Lyx doesn't work (can't find cls files)

Question

I installed Lyx in my system, but it I just can't make it work. Every time I open any file, I get a message similar to this one:

The selected document class
    article
requires external files that are not available.
The document class can still be used, but the
document cannot be compiled until the following
prerequisites are installed:
    article.cls
See section 3.1.2.2 (Class Availability) of the
User's Guide for more information.

I'm not sure if the problem is with Lyx itself or some of its Latex dependencies.

I do have the "article.cls" file in my system (from texlive-latex-base) located in:

/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/article.cls

(This line shows up in Tools → TeX Information, so apparently Lyx knows about it).

I have already tried reinstalling texlive and using Tools → Reconfigure, didn't work.

I'm using LyX 2.0.5.1 in KUbuntu 12.10.

EDIT: Apparently this is a bug in 12.10. I just reverted to 12.04 and everything is working smoothly again, with no setup needed beyond apt-get install lyx.

Solution 1

I know it's an old question, but I just experienced the same problem myself on a fairly recent Mint 17.2 installation.

I used apt-file search article.cls to see which packages have that file - and confirmed that it's present in the texlive-* series of packages. I then did apt-get install texlive - which pulled a few dependencies with it - and the problem was solved.

Solution 2

If you only installed the Lyx Processor and Tex-live then you need to extend the functionality of LyX by installing the listed packages (in bold) for full functionality. They are all available in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Those that are NOT in bold are optional (i think they are self explanatory anyway). When i installed these, all my document classes became available.

For additional document classes (subclasses) and other how tos you can visit the Lyx Wiki here

• chktex: check for typographical errors

• dvipost: display tracked changes in DVI format output

• gnuhtml2latex: import HTML documents

• groff: improved table formatting in plain text exports

• librsvg2-bin, inkscape: use the SVG image format in LyX documents (if your using Inkscape as your graphics editor inr Lyx)

• linuxdoc-tools: export SGML LinuxDoc documents

• mythes-*: use the OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice Thesaurus

• noweb: import noweb files

• rcs: integrated version control

• sgmltools-lite: export SGML DocBook documents

• texlive-xetex, etoolbox: use the XeTeX typesetting system

• wv: import MS Word documents

Solution 3

My new LyX installation showed exactly the same symptoms as the original poster's. I found that there was an old .texmf-var directory in my home directory. Renaming or deleting it, e.g. mv .texmf-var .texmf-var.oldsolved the problem. After that, LyX no longer complains about missing .cls files and compiles documents just fine.

I'm using Ubuntu 12.04, LyX 2.0.7 from https://launchpad.net/~lyx-devel/+archive/release and TeX Live 2012 from https://launchpad.net/~texlive-backports/+archive/ppa.

Comments

[Admin]

Please follow the advice in the LyX-Wiki. What happens after the reconfigure-step?

[Admin]

I have tried those steps already (including running texhash). After reconfigure I just get a message saying that the system was reconfigured and that I must restart Lyx, but nothing changes. I'm actually just about to wipe out my entire system and reinstall ubuntu from scratch, if nothing else works.

[Admin]

Change the operating system version? That answer is unacceptable. Does anyone have a real solution to this problem?

[Admin]

@Nick I can't help, but I confirm that I've been using LyX without problem for the last few versions (and the beta) of (K)ubuntu without problems. So it's definitely possible.

[Admin]

Here too, deleting the folder .texmf-var solved the problem.

[Admin]

sudo apt-get install texlive, then Lynx reconfigure did it for me. before that, /usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/article.cls was missing.

[Znorg]

I just installed all of these, but I still get the same error.

[stephenmyall]

As I have no issues, I am trying to figure out what makes your installation different from mine. I have installed Lyx on many computers with no issues. Did you install it from the USC or from some other source maybe?

[stephenmyall]

I just came across this question which might be of interest to you. askubuntu.com/review/close/84121

[Znorg]

Yeah, looks like it is a bug in 12.10. Thanks for your help.

[gaborous]

This issue still happens with LyX 2.2.3 on Windows Seven, also it used to work perfectly fine on my machine, it just happens now after updating (both LyX and MikTeX).

[kotozna]

Can confirm this solved my problem on 18.04 (the package needed was texlive-publishers).