"File->New from Template" currently shows only templates in
/usr/share/lyx/templates.
The dialog ought to have a couple of shortcut buttons: "system
templates" and "private templates" that goes directly to these two
directories.
The reason is to have easy access to both the templates that comes with
lyx, as well as self-made templates. Navigating the filesystem from one
place to another is too cumbersome. I guess some users don't even know
about the private template directory. :-/
Putting all templates in a single directory is not a solution either:
* /usr/share/lyx/templates is normally not writeable for users, and
it should not be either. But this makes it hard to add templates
there. Especially for someone who isn't also a sysadmin.
* Copying the system templates is not a good solution either. Several
users doing that wastes space, and you never know when some system
upgrade adds/changes the official templates.
There is already a button that goes to the distributed templates,
having one that goes to the private templates would be very helpful.
Also, having a "save as template" menu would be nice. It would bring up
the "save as" dialog, showing the user template directory by default.
Saving as a template should automatically remove stuff not wanted in a
template, i.e. the \fontscheme and \papersize mentioned in section 5.4
in the customization manual. (Those who want a template with a
particular papersize can of course save a ordinary document instead.)
Helge Hafting
