View source for LyX

{{Short description|Document processing software}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{redirect|LYX|the engine variant|GM small gasoline engine#LYX|the airport with IATA code LYX |Lydd Airport}}
{{Infobox software
| name = LyX
| title = '''{{TeX wordmark|lyx}}'''
| logo = LyXbanner1.6.3.png
| screenshot = LyX 2.3.6 - toolbars multiscript biblatex equation miniboxes - Fedora Linux 2021-01.png
| caption = [[Screenshot]] of LyX 2.3.6 on [[Linux]]
| collapsible = 
| author = 
| developer = The LyX Team
| released = {{start date and age|1995}}
| discontinued = 
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|references|preferred|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}}}
| programming language = [[C++]], [[Qt (software)|Qt 5]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/NewInLyX22|title=LyX wiki &#124; LyX / New in LyX 2.2|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref>
| operating system = ChromeOS, Linux, Mac, Windows
| platform = 
| size = 
| language count = 25
| language = Arabic, Basque, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Interlingua, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Ukrainian
| genre = [[Document processor]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]]
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}

'''LyX''' (styled as '''{{TeX wordmark|lyx}}'''; pronounced {{IPA|de|ˈlɪks|}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=LyX Wiki: Pronunciations |url=https://wiki.LyX.org/FAQ/Pronunciation#lyx |website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref>) is an [[open-source software|open source]], [[graphical user interface]] [[document processor]] based on the [[LaTeX]] [[typesetting]] system. Unlike most [[word processor]]s, which follow the [[WYSIWYG]] ("what you see is what you get") paradigm, LyX has a [[WYSIWYM]] ("what you see is what you mean") approach, where what shows up on the screen roughly depicts the semantic structure of the page and is only an approximation of the document produced by [[TeX]].

Since LyX relies on the typesetting system of LaTeX without being a full-fledged LaTeX editor itself, it has the power and flexibility of LaTeX, and can handle documents including books, notes, theses, academic papers, letters, etc. LyX's [[Interface (computing)|interface]] is structured so that while knowledge of the LaTeX markup language is not necessary for basic usage, new LaTeX directives can be added into the document to support more complex features during editing — though not at the level of full control a full-fledged LaTeX editor can provide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lyx.org/Features|title=LyX {{!}} Features|website=www.lyx.org|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tex.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1883/is-lyx-an-editor-which-should-be-recommended|title=Is LyX an editor which should be recommended?|website=TeX - LaTeX Meta Stack Exchange|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/18199/what-are-the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-lyx-compared-to-texniccenter|title=editors - What are the benefits and drawbacks of Lyx compared to TeXnicCenter|website=TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

LyX is popular among technical authors and scientists for its advanced mathematical modes, though it is increasingly used by non-mathematically-oriented scholars as well<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/LinguistLyX|title=LyX wiki &#124; LyX / Using LyX for Linguistic Papers|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/HumanitiesLyX|title=LyX wiki &#124; LyX / HumanitiesLyX|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref> for its bibliographic database integration<ref name=":0" /> and its ability to manage multiple files.<ref name=":0" /> LyX has also become a popular publishing tool among [[self-publishing|self-publish]]ers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9085|title=LyX and Lulu &#124; Linux Journal|website=www.linuxjournal.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/ProducedPublications|title=LyX wiki &#124; LyX / ProducedPublications|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref>

LyX is available for all major operating systems, including [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[macOS]], [[Linux]], [[UNIX]], [[ChromeOS]], [[OS/2]] and [[Haiku (operating system)|Haiku]]. LyX can be redistributed and modified under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License]] and is thus [[free software]].

==Features==
{{stack|[[File:LyX 2.3.5.2 Intro Zathura 0.4.7 zathura-pdf-poppler 0.3.0.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Screenshot of a PDF document created with LyX.]]}}
LyX is a full-featured document processor.<ref name=":0" /> It provides [[structured document]] creation and editing, branches for having different versions of the same document, master and child documents, change tracking, support for writing documents in many languages and scripts, [[spell checking]], [[graphics]], [[Table (information)|table]] editing, and automatic cross-reference (hyperlink) managing. LyX provides automatically numbered headings, titles, and paragraphs, with document outlining. It features a powerful [[mathematical formula]] editor with point-and-click or [[Computer keyboard|keyboard]]-only interface.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

LyX has native support for many document classes and templates available in LaTeX through <code>\documentclass{theclass}</code>. User layouts and [[Modular programming|modules]] can be made for those missing. Text is laid out according to standard [[Typography|typographic]] rules, including [[Orthographic ligature|ligatures]], [[kerning]], [[Indentation (typesetting)|indents]], spacing, and [[Hyphenation algorithm|hyphenation]]. It provides [[BibTeX|BibTeX/BibLaTeX]] citation support, comprehensive [[cross-referencing]] and PDF [[Hyperlink|hyperlinks]].  LyX can import various common text formats.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

Documents can be processed in LaTeX, [[PdfTeX|PdfLaTeX]], [[XeTeX]], and [[LuaTeX]] typesetting systems or exported to [[XHTML]], [[DocBook]], [[EPUB]] (via Docbook), and plain text. Versioning is provided through external control systems like [[Apache Subversion|SVN]], [[Git_(software)|Git]], [[Revision_Control_System|RCS]], and [[Concurrent_Versions_System|CVS]].{{fact|date=March 2025}}

LyX supports [[right-to-left]] languages like [[Arabic language|Arabic]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=LyX wiki &#124; Windows / Arabic|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/Windows/Arabic|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref> [[Persian language|Persian]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=LyX wiki &#124; Windows / Farsi|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/Windows/Farsi|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref> and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=LyX wiki &#124; Windows / Hebrew|url=https://wiki.lyx.org/Windows/Hebrew|website=wiki.lyx.org}}</ref> along with support for [[bi-directional text]]. [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and [[Korean language|Korean]] languages are also supported.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

Documents can embed calculations via [[GNU Octave|Octave]] or Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) like [[Maple (software)|Maple]], [[Maxima (software)|Maxima]], and [[Wolfram Mathematica|Mathematica]]. Commands will be forwarded to the external programs and results will be embedded in the document.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

==History==
[[Matthias Ettrich]] started developing a shareware program called Lyrix in 1995. It was then announced on [[Usenet]], where it received a great deal of attention in the following years.

Shortly after the initial release, Lyrix was renamed to LyX due to a name clash with a word processor produced by the company [[Santa Cruz Operation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.development.apps/browse_thread/thread/aadd303eacc56148/d93ee9d5edc37f86|title=WANTED: Name for Wordprocessor (comp.os.linux.development.apps)|access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> The name LyX was chosen because of the file suffix <samp>.lyx</samp> for Lyrix files.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lyx.org/misc/archaeology/|title=LyX Archaeology::Xforms timeline|website=www.lyx.org}}</ref>

==Versions==
LyX has no set release schedule. Releases occur when there are important bug fixes or significant improvements. The following table lists the dates of all major releases.<ref name"news">{{cite web|url=https://www.lyx.org/News |title=LyX news and releases |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref> For collaboration between different users using the same major release is recommended as LyX file format remains fixed within each major release (e.g. all minor LyX versions 2.3.0, 2.3.1, 2.3.2, ... use strictly the same file format).

{|
| width="50%" valign="top" |

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Version !! Release date
|-
| 0.7.0 || 24 October 1995
|-
| 1.0.0 || 1 February 1999
|-
| 1.2.0 || 29 May 2002
|-
| 1.3.0 || 7 February 2003
|-
| 1.4.0 || 8 March 2006
|-
| 1.5.0 || 27 July 2007
|-
|}

| width="50%" valign="top" |

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Version !! Release date
|-
| 1.6.0 || 10 November 2008
|-
| 2.0.0 || 8 May 2011
|-
| 2.1.0 || 25 April 2014
|-
| 2.2.0 || 26 May 2016
|-
| 2.3.0 || 16 March 2018
|-
| 2.4.0 || 31 May 2024
|-
|}

|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Comparison of word processors]]
* [[Comparison of TeX editors]]
* [[Comparison of desktop publishing software]]
* [[List of desktop publishing software]]
* [[List of word processors]]
* [[Scientific WorkPlace]] – A [[proprietary software]] (non-[[free software|free]]) counterpart to LyX

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}
*[https://wiki.lyx.org/ LyX Wiki]
*[https://www.jstatsoft.org/article/view/v017s01 A comparative review of Scientific WorkPlace and LyX] in [[Journal of Statistical Software]]

{{Word processors}}
{{TeX editors}}
{{Desktop publishing software}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyx}}
[[Category:1995 software]]
[[Category:Cross-platform free software]]
[[Category:Desktop publishing software]]
[[Category:Formula editors]]
[[Category:Free multilingual software]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C++]]
[[Category:Free TeX editors]]
[[Category:Free word processors]]
[[Category:Linux TeX software]]
[[Category:TeX editors]]
[[Category:TeX editors that use Qt]]
[[Category:TeX software for macOS]]
[[Category:TeX software for Windows]]