Editor & PDF layout and sizing

You can adjust the placement and size of the components within the Overleaf editor window.

Layout options

The following image shows the Layout options menu with a checkmark next to the currently active option; here, it is the default setting of Split view:

The remainder of this article demonstrates each of the four options and the functionality they provide.

Split View (the default)

This default option uses a single browser tab to display the LaTeX editor and PDF preview. This arrangement works well if you have a large display screen with sufficient space to organize your work. If you are using a laptop connected to a large external screen, the "Open PDF in a separate tab" option, displaying the LaTeX editor and PDF preview in separate browser tabs, can be a more convenient configuration.

Layout default

Editor only and PDF only

If you wish to temporarily hide the PDF preview or LaTeX text editor, you can use the layout modes of Editor only or PDF only and easily switch between them as required.

Besides the Layout options menu, there are other ways to switch between the Split view, Editor only, and PDF only modes, depending on your current mode.

Small arrow

In Split view, you can hide the PDF (switch to Editor only) using the small arrow to the right of the source code.
In Editor only, you can show the PDF (switch to Split view) using the same small arrow:

Switch modes button

In PDF only, you can switch to Editor only using the button in the top-right corner of your screen.
In Editor only, you can switch to PDF only using the button in the top-right corner of your screen.

"Open PDF in a separate tab"

This layout option uses separate browser tabs for the Overleaf text editor and PDF preview, making it possible to work with Overleaf on two screens; for example, viewing the PDF preview on a laptop screen with the LaTeX editor displayed on a second, much larger, external screen—providing a convenient way to edit the LaTeX text.

Tip: Having the PDF preview displayed on a separate screen can be useful during video presentations, enabling attendees to focus on the PDF without becoming distracted by the source code, which is on another (unshared) screen.

Jumping to the code or PDF location in separate tabs

Even with the PDF preview and code editor in separate tabs, perhaps on separate screens, you can still use the “Show in Code” location or “Show in PDF” location features (provided by SyncTeX).

To jump to PDF location:

1. In the code editor tab, select "Show in PDF".

   

2. Navigate to your PDF tab to see the content scroll to the corresponding location.

   

To jump to code location:

1. In the PDF tab, either select "Show in code" or double-click the content.

   

2. Navigate to your code editor tab to see the content scroll to the corresponding location.

   

   Note that the location is more accurate by double-clicking instead of selecting the "Show in code" button. In this example, double-clicking correctly highlights the chapter title "Background" in the LaTeX code, versus the subsequent content.

   

Resizing

To hide the file list or preview panes altogether, click on the thin panels at the side of the vertical divider bars. You can restore the file list and preview panels by clicking on the respective arrow buttons again.

Resizing, hiding and restoring the file list, source code and preview panels