From df1f713e3b20c341e8457790babb8fa2c850ba2e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jessica Nash <janash@vt.edu>
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2023 12:57:36 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] update README in docs folder

---
 {{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/docs/README.md | 19 ++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/docs/README.md b/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/docs/README.md
index f30cb4b..8c555d1 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/docs/README.md
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/docs/README.md
@@ -1,15 +1,25 @@
 # Compiling {{cookiecutter.project_name}}'s Documentation
 
 The docs for this project are built with [Sphinx](http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/).
-To compile the docs, first ensure that Sphinx and the ReadTheDocs theme are installed.
+To compile the docs, first ensure that the necessary dependencies are installed.
 
 {% if (cookiecutter.dependency_source == 'Prefer conda-forge over the default anaconda channel with pip fallback' or cookiecutter.dependency_source == 'Prefer default anaconda channel with pip fallback') %}
+
+You can use the provided `requirements.yaml` file to create a conda environment with the necessary dependencies by running
+
+```bash
+conda env create -f requirements.yaml
+```
+
+if you wish to install dependencies in your current environment, you can do
+
 ```bash
-conda install sphinx sphinx_rtd_theme 
+conda env update --file requirements.yaml
 ```
+
 {% elif cookiecutter.dependency_source == 'Dependencies from pip only (no conda)' %}
 ```bash
-pip install sphinx sphinx_rtd_theme
+pip install sphinx pydata-sphinx-theme sphinx-copybutton sphinx-design
 ```
 {% endif %}
 
@@ -18,6 +28,9 @@ Once installed, you can use the `Makefile` in this directory to compile static H
 make html
 ```
 
+The documentation contains default pages for "Getting Started", "User Guide", "Developer Guide" and API reference. 
+We recommend adopting these sections of documentation for your project to ensure comprehensive documentation for all aspects of your project.
+
 The compiled docs will be in the `_build` directory and can be viewed by opening `index.html` (which may itself 
 be inside a directory called `html/` depending on what version of Sphinx is installed).