Others ⇒ Have you seen writelatex.com ?

[TomW]

I've just started using writelatex.com, and wondered if anyone here has any experience with it? First impressions are very positive - it's made collaborating with colleagues much easier, and not having to sign up for anything was a plus.

Not having auto-complete is a bit annoying, but being able to pick up my playbook and make quick updates to a presentation when I'm out and about is a great help for me (it's good to be able to make changes when inspiration strikes!!).

I'd be interested in your thoughts - just found this community site thanks to a friend - and if you haven't seen it it's worth checking out.

cheers,
Tom

[JohnHammersley]

Hi Tom,

Glad you like the site - I'm one of the co-developers and it's good to read such a positive post. Hopefully others will have had similarly good experinces with it, and we've just recently added links to forums such as this one so that users can get help from others more easily.

I agree that not having auto-complete is annoying - we're working on it and hope to be able to roll out an implementation soon.

Hope you continue to use and enjoy writelatex.com

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi,

thank you for this information!

I already had a look at this site, and it's impressive. I wonder if the server can take the processor load for real-time compiling when many people are working at the same time. However, today's processors are strong, TeX can be installed on a SSD drive, and servers are capable, so I don't have a doubt. When I tested it, it run fine.

Btw. I tested with an iPad and an external bluetooth keybord, which normally works fine, but in the writeLaTeX editor the cursor moving keys did not work, I could not go lines up and down. Just a side note. I think it would be great to ensure that writeLaTeX works well with tablets, because on iOS and Android a classic TeX installation is hard, therefore writeLaTeX.com would be a very good tool there.

Stefan

[JohnHammersley]

Hi Stefan,

Thanks for the comments - we're working on better support for tablets, and you're right that having an install-free solution (that works well with peripherals such as bluetooth keyboards) is key on those types of devices.

This ties in with one of our main aims, which is to make writeLaTeX easy & straightforward to use, both to encourage new users to get started with LaTeX, and also to help remove the frustrations experienced by existing users. Tom's example of being able to make changes to a presentation whilst out and about is a good example of this.

Lots more to come in 2013

All the best,
John

[JohnHammersley]

Hi Stefan,

Hope you're well! We've just released an upgrade to the Overleaf (writeLaTeX) editor, which has improved functionality on tablets, and I wondered if you could check to see whether this now allows you to use the arrow keys on your bluetooth keyboard?

Thanks!
John