Hmmm.
Admittedly, the suggestion was somewhat vague. That was a reflection of how it
is in my mind. My 'wish', spefically, is that I had the option to, if I were so
inclined, write a simple application to extract and display all, or a set of
keys from the many bib files I have hanging around (these things exist without
my having to write them, I know), so that, as I go about writing my papers,
happily \cite-ing away, I could simply glance to the side and see relevant
information displayed in a pane of the LyX window.
It then occurred to me that I like to have the relevant bib file open in xjed,
or other editor of choice, to add entries as I need them. Lets say I am working
on two or three papers. It might be a while before I get back to this one. In
the meantime, I have an xjed hanging loose on my desktop, which I get tired of
and close. Now I am ready to get back to that particular paper, and not thinking
about opening an xterm, cd-ing to /home/cjones/.documents/bib/Spring2001/ and
opening leibniz.bib, start typing away, intensely lost in the argument. I make
a point, want to cite it, can't remember the key, and now I have to stop,
either minimize LyX or shove my mouse to the right, open xterm, cd, xjed
xyz.bib, ... you get the picture.
It then occurred to me that perhaps as I get more sophisticated in my use of
LyX and TeX (a couple of months ago I didn't know -anything- about BibTeX, was
trying to do bibs by hand in LyX, of all things) I might have occasion to
combine LyX capabilities with other applications. It just seems to make lots of
sense to have some facility for integrating interface, when integrating
function. When one uses the capabilities of more than one application together,
it makes sense to see them together= open them together, move them together,
minimize and maximize them together, kill them together, and not have to
clutter up one's desktop, or virtual desktops, with lots of different
applications.
I haven't got the faintest idea how this feature would work, other than LyX
taking on some of the features of a WM, which might be way too wierd. I just
offer this a thing to chew on, as a way of thinking about
extensibility/flexibility, and what has come to be one of the
most appreciated characteristics of Linux, in my book- namely, the user can
make his/her/its environment whatever he/she/it wants.
If this feature, or something approaching it, were ever to be implimented, then
it would have to be as agnostic as possible as to its employment. Whatever
shows up in that pane, its something I put together and LyX knows just enough
to know how to put a border around it, and maybe get some information from it,
via the standard mechanisms (such as lyxpipe).
Sorry this got so long. I actually expected that you would read it, understand
it enough to dismiss it, and that would be it.
Also, when mail comes to me from the LyX list and I hit the respond button, the
'from' address is what appears in to 'to' field. That happens to be everyone's
personal addresses. I don't always think to replace that with the LyX list
address, which is why some of your correspondences with me end up in your
personal mailbox. Sorry about that. I'm usually pretty good about it, but when
I am tired...
On Tue, 30 Jan 2001, you wrote:
> Christopher Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> [virtual desktops provided by window manager]
>
> > Yes, that would be a variation on what I do now. But my idea was
> > applications that would 'follow' lyx, to avoid having to click away
> > from LyX in the first place (to reach my mouse, I have to change
> > position in my chair, etc.), or even Meta-Tabbing. Interrupts the
> > flow if my writing. Sounds lazy, I know... but my life is spent
> > writing papers-- these things come to matter.
> >
> > Just a suggestion. Take it or leave it ;-)
>
> You don't have to use a mouse to switch virtual desktops. I've mapped
> this to <Strg Alt left> resp. <- right>.
>
> If you find key combinations annoying, I presume you don't like
> capitol letters either? ;)
>
> What I don't quite understand, what do you you mean by "applications
> that follow LyX"? How? You choose a citation and another program pops
> up, like Acroread when Netscape opens a .pdf, in short, the MIME
> style? Opening and closing apps would take a longer time than having
> them running and switching between workspaces...
>
> --
> Andre Berger [[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
