You rarely start a paper from a blank page. The Import button (on the Projects page) brings an existing LaTeX project into Writano from wherever it lives:

  • a .zip of the project
  • an arXiv ID — Writano fetches the paper’s actual source
  • a connected GitHub repository
  • a direct URL to a .tex or .zip
  • or paste LaTeX straight in

What the wizard does

Before anything is created, the import wizard shows you the project as it will land:

  • It picks the main document (you can change it) and lists every file with a checkbox, so you can drop what you don’t need.
  • Build and junk files (.aux, .log, compiled PDFs next to their .tex, macOS folder litter) are excluded automatically and listed so you can see what was skipped.
  • The file counter shows the real number of files the import will create — including any files added by TikZ extraction (below).
  • References found in .bib files can be added to your Library in the same step.

The main document opens in the editor; everything else — section files, figures, .bib, .cls — becomes project files, compiled together exactly as the original was.

Extract TikZ figures

Papers often carry their figures as inline tikzpicture blocks buried in the text. With “Extract TikZ figures into separate files” ticked (the default), the import splits each one into its own file — figures/tikz-fig-1.tex, tikz-fig-2.tex, … — and replaces it in the text with an \input of that file. The compiled paper is byte-for-byte the same; the difference is control:

  • each figure appears in the sidebar and in Figure Studio as its own editable unit
  • right-click one and choose Edit in Figure Studio — it opens in TikZ mode with a live preview
  • saving updates the same file in place; the paper picks the change up on the next compile

Each extracted file also carries along the color and style definitions it depends on, so it previews and compiles on its own, not only inside the paper. Extraction is deliberately cautious: anything ambiguous — unbalanced environments, code inside verbatim listings, files using \tikzexternalize — is left inline untouched.

Your project in the sidebar

After an import (or any time), the editor sidebar keeps a large project navigable:

  • References, Figures and Project Files are collapsible sections — they start closed so the sidebar opens clean; your open/closed choices are remembered.
  • The search box filters everything at once — documents, references (by title, key, or author), figures, and project files — and expands the sections that match while you type.
  • A figure that is actually used by your paper shows a green “in LaTeX” badge, so you can tell live figures from orphans at a glance.

Note: File limits for imports are generous but real — if a huge project exceeds them, the wizard tells you before you commit, including how many files TikZ extraction would add.