Free guides
Guides: LaTeX, academic writing and Mac utilities
How-to guides for the things researchers get stuck on: converting LaTeX to Word, fixing BibTeX errors, citation styles, tracking changes, getting a paper ready to submit. Most pair with a free tool you can use right away. A separate set covers the Mac itself: disk space, windows, search and permissions.
Start here
LaTeX for academic writing
Compile, convert, diff, equations, tables and word counts, with the free tool for each step.
Open the LaTeX hub → TemplatesLaTeX templates by venue
IEEE, ACM, NeurIPS, Elsevier and APA 7: a skeleton that compiles, the options that matter, and the submission pitfalls.
See the templates → ReferenceLaTeX error messages
Twelve common errors and warnings, each with the real log output, the causes in order of likelihood and the fix.
Open the error pages → Topic hubBibTeX and citations
Build entries from DOIs, validate a .bib file, catch fabricated references and switch citation styles.
Open the BibTeX hub → Topic hubMac utility guides
Disk space and System Data, window snapping, finding files, launchers, keyboard sounds and app permissions.
Open the Mac hub → Research methodsMethodology problems reviewers flag
Fifteen problems that draw reviewer comments, from p-hacking to test-train contamination, and how to fix each.
Read the guide →How-to guides
- How to install LaTeX on a Mac: MacTeX, BasicTeX or TinyTeX
- Convert a LaTeX paper to Word (free)
- Fix common BibTeX errors
- Catch AI-hallucinated citations
- IEEE vs APA vs MLA vs Chicago citation styles
- Show changes between two LaTeX versions
- latexdiff online for a multi-file project
- Count words in a LaTeX document
- Get BibTeX from a DOI or arXiv ID
- Build a BibTeX file from a list of DOIs and arXiv IDs
- Format a citation from a DOI or arXiv ID
- Convert a Word manuscript to LaTeX
- Compile a multi-file LaTeX project to PDF online
- Fix an Overleaf compile timeout
- Turn CSV data into a LaTeX table
- Convert references between BibTeX, RIS and EndNote
- Export a LaTeX equation as a PNG
- Check a manuscript against a journal word limit
- Track thesis word count and readability while you write
- Check thesis formatting before you submit it
- Convert a research paper PDF to Markdown for an AI assistant
- Use Mechvibes sound packs on a Mac
- Is it safe to allow Full Disk Access, Input Monitoring or Accessibility on a Mac?
Submission readiness
- How to get feedback on a paper before submitting
- Can you use AI to check your own manuscript? Publisher policies
- Use Paper Review before submitting a manuscript
- Check a manuscript for double-blind leaks
- Run a citation gap scan before submitting
- Generate a journal cover letter from your abstract
- Check your response letter before resubmitting
- Check whether your revisions addressed the original findings
- How to respond to Reviewer 2
- When a reviewer says "novelty is limited"
- Camera-ready manuscript checklist
- Your paper got desk rejected: now what
Research methods
Academic careers
Comparisons
- Best LaTeX editor for Mac (2026)
- Overleaf alternatives for Mac
- TeXShop alternative for Mac: ModernTex, TeXShop and TeXstudio compared
- AI paper review tools compared
- Paper Review on 23 retracted papers: what it caught and missed
- How to track your academic CV and tenure case (2026)
- GlobePin vs Polarsteps vs Visited
- Best health tracking apps that keep your data on your phone (2026)
- Best tools to redact personal information before using ChatGPT (2026)
- Best software for tracking your research record (2026)
- Best Chrome extensions for Google Scholar (2026)
- Best travel map and country-tracking apps for iPhone (2026)
- Best disk space analyzer and cleaner for Mac (2026): DaisyDisk alternatives compared
- Best keyboard sound apps for Mac (2026): Klack alternatives compared
- Best Alfred alternatives for Mac (2026)
- How to find files on a Mac when Spotlight cannot
- Best window managers for Mac (2026): Rectangle, Magnet, Moom and Panely compared
- How to snap and tile windows on a Mac
- Best Mac apps for transcription, text to speech and OCR (2026)
- Show free disk space in the Mac menu bar
- Why is System Data so big on my Mac? What fills it and what is safe to remove
- How to delete a Mac app and the files it leaves behind
- Check your Mac battery health, cycle count, voltage and charger watts without installing anything
- What AI tools leave on your Mac, and what is safe to delete
- Before you paste client notes into ChatGPT or Claude: a checklist for Mac users
- Build your faculty annual report from your own record: a year-end checklist