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Creating Your First Document

This guide walks you through creating a complete academic document in Opus.

Starting Fresh

From your dashboard, click New Manuscript. You'll be prompted for a title—you can always change this later.

Document Structure

A typical academic document has this structure:

# Title of Your Paper

## Abstract

A brief summary of your research...

## Introduction

Background and context...

## Methods

How you conducted the research...

## Results

What you found...

## Discussion

What it means...

## References

Type this structure into the editor. The preview pane will show your formatted document.

Adding Equations

Opus supports LaTeX math notation. For inline equations, use single dollar signs:

The equation $E = mc^2$ changed physics forever.

For display equations, use double dollar signs:

$$
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx = \sqrt{\pi}
$$

See the Equations guide for more.

Adding Citations

Type /cite to open the citation picker. You can:

  • Search your connected Zotero library
  • Look up a DOI
  • Import from BibTeX

Citations appear as [@author2024] in your document and render properly in the preview.

See the Citations guide for setup and usage.

Adding Images

Drag and drop an image into the editor, or type /image to insert one. Images are automatically uploaded and managed for you.

![Figure caption here](image.png)

Saving Your Work

Opus saves automatically as you type. You'll see a small indicator showing when the last save occurred. Your work is never lost.

Exporting

When you're ready to share or submit:

  1. Click the Export button in the toolbar
  2. Choose your format (PDF, Word, etc.)
  3. Configure any options
  4. Download your file

See the Export guide for details on each format.

Next Steps