PDF preview

The preview pane shows the PDF from the latest compile on your branch. From it you can move through pages, zoom, jump between the PDF and your source, and download the PDF.

Control	What it does
Toggle thumbnails	Shows or hides page thumbnails.
Previous page, page number, Next page	Moves through pages. Type a page number to jump to it.
Zoom out, zoom percentage, Zoom in	Changes the zoom. Click the percentage to reset to 100%.
Pan mode	Drag the page to move around instead of selecting text.
Export PDF	Downloads the PDF. See Download the PDF.
Toggle preview	Hides the preview pane, on larger screens. Click Open preview on the right edge to bring it back.

The PDF opens fitted to the width of the pane. Your page and zoom stay the same when you compile again. You can select text in the PDF and copy it with Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on a Mac).

To give the preview more or less room, drag the divider between the editor and the preview.

On a phone, the editor shows one pane at a time. Use the Files, Code (or Visual) and Preview tabs at the bottom of the screen to switch.

When the preview is out of date

An Out of date badge in the toolbar means the PDF was compiled before the latest changes. The next compile refreshes it.

If a compile fails, the last PDF that compiled successfully stays on screen with the Out of date badge, so a half-typed command does not blank the preview for everyone on the branch. See Compile logs and errors.

Jump between source and PDF (SyncTeX)

Every compile includes SyncTeX data, which links each place in the PDF to a line of your source.

From your source to the PDF

Put the cursor on a line, then do one of these:

press Ctrl+Alt+J (Control+Option+J on a Mac),
double-click the line in the editor (on a computer), or
click the Show in PDF icon button on the divider between the editor and the preview. On smaller screens, the button is in the preview toolbar.

The preview scrolls to the matching spot in the PDF.

From the PDF to your source

Double-click a spot in the PDF. On a touch screen, press and hold. The editor opens the right file at the matching line and highlights it briefly.

When the jump doesn’t work

“This line has no matching spot in the PDF.” The line produces no output, such as a comment or a line in the preamble.
“SyncTeX unavailable for this PDF” The PDF has no SyncTeX data to use. Compile again.
“… is no longer in this project.” The file was deleted or renamed after the PDF was compiled. Compile again.

Download the PDF

Click Export PDF in the preview toolbar.
Check the file name in the Export PDF dialog, then click Download.

The file name is made of the project name and the ID of the branch’s latest saved version. If neither is available, the file is called document.pdf.

People with the Viewer role can download the PDF too.

Empty preview

Message	Meaning
“No PDF yet. Compile the document to see it here.”	Nobody has compiled this branch yet. Click Compile.
“No PDF yet. It appears here once someone who can edit this project compiles it.”	You have view access and there is no PDF yet.
“Compilation failed”	The compile failed and there is no earlier PDF to show. Check the Output panel.