[Tex/LaTex] Writing the Ph.D. thesis with LyX using a LaTeX template (newbie)

lyxtemplatesthesis

I am in the process of writing my Doctoral Thesis in Chemistry, and after writing my Bachelor and Master's theses in Word I have decided to move to a better processor. I always found LaTeX fascinating, but hard for me to learn, so when I discovered LyX an entire World of possibilities was opened for me.

I have read several topics with the same problem, but I could not find a solution for my issue. I would like to write my thesis starting from a template, but the ones I found for LyX are not suitable or not aesthetically appealing. I would like to write a thesis using the template downloadable from this page:

https://www.latextemplates.com/template/masters-doctoral-thesis

I have seen on this site that some people had the same LaTeX-LyX conversion problems, so I tried to import the proposed "template"'s .tex file using Import -> LaTeX(plain), but the main file cannot be opened. And although a main.lyx file is generated in the process, that cannot be read.

How could I use this template on LyX? Thank you very much for your help.

Best Answer

I wrote my PhD thesis in LyX, so I know how to build on such templates. (In my experience you also occasionally need to type LaTeX in Ctrl+L environments, but you can cross that bridge when your document is set up.)

I recommend you start by creating a new LyX file and adjusting the Settings in the Document menu. On the left, you can scroll through several settings categories.

Begin by changing the Document Class in the first category to Report (Standard Class) or, if that is unavailable on your system, something similar. Next, copy-paste your LaTeX template's preamble (everything before \begin{document}) into LaTeX Preamble in the last category. Press Apply and OK.

After that you should be able to create sections etc. as usual in LyX. Quickly create an MWE so you can see whether the PDF output is on the right lines. If it isn't, adjust the preamble (as well as any other document settings you mind) until you're happy.