How to Write and Compile a Paper with LaTeX #

Apex Scholar includes a built-in LaTeX editor that compiles your manuscript to PDF with one click—no local TeX installation needed.

When to Use the Editor #

• Writing research papers
• Preparing grant proposals
• Composing theses or technical reports
• Creating slides with Beamer (coming soon)

If you’re comfortable with Microsoft Word, you can still use Word and upload the PDF, but LaTeX produces publication-quality typesetting and is the standard in many fields.

Opening the Editor #

Click Composr in the sidebar.

The first time, you’ll see an empty editor and a template dropdown.

Creating a New Document #

1. Click New Document
2. Choose a template:
   • Blank – start from scratch
   • Article – standard research paper (with title, abstract, sections)
   • Report – longer documents with chapters
   • Book – multi-chapter books (rarely used)
3. Give your document a name (e.g., my-paper.tex)
4. Click Create

The editor opens with pre-filled content if you chose a template.

Writing LaTeX #

The editor is a CodeMirror instance with LaTeX syntax highlighting.

Basic Structure #

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\title{My Research Paper}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
  This is a short summary of my paper.
\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}
Here is where you introduce the problem and background.

\section{Methods}
Describe your approach.

\section{Results}
Show your findings with figures: \ref{fig:example}.

\bibliography{references}
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\end{document}

You can copy/paste from Overleaf or any LaTeX editor.

Adding Figures #

Upload a PDF, PNG, or JPG to your Resources first. Then reference it:

\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{my-figure.png}
  \caption{Important result}
  \label{fig:example}
\end{figure}

Make sure the filename exactly matches (including extension) and that the file is in your project’s storage.

Compiling to PDF #

1. Click the Compile button (top right of editor)
2. Wait a few seconds (typically 5–15)
3. A PDF preview appears on the right panel
4. Click Download PDF to save locally

If compilation fails, you’ll see an error. Common causes:

• Syntax error (unclosed brace, missing backslash)
• Missing package (e.g., \usepackage{...} for something you used)
• Figure file not found

Check the error message and fix your source, then compile again.

Using BibTeX for References #

You can include a references.bib file in the same folder as your .tex file.

1. Upload your .bib file to Resources
2. In your LaTeX source: \bibliography{references} (no .bib extension)
3. Compile

If citations don’t appear, you may need to run BibTeX manually—our simple compile workflow may need adjustment for complex bibliographies. Contact your admin if you need full BibTeX support.

Templates and Shortcuts #

Save a well-structured paper as a template for future use:

1. Write your preferred preamble and section layout
2. Save the .tex file to Resources with a name like template-article.tex
3. Next time, duplicate it (copy/paste content) and rename

Troubleshooting #

“Compilation failed” after 2 minutes #

The GitHub Actions workflow may have timed out or encountered a package error. Check the logs in the scholarkit/LaTex repository’s Actions tab (admin access required). Common fixes:

• Install missing LaTeX packages via the workflow’s apt-get install
• Simplify your document to isolate the error (comment out sections and recompile)

PDF preview is blank #

The compile may have succeeded but the artifact wasn’t found. Ensure the workflow outputs a file named manuscript.pdf in the artifact named pdf. See admin’s LaTeX Workflow documentation.

Images not appearing #

Check the image path. It should be just the filename if the file is in the same directory. If in a subfolder, include the path: \includegraphics{figures/my-fig}.

Make sure the image was uploaded to Resources.

Tips for a Smooth Workflow #

• Write in short sessions and compile often to catch errors early
• Keep packages minimal to speed up compilation
• Use online LaTeX editors (Overleaf) to debug complex issues, then paste final source into Apex Scholar
• For long documents, split into \input{chapter1.tex} files and upload each part

Limitations #

• The simple compile workflow runs pdflatex twice. For complex documents requiring makeglossaries or biber, custom workflow modifications are needed (ask admin).
• Large documents (>50 pages) may take longer to compile.
• Custom document classes (.cls) are supported if the workflow has those files in its repository.

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