Hello,
I just wanted to share my first impressions of 1.3.6 (and give ideas for
1.3.7 ;) ).
First a few words of introduction:
I used the contributed binary rpm for Mandriva LE 2005. System is a
Mandriva limited edition 20005 (=Mandrake 10.2), on an Athlon 600 MHz
computer. I am absolutely not a LaTeX expert. This newsgroup provided me
all the answers I needed when I used LyX in the past (thanks).
I have two issues with LyX 1.3.6: LyXPreview and the integrals.
1- The integrals:
My first test when I install a new version of LyX is to check if it
still can open and compile my PhD thesis (with pdflatex). I wrote it
2-2.5 years ago with early 1.3.x versions of LyX. I is the first time
this test fails. A LaTeX error was produced about the command "oiint"
already existing. This comes from the fact that there was no oiint in
the past and it is now implemented (wasy package). After changing the
"newcommand" to a "renewcommand" in the preamble, I could have the pdf
to be produced.
Then, I had a looked at it. Integrals were absolutely non-consistent!
The int and oint are nice and slanted. My oiint, redefined in the LyX
preamble were nice, but all other integrals (iint and iiint) were ugly
straight like if they had been produced in MS Word. This is clearly a
side effect of using the "wasy" package.
Create a new document and play with integrals. Not only the iint, oiint,
iiint will be ugly, but they will be inconsistent with the look of the
int and oint. How can I disable completely the wasy package or at least
tell LyX that it should never use the integrals symbol for it ?
In the past, one could use the nice slanted iint and iiint in LyX, or
add the wasy package to the preamble. Now, there is no more choice in
the ui. I think it qualifies as a regression.
2a- LyXPreview
I noticed no simple "per document" way to disable the preview of
equations. As I said earlier, my computer is quite old, and I prefer not
to see the preview of the equations.
The only way I have found yet to disable the effect is to alter the
command for the LyXPreview->ppm converter in the preferences. That is
quite drastic. LyXPreview use should be a "document" preference (like
the ams math or the babel, activated with a checkbox) or at least a
global preference.
2b- LyXPreview (more)
My screen dpi in X is 86 (87 in the other direction). I confirmed it
thanks to gimp by physically measuring with a plastic ruler some
distances (gimp offers a tool to calibrate the resolution).
Unfortunately, LyXPreview is making the images so tiny that I cannot
read the equations. The font size does not fit with the text around.
Reading the python script responsible for the equations preview, I
realised it was possible to give it a "magnification" option (did I
mention I am not a python expert ? ;) ). I tried to pass a magnification
value to the script. From the command line, it was working. Not from LyX
converter preferences. I spent a while adding warnings to the script and
then realised that the "options" I did put in the preferences for the
LyXPreview converter where not passed by LyX to the script. LyX seems
instead to pass the dpi resolution to the script. So I found 2 solutions
to have a correct preview size:
- changing the python script so the "magnification" variable is 750, not
1000.
- changing the dpi resolution in LyX to 120 dpi.
I think it would be better/simpler if in the future, the "options" were
passed by LyX to the script. It would avoid a lot of trial and error to
solve this issue.
I hope these first impressions can help improving LyX (or the docs)
further. I did not mean them to be a bad critic. Please do not take them
as such. I really like LyX. It is why I am so sad to see that my
integrals symbols look like they have been written in the MS equation
editor now.
Sincerely,
Olivier.
