LyX under WSL2 using VcXsrv (sharing clipboard problems)

[Pavel Sanda]

On Fri, Nov 27, 2020 at 02:47:34PM -0500, Cris Fuhrman wrote:
> Sadly, I can't get the clipboard to work consistently outside of X. For
> example:
> 
> 
>    1. In Windows, start the VcXsrv
>    2. In WSL2, start LyX, create New file
>    3. In Windows, copy some text (e.g., from Notepad++)
>    4. In LyX paste (this works)
>    5. In LyX, change the text, then Copy
>    6. In Notepad++, paste (no effect). Windows-V (to show the clipboard
>    history) shows no trace of the newly copied text from LyX.
>    7. Try steps 2-4 again and it no longer works, implying something
>    "breaks" the Xserver in those steps.
> 
> I'm able to do copy/paste with other applications such as xfe (file
> explorer) and gedit (text editor), so I know my XServer can work properly
> (at least sometimes).

It would be interesting to try different apps than xfe or gedit, some which
use Qt framework as does LyX.
Qt's handling of clipboard can be tricky and buggy at times, but if other Qt
based apps do work we should have a look at it.

Anyway, if LyX reasonably works under WSL2 it would be worth to create LyX wiki page
with intructions how to set it up and then I can make direct link from our official
Download pages. 

I am thinking for some while that WSL-based LyX could become in longterm the best
way how to get LyX working under Windows -- all the LaTeX/python deps and security
updates for ghostscript and imagemagick solved at one shot by the underlying
distribution... In more than decade we lost so much energy in dicussions and
fights about the windows installers and associated MikTeX bugs which could be
avoided this way.

Pavel