We recommend unpacking it in /usr/local,
	but it should work anywhere.  In particular, you can try LyX
	in a temporary directory 'my_bin' before installing permanently
	by typing "my_bin/lyx".

	You should read the notes regarding this particular build in
	the file README.bin.

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 1.4.0, you need at
	  least gcc 3.x.

	Either:
	* The Xforms library, version 1.0.
	* LibXpm, version 4.7 or newer.

	Or:
	* The Qt library, version 3.0 or newer (although version 2.3
	may work).

	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 Edit>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. There is a port
	of LyX named CJK-LyX which adds support for Chinese, Korean
	and Japanese (http://cellular.phys.pusan.ac.kr/cjk.html)

	Menus and error messages have been translated to the following
	languages (* means there are language-specific keyboard menu
	bindings as well):

	French      (fr)
	Spanish     (es)
	Italian     (it)
	Danish      (da)
	Basque	    (eu)
	Nynorsk	    (nn)
	Finnish     (fi)    *
	German      (de)    *
	Russian     (ru)
	Polish      (pl)
	Slovak	    (sk)
	Slovenian   (sl)
	Romanian    (ro)
	Norwegian   (no)
	Dutch       (nl)

	Keymaps can ease typing in one or more of the following languages:

	Arabic
	Bulgarian
	Czech
	French, Swiss French
	German, Swiss German
	Greek
	Hebrew
	Hungarian (Magyar)
	Latvian
	Polish
	Portugese
	Romanian
	Slovenian
	Turkish
	Ukrainian

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 CVS control, so you can get the very
	latest sources from there at any time.
	http://www.devel.lyx.org/
	ftp://www.devel.lyx.org/pub/lyx/

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://bugzilla.lyx.org/.
	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.