On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 12:06 AM, Patrick Gagnon wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am impressed with LyX approach to writing papers and with its potential.
> Couldn't imagine it is so much easier to write directly into a template,
> instead of permanently being preoccupied with formating. Was very skeptical
> when first opened LyX (this might sound usual to you, suppose LyX users are
> characterized by skepticism - this is science, isn't it?). But very soon I
> was amazed. BRAVO!
>
> But (there's always a but), I'm not from maths, astros, etc., rather from
> human sciences. I need APA & APA6 "unavailable" packages installed.
> Downloaded them (zip) and unzipped them, but what do I have to do now? The
> manual mentioned in this message subject says something like: "modify the
> local/user tree", and "define variables"... Hello (or should I write just
> Hell), I'm not a programmer! I know how to use a Terminal, how to use an
> application with root privileges (kdesudo), how to install a PPA, but this
> is about all I know. Should I say sorry for not using Windex or the stupid
> Maple? Never!
>
> Well, mainly I didn't write you to ask for advises on how to install APA and
> APA6 new LaTex files, I just wanted to let you to know that this
> standards/styles are so much used (almost exclusively) for writing papers in
> human sciences, from articles to doctoral thesis, and within Psychology
> (where the style was created) to almost any other human science (just name
> it). These being said, it would be very nice from you, a bunch of positive
> scientists, to think at as, poor human scientists, too, and include within
> the next update these styles (APA and APA6), as available document classes.
> And until than, some specific advises on how to install these missing LaTex
> files I downloaded from CTAN, would be so much welcome. Thanx!
>
> Folks, you did such a good job with this application, but for the moment it
> is a little bit narrow without the most used styles (I'd say 90%+) in human
> sciences, which are the APA & APA6 standards (both, because many human
> sciences still favor the old APA style).
>
> Thanks for your understanding, and hoping for a both, human & positive
> answer.
> Bests,
> P.G. (not Peter Gabriel, he singes much humbler: p.g.)
>
Hi Patrick,
Thank you for thoughtful email. It's always nice to receive feedback
on what we're doing right and what we need to do better. It's nice to
see LaTeX and LyX being used more widely outside of math-based
disciplines. It really does have a lot of features that should not be
limited to publications with math.
LyX is a frontend to LaTeX. What that means is that LyX does the
formatting then hands it off to LaTeX. You are asking about installing
LaTeX files. That is not the job of LyX. It is the job of your LaTeX
package (TeX Live in Ubuntu) or of your package manager (apt in
Ubuntu). I don't see how LyX could make the process easier without
going far outside of its purview. Please let me know if you disagree
or if you have any further feedback on this. These are just my
opinions.
Now to your question. I suggest you google "install LaTeX packages in
Ubuntu." Alternatively, you might be interested in a script that I
wrote:
https://github.com/scottkosty/install-tl-ubuntu
With just a couple commands you can install everything you will ever
need for using LyX and LaTeX and all of the document classes in LyX
will become available.
If you want to use it, I recommend you remove your current TeX Live files:
sudo apt-get purge texlive-*
Then download the script with:
wget
https://github.com/scottkosty/install-tl-ubuntu/raw/master/install-tl-ubuntu
&& chmod +x ./install-tl-ubuntu
Then take a look at the options you might want:
./install-tl-ubuntu --help
For example, you might like the "--more-tex" option, which installs
all LaTeX files needed for LyX.
Then, run with:
sudo ./install-tl-ubuntu --more-tex
Note that this will take a long time. I recommend you run it before
you go to bed. After it is done, restart your computer. Then in LyX go
to Tools > Reconfigure. Then restart LyX. Now the document classes
should all be available.
Please send any further questions (including replies to this email) to
lyx-us...@lists.lyx.org. You send your email to the documentation
list, which should only be used for corrections to LyX's
documentation.
Best,
Scott
