Inserting a Preface in LyX

Question

I'm struggling with LyX. I'm trying to insert a Preface (before the ToC) in my thesis, but I'm not sure how to do this - the dropdown list doesn't give this as an option. Any help?

Answer 1

Go to the position in your LyX document where you want to have the preface (e.g. before the TOC).

1. (Optional) To add the entry "Preface" to your TOC, insert the following ERT/TeX code ("Ctrl-L")

   \addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Preface}
   

2. In a new line below write "Preface" and change the style to "Section*", which is an unnumbered section.

3. Finally, write your preface below (in style "Standard").

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For correct page reference of "Preface" in your PDF using hyperref, please see When do I need to invoke \phantomsection?

For large documents, it might be helpful to split the document and outsource chapters/sections like the Preface by using Insert > File > Child Document....