etherpad-latex

A set of php and javascript files to combine etherpad-lite with LaTeX.

Setup

Install etherpad-lite and get the api key from APIKEY.txt. Install a TeX distribution on the server (e.g TexLive).

Server-side configuration

Two files should be edited in the backend folder:

• backend/app/config/database.php
• backend/.env.php

Read the comments and enter sensible values.

Improving security

To only allow the TeX distribution to see files in $TEXMFOUTPUT (or a subdirectory), change your texmf.cnf and set this row:

openin_any = p

texmf.cnf can be found by running

$ kpsewhich texmf.cnf

If this change is not made, malicious users might have read access to your server.

Client-side configuration

ETHERPADHOST and ETHERPADSETTINGS in js/settings.js should be set:

• ETHERPADLITEHOST is the web address where the client can reach the etherpad-lite installation
• ETHERPADSETTINGS is a json object that sets the embed parameters for etherpad-lite (see the etherpad-lite wiki)
• HOSTURL is the url to where etherpad-latex is installed. (ie https://example.com/etherpadlatex").

How does it work?

edit.php consists of two iframe's: etherpad-lite to edit and ViewerJS to view the pdf. When the user presses compile, the php script etherpad_latex.php downloads the contents of the etherpad document and saves it to a .tex file in a directory unique to the document. latemk is used to compile and the ViewerJS iframe is updated to show the updated pdf (which is served by pdf.php).

License

etherpad-latex is available under GPLv3.

Libraries used

• jQuery and jQuery UI are relased under MIT.
• PDF.js is released under Apache