Every IhateLaTeX Feature Explained (and How to Use It)

IhateLaTeX is a free, offline LaTeX resume builder that runs entirely in your browser. You fill in a visual form; IhateLaTeX writes production-grade LaTeX for you and compiles it to a pixel-perfect, ATS-safe PDF using a WebAssembly TeX engine — no servers, no sign-up, no LaTeX syntax required. This guide explains every feature and exactly how to use it.

The workspace: edit and preview side by side

The editor is split into two panels. The left panel is your resume content (the form); the right panel shows the compiled PDF. Every keystroke re-generates the LaTeX source and recompiles it locally, usually in under a second. Drag the divider between the panels to give either side more room. On phones, the panels become two tabs — "Edit resume" and "Preview PDF" — switchable from the bottom navigation bar.

Resume sections: add, remove, reorder, and hide

Your resume is a stack of section cards: Professional Summary, Education, Experience, Projects, Skills, Certifications, plus any custom sections you create. The PDF renders these cards in exactly the order you arrange them.

• Reorder: use the ↑ / ↓ arrow buttons on any card (works with touch), or drag the dotted handle on desktop. The PDF follows your order instantly.
• Remove without losing data: the eye-slash button hides a section from the PDF. Your content is preserved and the section appears in the "Add a section" tray, so you can bring it back with one tap.
• Add built-in sections: hidden sections wait in the "Add a section" tray at the bottom of the editor. Tap a chip to restore it.
• Custom sections: tap "New custom section" to create anything — Leadership, Publications, Awards, Volunteering, Languages. Each custom section is an independent card that can be placed anywhere in the order, not just at the bottom.
• Rename custom sections: the title field inside the card becomes the section heading in the PDF.

Design & typography panel

Open the "Design & typography" card to control how your resume looks without touching any code:

• Templates — Jake’s Resume (the ATS gold standard), Classic Academic CV, Minimalist Modern, and Executive Professional. Every template renders every section, so switching never drops content.
• Section heading style — Small caps with a rule, accent underline, filled banner, or minimal caps.
• Font family and size — Serif (Computer Modern), sans-serif, or monospace at 10/11/12 pt.
• Bullet style — round bullets, dashes, arrows, or hollow circles.
• Accent color — any hex color; drives headings, rules, links, and skill categories (depending on template).

Advanced editing: fine-tune the layout

Inside the design panel, "Advanced editing" opens precision controls that professional typesetters care about:

Every control shows its current value and a reset icon that returns it to the template default. "Reset all" clears every override at once. Nothing is applied blindly — the live PDF preview updates so you can see the typography change as you drag.

ATS Score: audit before you apply

The ATS Score button runs a local audit of your resume against the rules recruiters’ software actually applies: contact detail completeness, quantified achievements (the Google XYZ formula), action-verb strength, skill density, standard section hierarchy, and single-column machine readability. Each check includes a concrete fix — no dark patterns, no "unlock your score" paywall.

LaTeX source, backups, and portability

• LaTeX source card — inspect, copy, or download the exact .tex file. Paste it straight into Overleaf or compile it with a local pdflatex; it has zero IhateLaTeX-specific dependencies.
• JSON backup — export your full resume data and import it on any device. Your data belongs to you.
• Autosave — every change is saved to your device automatically. No account, no cloud, no "upgrade to save".

100% offline: install as an app

The whole TeX Live toolchain is cached in your browser via a service worker after first load. Use the "Install app" option (browser menu or the ••• menu) to add IhateLaTeX to your home screen or desktop; after that it works on a plane, in a basement, or during a recruiter’s Wi-Fi outage. Your resume data never leaves the device — there is simply no server to send it to.

The rest of the suite (also free, also offline)

• Table Wizard — paste from Excel/Google Sheets, get publication-grade booktabs or tabularx LaTeX tables.
• Math & Formula Studio — visual equation builder, handwriting pad, and image OCR that exports LaTeX, MathML, or Typst.
• TikZ Studio — generate neural-network diagrams, flowcharts, and state machines as vector TikZ code.
• Paper Editor — an offline Overleaf alternative for IEEE/ACM-style papers with live WASM compilation.