Using LyX and nuthesis Class Files in Windows

The following instructions worked for me (Tom Shores), using Vista Home Edition on my laptop, along with LyX 1.6 and MiKTeX 2.8 installed for all users.   These instructions will make the class file available for all users, so you must have administrative privileges. I haven't tried an individual user install, but it should be possible though you may have to change a prefix in the names of standard folders below.  For other versions of LyX and MiKTeX, change the numbers 1.6 and 2.8 appropriately -- it may work, but no guarantees if the versions are older.

First, you should download and install the latest bundled versions of LyX and MiKTeX for Windows.  If you have older versions, you might want to uninstall them first (updates may be possible if you know how -- I don't.)  Go to the site

http://wiki.lyx.org/Windows/Windows

and follow the appropriate instructions for the latest stable version of LyX and MiKTeX installation.  I am assuming that you are not using cygwin but installing the programs directly to your Windows installation.

Once LyX and MiKTeX are successfully installed on your system do the following:

0. Obtain a copy of the zip file NUThesis.zip and unzip it (which you have presumably done, since you are reading the instructions therein.)

1. Copy the file nuthesis\nuthesis.layouts into the folder C:\Program Files\LyX16\Resources\layouts.

2. Copy the file NUThesis\NUThesisTemplate.lyx into the folder C:\Program Files\LyX16\Resources\templates.

3. Copy the folder NUThesis/nuthesis into the folder C:\Program Files\MikTeX 2.8\tex\latex.

4. Open the All Programs menu > MiKTeX 2.8 > Maintenance (Admin) > Settings (Admin), then click the 'Refresh FNDB' button and click OK.

5. Open a Command Prompt window, cd to the directory C:\Program Files\LyX16\bin and then type 'LyX &' and press Enter.  This will start up LyX and will display useful output in the Command Prompt window.

6. Click on the LyX window, then click Tools > Reconfigure.  You should get a message saying that you LyX has been reconfigured and you need to quit LyX for these settings to take effect.  Quit LyX.  If the reconfiguration has been successful, when you search the Command Prompt window, you should find a line that says

+checking for document class nuthesis [nuthesis]... yes

If it says 'no', then something's wrong and you need to recheck your steps.  If that fails, you'll need a MiKTeX-pert, since that's probably where the hangup is.

7. Restart LyX from the All Programs menu.  Now you should be able to use the document class in LyX as usual: Either create a new document of this class by clicking 
File > New from Template > NUThesisTemplate,  then save this file in your home directory with an appropriate name, or your may attempt to convert an existing document to this by loading up the document in LyX and then clicking
Settings > Document Class > Document Class, then select 'book (NU Thesis)' from the drop down Document class Menu.
