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Editor Basics

Learn your way around the Opus editor interface.

The Layout

The editor has three main areas:

  1. Toolbar - Common actions and formatting buttons (top)
  2. Editor pane - Where you write (left)
  3. Preview pane - Live rendered output (right)

The Toolbar

The toolbar provides quick access to:

  • Bold, Italic, Headings - Text formatting
  • Link, Image - Insert media
  • Equation, Citation - Academic features
  • Export - Download your document
  • Share - Collaborate with others

Prefer Keyboard?

Everything in the toolbar is also available via keyboard shortcuts or slash commands. See Shortcuts.

The Editor Pane

This is where you write in Markdown. Key features:

  • Syntax highlighting - Markdown syntax is color-coded
  • Auto-completion - Type / for slash commands
  • Spell check - Errors are underlined
  • Line numbers - Click to select entire lines

Slash Commands

Type / anywhere to open the command palette. Common commands:

Command Action
/h1, /h2, /h3 Insert heading
/bold, /italic Format text
/link Insert link
/image Insert image
/table Insert table
/cite Insert citation
/equation Insert equation
/quote Insert block quote

The Preview Pane

The preview shows your document as it will appear when exported. It updates in real-time as you type.

Preview Controls

  • Sync scroll - Preview scrolls with editor (on by default)
  • Zoom - Adjust preview zoom level
  • Theme - Light or dark preview background

Split View Options

You can adjust the editor layout:

  • Side by side - Editor left, preview right (default)
  • Editor only - Full-width editor, no preview
  • Preview only - Full-width preview, no editor

Toggle these from the View menu or use keyboard shortcuts.

Document Settings

Click the gear icon to access document settings:

  • Title - Change the document title
  • Metadata - Set author, date, abstract
  • Citations - Configure bibliography style
  • Export defaults - Set default export options

For long documents, use these navigation features:

  • Outline - Click the outline icon to see document structure
  • Find - Press Ctrl/Cmd + F to search
  • Go to line - Press Ctrl/Cmd + G to jump to a line

Next Steps