LaTeX Collaboration Problems Solved: A Team's Guide

The Collaboration Reality

Academic writing is rarely solo. A typical paper might have:

• 3-5 co-authors
• 1-2 advisors providing feedback
• External collaborators at other institutions
• Different time zones, schedules, work styles

And LaTeX, despite its power, wasn't designed for collaboration. Let's fix that.

Problem 1: Version Chaos

The Symptom

paper_v1.tex
paper_v2_johns_edits.tex
paper_v2_johns_edits_marias_changes.tex
paper_FINAL.tex
paper_FINAL_v2.tex
paper_FINAL_v2_REAL.tex
paper_FINAL_v2_REAL_submission.tex

Sound familiar?

The Solution

Option A: Real-time collaboration

• Use a tool that syncs changes instantly
• Everyone edits the same document
• No more email attachments

Option B: Git version control

git init
git add paper.tex
git commit -m "Initial draft"
git push origin main

Each change is tracked. Anyone can see history:

git log --oneline
# a1b2c3d Added results section
# e4f5g6h Revised methodology
# h7i8j9k Initial draft

Prevention

• Never name files with "v1", "v2", "FINAL"
• Use dates or commit messages instead
• One source of truth, always

Problem 2: Merge Conflicts

The Symptom

<<<<<<< HEAD
Your version of the paragraph
=======
Their version of the paragraph
>>>>>>> abc123

Two people edited the same section. Now what?

The Solution

Immediate fix:

1. Open the file
2. Find the conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
3. Decide what the final version should be
4. Delete the markers, keep the correct text
5. Save and compile

Better approach:

1. Split the document into sections:

main.tex
sections/
├── intro.tex        ← Alice owns this
├── methods.tex      ← Bob owns this
├── results.tex      ← Carol owns this
└── discussion.tex   ← You own this

2. Each person edits their section
3. Conflicts become nearly impossible

Prevention

• Communicate before editing: "I'm working on section 3"
• Use section ownership
• Pull changes before starting work

Problem 3: "Please Don't Touch My Section"

The Symptom

Coordination overhead:

• "Are you done with the introduction?"
• "Can I edit the methods now?"
• "Wait, don't save yet!"

The Solution

Real-time visibility:

• Use an editor showing collaborator cursors
• See where everyone is working
• Naturally avoid the same areas

Explicit handoffs:

• "I'm done with intro, it's yours"
• Clear ownership at any moment

Async coordination:

• Comments instead of direct edits
• "TODO: revise this section"
• Review and integrate later

Problem 4: Different Work Styles

The Symptom

• Alice likes 2-space indentation
• Bob uses tabs
• Carol wraps at 80 characters
• You don't wrap at all

Every commit shows 100 "changes" that are just formatting.

The Solution

Agree on a style: Create .editorconfig in your project:

root = true
 
[*.tex]
indent_style = space
indent_size = 2
end_of_line = lf
insert_final_newline = true
trim_trailing_whitespace = true

Or use auto-formatting:

latexindent -w paper.tex

One sentence per line:

% Bad: hard to see changes
This is the first sentence. This is the second sentence. This is a third sentence that explains something important.
 
% Good: diffs show exactly what changed
This is the first sentence.
This is the second sentence.
This is a third sentence that explains something important.

Problem 5: Bibliography Conflicts

The Symptom

Undefined citation 'smith2023'

But you added it! Why isn't it there?

The Solution

Shared bibliography file:

\addbibresource{shared-refs.bib}

Everyone adds to the same file.

Consistent citation keys:

• Agree on format: authorYEAR or author_YEAR_keyword
• Avoid duplicates by checking first
• Use a reference manager with auto-export

Central reference manager:

• Shared Zotero/Mendeley library
• Auto-export to .bib
• Changes sync automatically

Problem 6: Overwriting Changes

The Symptom

You spent an hour on a section. Someone else saved their old version. Your work is gone.

The Solution

Real-time sync:

• Changes appear instantly
• No "save" that overwrites
• Everyone sees the same document

If using files:

# Always pull first
git pull origin main
 
# Work
 
# Pull again before pushing
git pull origin main
git push origin main

Recovery:

• Version history (if your tool has it)
• Git reflog (if using Git)
• Never truly lost if version controlled

Problem 7: Too Many Cooks

The Symptom

Everyone editing everywhere. Changes happening faster than anyone can track. Chaos.

The Solution

Designate roles:

• Author A: primary writer
• Author B: figures and tables
• Author C: references and formatting
• Advisor: comments only

Phase the work:

1. Draft phase: everyone writes their sections
2. Integration phase: designated person merges
3. Review phase: comments only
4. Final phase: single editor for consistency

Limit edit access:

• Some collaborators as "commenters"
• Final edits by one person
• Reduces noise

Problem 8: Time Zone Differences

The Symptom

Your collaborator edits while you sleep. You wake up to completely changed sections.

The Solution

Async-first workflow:

1. Work in your time zone
2. Leave clear notes about your changes
3. They continue in their time zone
4. Repeat

Status updates:

% TODO: [Alice 2024-12-25] Needs data for Table 2
% TODO: [Bob 2024-12-26] Check citation format

Handoff notes:

• End-of-day summary
• What's done, what's in progress, what's blocked

Problem 9: Different LaTeX Setups

The Symptom

"It compiles fine on my machine!"

But not on the shared editor. Or not for your collaborator.

The Solution

Same environment:

• Use a cloud editor (everyone uses same TeX distribution)
• Or standardize on a TeX version

Document dependencies:

% Required packages:
\usepackage{amsmath}    % for equations
\usepackage{graphicx}   % for figures
\usepackage{booktabs}   % for tables

Include custom files:

• Package your .sty and .cls files with the project
• Don't rely on local installations

Problem 10: Review and Feedback

The Symptom

Advisor sends PDF with pen marks. Or Word document with track changes. Now you have to manually transfer to LaTeX.

The Solution

In-document comments:

\usepackage{todonotes}
\todo{Advisor: clarify this point}
\todo[inline]{Need to add reference here}

Track changes:

• Use tools with built-in track changes
• Or Git diff for technical reviewers

Standard format:

• Ask reviewers to comment in a shared tool
• No PDFs with annotations
• No Word documents

The Ultimate Solution: Real-Time Collaboration

Most collaboration problems stem from one issue: working on copies instead of the same document.

Real-time collaboration eliminates:

• Version confusion (one document)
• Merge conflicts (changes integrate instantly)
• Coordination overhead (see where everyone is)
• Overwriting (no "save" conflict)
• Async confusion (status is visible)

Choose tools that support this, and collaboration problems largely disappear.

Conclusion

LaTeX collaboration challenges:

1. Version chaos → Use single source of truth
2. Merge conflicts → Split into sections
3. Coordination → Real-time visibility
4. Style differences → Agree on standards
5. Bibliography → Share reference file
6. Overwriting → Real-time sync
7. Too many editors → Define roles
8. Time zones → Async workflow
9. Different setups → Shared environment
10. Feedback → In-document comments

With the right tools and practices, multi-author LaTeX projects can be smooth and efficient.

Thetapad's real-time collaboration eliminates most of these problems by design.