Writing LaTeX

The PrismaTex code editor and what it does for you while you write.

The editor

• Syntax highlighting for commands, environments, math and comments.
• Autocomplete for LaTeX commands and environments as you type.
• Comment out lines: Ctrl + / adds or removes % at the start of the selected lines.
• Undo and redo: Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Shift + Z, or the floating buttons of the preview.
• Text size: set it in the sidebar menu, under Editor font size.

On Mac, use ⌘ instead of Ctrl. All shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts.

The Insert menu

The Insert menu above the editor adds the most common structures at the cursor: section, subsection, bulleted list, numbered list, equation, figure, table, algorithm, code listing, citation, reference and label. Handy when you don't remember every environment's syntax.

Write faster with AI

• AI completion: Alt + / suggests how to finish your sentence, Tab accepts it. See AI tools in the editor.
• Voice input: the microphone button of the input box transcribes what you say.
• The assistant writes, rephrases or translates a passage on request. See Using the assistant.

Multi-file documents

For a long document (thesis, book), split the chapters into several files and include them from the main document:

\documentclass{report}
\begin{document}
\include{chapters/introduction}
\include{chapters/methods}
\end{document}

Only the main document is compiled; pick it under Compile > Main document if PrismaTex didn't find it. The assistant reads the whole project, so it finds chapters even when they live in separate files.

Accents, languages and fonts

Files are saved as UTF-8: type accented characters directly. For a document in another language, load babel:

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[french]{babel}

To use the fonts installed on the server (OpenType, TrueType) with fontspec, choose the XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX compiler. See Compiling and fixing errors.