Subject: Re: indexing a book - msg#00704

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Re: frontmatter/mainmatter

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003, Ed Sawicki wrote: > The LyX graphical user interface doesn't seem to have a way to easily > indicate where frontmatter and mainmatter begin. I use ERT to insert > \frontmatter and \mainmatter. This is fine for me and I'm not complaining. > I'm just wondering if I missed a more obvious way. Ed, Nope. That's just what I've used, too. Don't forget \backmatter when you get there. Rich -- Dr. Richard B. Shepard, President Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc. (TM) <http://www.appl-ecosys.com>

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Re: Problem installing new document class

Sander Klous wrote: Hi, I submitted this question last week, but didn't get a response. So I'll give it another try. I have lyx1.3.3 installed on RH7.3 I downloaded the elsart.layout from http://www.lyx.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/lyx-devel/lib/layouts/ and installed it in ~/.lyx/layouts In the same directory I have elsart.sty, elsart12.sty and elsart.cls that I downloaded from elsevier and amssymb.sty that I downloaded from http://www.itk.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/Docs/InsightDocuments/Latex/amssymb.sty?cvsroot=Insight I ran lyx->reconfigure. In the output it says: +checking for document class elsart [elsart,amssymb.sty]... no And I don't get a listing in lyx->document->class. What's wrong? Thanks, Sander How is this question becoming such a rat-hole? Don't put it in /usr/share/texmf---that's where Debian officially updates tetex and all the recommended and dependent packages as well for tetex to run. I can't imagine there would be much of a difference with other Linux distros that follow the /usr/share intent. Create /usr/local/share/texmf Then create tex under texmf Then create latex underneath tex /usr/local/share/texmf /usr/local/share/texmf/tex /usr/local/share/texmf/latex Extract your packages under the latex directory: I have the following packages installed: algorithms/ epigraph/ IEEEtran/ kom-script/ memoir/ paper/ prettyref/ runic/ svjour/ tugboat/ Read the instructions under each latex package that are separate from the instructions within the LyX ->Customization section, which are on the CTAN tex archive site. For example: Memoir http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/memoir/?action=/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/ excerpt: To install the package: o run: latex memoir.ins (which will generate memoir.cls, and a set of mem*.clo files) o run: latex memoir.dtx For an index run: makeindex -s gind.ist memoir o run: latex memoir.dtx o Print memoir.dvi for a hardcopy of the documented code o Move memoir.cls, the mem*.clo files and any mem*.sty file to locations where LaTeX will find them (typically in a local texmf tree at /tex/latex/memoir) and refresh the file database. See the FAQ on CTAN at help/uk-tex-faq or http://www.tug.ac.uk/faq for more information on this. To process memman.tex o Make sure you can use the memoir class and the alltt, fixltx2e, layouts and url packages. o Run (pdf)latex twice on memman.tex o For an index run: makeindex -s memman.ist memman o Run (pdf)latex twice more on memman.tex o Print the manual NOTE: you'll find that this process is repeatable with all .ins and .dtx files. Then apply the texhash command spoken of from within LyX-Customization from Step 5 It will create the following file: /usr/local/share/texmf/ls-R The apply step 6 which states: 6. From within LyX, do: Options>Reconfigure. Restart LyX. Verify it works by then checking your Help->LaTeX configuration Of course it will then show up in the Layout->Document->Document Style->Document class list view. I haven't had one of the packages that LaTeX configuration has support for not work. The memoir class even has a very recent patch to it which I'll have to check because it does have bugs outside of LyX. -Marc

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Re: indexing a book

On Fri, 2003-11-28 at 05:08, Helge Hafting wrote: > Ed Sawicki wrote: > > I love LyX but I dislike the way an index is created. > > The indexed words are turned into boxes on the screen that > > I find annoying. I'd also like a bit more automation to make > > indexing easier. I'm wondering whether I'm overlooking a > > capability in LyX and whether someone has already created a > > solution. > > > > If there's no other solution, here's what I plan: > > > > 1. When the book is finished, convert it to ASCII and LaTex. > > 2. From the ASCII file, create a word list that consists of > > all the words in the book. Pare this list down to only the > > words that should be indexed using some automation and manual > > inspection and editing. > > 3. Add phrases that should be indexed to the list. I'll have to > > maintain a list of phrases manually as I write the book. > > 4. Have a script automatically insert indexing markup into the > > LaTeX file. > > 5. Fix any problems with manual editing of the LaTeX file. > > 6. Use the marked up LaTeX file to print the final book. > > > > Whenever changes to the book are needed, I modify the LyX > > version of the book. When finished, I go to step 1. > > Be careful with "fully automated indexing". I never intended fully automated indexing. That would be foolish. That's why step 5 exists. Perhaps my wording of step 5 is vague. > Indexing > every page where some word occur usually makes for > a poor index. It is easy, because all you need is to > pick the words and let the computer do the rest. But > the result is rarely good, as a normal text contain > many indexable words in places people aren't interested > in looking up. I agree, though this is less of a problem when the book is about a technical subject and most of the index entries are technical terms. > I've got the following advice on index creation: > 1. Try to not index more than three locations for a word. > People simply don't try 20 locations, so it is > a waste *even* if all of them are equally relevant. > There may be exceptions to this depending on what you're > writing - this is the general advice. > 2. Avoid foo:56,57,58,59 (or foo:56--59) Simply > index the start of the range, people will go there > and read through it. > 3. Index only the important places a word is used. > People looking in the index for "foo" want to > find the important pieces about "foo", not everytime the > word was used. > > This advice is more work and stands in the way of > automation. Still, it usually results in better books. > > Helge Hafting >

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Re: indexing a book

On Fri, 2003-11-28 at 14:14, Rich Shepard wrote: > On Thu, 27 Nov 2003, Ed Sawicki wrote: > > > I love LyX but I dislike the way an index is created. > > I hope that it is not considered too off-topic to ask here about the art > of indexing. This morning I bought a copy of Larry Bonura's "The Art of > Indexing". The most important insight I have gained so far is the difference > in purpose of an index in a scientific book versus one in a technical > manual. The index of a scientific book is used as a reference to specific > information by (usually) someone who has already read the book. The index of > a technical manual (or technical book) is used to answer "how to" questions > by someone who may, or may not, have read the book. Bonura's book focuses on > the latter need. > > So, can folks here recommend resources for me to read on how to decide on > topics, organization and so on for a scientific book? There are many books > out there and I cannot go through all of them trying to find the one that > will teach me what I need to learn. > > I can also understand now why there's a dearth of indexing software. If > the idea of the index is to extract ideas and concepts from the text -- from > the reader's need to know -- how could software do this effectively? I don't think it can. That's why there's a strong human/manual component of the process, where the author or indexer (the human) of the book needs to make the important decisions. The software can only do the grunt work. However, the grunt work relives the author or the indexer of a significant burden. I've published electronic versions of my books where the index is a search engine. This shifts the burden of indexing to the reader and allows the reader to decide on his own search criteria. Note that some search engine software allows the author or indexer to assign priorities to words and phrases to put more likely sought after sections of the book closer to the top of the resulting list. Some software allows the addition of metadata, thus allowing the author or indexer to enhance a reader's search capabilities. I've toyed with the idea of providing readers with a Web site they could access once they've purchased one of my books. The Web site would allow the reader to access an electronic index that's more functional than the static index in the back of the printed book. Ed > Thanks, > > Rich