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Redesigned Overleaf editor

This guide introduces you to the redesigned Overleaf editor, highlighting key changes and improvements to enhance your writing and collaboration experience.

Getting Started

We're currently rolling out a redesigned editor. Everyone will be getting access to it soon, but if you'd like to explore it early, you can opt in to our beta program.

We've redesigned our editor to improve space utilization, seamlessly integrate features, and enhance the overall experience.

The new editor is designed to feel intuitive and familiar, building on your previous use of Overleaf. The editing pane remains on the left and the PDF viewer on the right.

  • You can still switch between the Code and Visual editors using the toggle at the top-left of the editing pane.

  • The Recompile button remains at the top-left of the PDF viewer.

Image showing how to use Overleaf. It highlights the Code Editor and Visual Editor toggle, the editor area for writing and editing your document, the Recompile button to view the typeset result, and the display of the typeset document.

Top bar

We have simplified the top bar and reorganized it so that it is easier to find what you want and increase space.

  • Overleaf Icon: Clicking the Overleaf icon in the top-left corner will now take you back to your project dashboard.

  • Menus: We've introduced familiar menu options like File, Edit, View, and Help to make common actions easier to find.

  • Project menu: Clicking the drop-down menu next to the project name gives you access to project-level actions, such as downloading the source, renaming the project, making a copy, or submitting to a journal.

  • Top-Right Controls: On the top-right, you'll find buttons for History, Share, and options to change the editor layout.

Image showing the top bar of the Overleaf editor. From left to right: the icon to go back to the project dashboard; the file, edit, insert, view, format and help menus; the project name and associated menu for submitting, downloading, copying, and renaming; the history, layout options and the share button.

Left bar

Access to key features has moved to a new vertical bar on the left-hand side of the screen. From top to bottom, the icons give you access to:

  • File tree: Organize and manage your project's files and directories.

  • Search: Quickly locate information within your project files.

  • Integrations: Connect with external platforms, such as Papers and GitHub, to enhance workflow.

  • Review: Utilize features like Track Changes and Comments for collaborative editing.

  • Chat: Communicate in real-time with team members or collaborators.

  • Error logs: View compiler output and errors for debugging purposes.

Image showing the left pane of the Overleaf editor. It indicates the icons for switching the content of the pane.

At the bottom of this bar, you'll find links to Help and your project Settings.

Image showing the location of the help and settings icons in the bottom left of the editor.
Error logs

Please verify the placement of the error logs in your version of the editor, as we are testing a few versions.

For some, the error logs remain next to the Recompile button. Clicking the icon will open a pane displaying any LaTeX errors, warnings, and other compiler output to help you debug your project. The AI Error Assistant and other log-related options are still available in this view.

For some users, the location may have remained next to the Recompile button but the design of the errors has been updated:

For others, the error logs are now accessed from the left bar. Clicking the icon will open a pane displaying any LaTeX errors, warnings, and other compiler output to help you debug your project. The AI Error Assistant and other log-related options are still available in this view.

Image showing the error logs view. Access by the icon in the bar. Use the target icon to locate the error in the text. Use the sparkles to use AI error assist. Read the error message by expanding the notification. Check for other errors, warnings, info and the raw logs by scrolling down the list.

As before, whenever there are errors, solve errors from the top down, resolve them as soon as possible, and check the logs regularly.

Resizing the panes

You can still use the dividers to resize or hide panes. The arrows for SyncTeX (to jump between the source code and the PDF) are still located on the divider between the editor and PDF viewer.

Image showing Overleaf editor options to resize the pane using the dividers, hiding panes using the arrow at the midpoint of the dividers and the location of the arrows for using syncTeX to jump between source and PDF and vice versa.

Project settings

Clicking Settings at the bottom of the left bar opens a window with several configuration tabs. From this window, you can also quickly access your main Account settings and Subscription details.

This tab contains options to customize your editing experience, such as auto-complete, code checking, editor language, and spell-check dictionary.

Image showing the editor pane of the settings model accessed in the bottom left. Options include auto-complete, code check, and language selection.

To temporarily switch back to the old editor, go to the Appearance tab of the Settings menu.

We hope you enjoy the redesigned editor! Your feedback is valuable to us, and we encourage you to share your thoughts via the feedback form.

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