Co-write across visual and structured formats

Uses

By the end of this guide two collaborators will be working on the same project, one editing a .docx file in the DOCX editor, the other editing .md or .tex files in the source editor, neither needing the other’s tool installed. Comments thread across both. The project compiles or exports to whichever format the final reader needs.

This pattern suits teams where one collaborator stays in DOCX-style editing and another in Markdown or LaTeX, without maintaining parallel copies elsewhere.

Prerequisites

A shared project (see Hand off a project to a collaborator if you need to share one first).
Two people, both signed into Titan.
One person who prefers Word-style editing (the “visual writer”). One person who prefers Markdown or LaTeX source (the “source writer”).

Worked example

A two-author research note. The visual writer drafts the abstract and discussion in DOCX. The source writer drafts the methods and results sections in Markdown with citations and a figure. The project is one shared Titan project containing both files plus a .bib.

[Asset: two-pane screenshot] One screenshot showing two browser windows side by side: left window has the DOCX editor open on the abstract, right window has the markdown source editor open on the methods section, both with the Comments panel visible and one thread shown crossing from one file to the other. Asset name: bridge-cross-format-editing.png. Replaces no existing placeholders.

Steps

The project owner shares it with the second collaborator using Share in the header. Pick Editor as the role for both writers. See Hand off a project to a collaborator for the share dialog detail.

After sharing, both writers should see the project in their dashboard and the status bar should show Synced for each of them once they open it.

2. Visual writer: open the DOCX file

The visual writer opens or creates the .docx file:

If the file already exists in the project, click it in the file tree. Titan routes .docx files to the DOCX editor automatically.
If you are starting from scratch, create a new file with a .docx extension. The DOCX editor opens with an empty paginated document.

Edit the DOCX as you would in Word: paginated view, paragraph styles, the DOCX toolbar’s Insert citation and Citation style controls, comments anchored to text selections. See DOCX workflow for the full surface.

3. Source writer: open the markdown or LaTeX file

The source writer opens or creates a .md or .tex file in the same project:

For markdown, the editor opens in Visual mode by default for .md. Switch to Code in the status bar if you want raw source.
For LaTeX, the editor opens in source mode. Use the References panel in the left sidebar to insert citations from the project’s shared .bib file.

Both writers are now editing in the same project at the same time. Each writer sees the other’s cursor in real time on the file they are both viewing, but each writer’s edits land only in the file they are typing into.

4. Use comments to cross between formats

The visual writer wants to ask the source writer about a number in the results section without opening the source file:

The visual writer opens the Comments panel in the right sidebar.
Filters to All comments or the results file’s scope.
Adds a new comment threaded against the results file’s text selection from the panel.

Or, the simpler version: the visual writer opens the results file briefly in their own editor (the source file opens in the source editor for them too), selects the text, adds a comment, then switches back to the DOCX.

Comments thread across both files in the same panel. Notifications and replies work the same way regardless of which file the thread is anchored to.

5. Compile or export for whichever format the final reader needs

When the work is done, the project has both formats native. Choose by who is reading:

For a Word-shaped final document, export the DOCX with the DOCX editor’s save/export action. The DOCX content is already what they will see.
For a PDF that combines the two, the source writer can include the DOCX content by reference if their format supports it (LaTeX \input{}, etc.), or the team can finalise everything in one format before compile. The cross-format compile path is currently per-format; Titan does not stitch a DOCX and a .tex into one PDF in a single click.

Verification

The setup is working if:

Both writers can open the project from their own devices and see the same files in the explorer.
Both writers see Synced in the status bar.
The visual writer can open the DOCX and see the DOCX-specific toolbar (rulers, citation style, page layout).
The source writer can open the .md or .tex and see the source editor with the mode toggle (.md) or compile preview (.tex).
A comment added in one file appears in the other writer’s Comments panel.

Variations

Three or more writers in different formats. The pattern extends. Each writer opens whichever file is theirs; collaboration sync handles the rest.
One writer reviews only. Set their role to View only when sharing. They can read both files and add comments; they cannot edit.
DOCX and Markdown sharing one bibliography. Both files cite from the same .bib. Source-side insertion uses the References panel; DOCX-side insertion uses the DOCX toolbar. The keys resolve against the same file.
Async only (no real-time). Share once, but commit to never both being in the same file at the same time. The collaboration still works; you just lose the cursor presence.

If something goes wrong

The DOCX editor opens a different file than the source writer is editing. Each writer opens whichever file they want from the explorer. Opening the DOCX does not change what the other writer has open.
The visual writer cannot find the DOCX toolbar. The active file is not .docx. The DOCX toolbar only appears for files routed to the DOCX editor.
The source writer cannot edit but the visual writer can. Their role is View only. The project owner can change roles from the share dialog.
Comments in one file are not appearing in the other writer’s panel. Confirm both are looking at All comments, not a per-file filter. The panel filter remembers its last state.
You expect the DOCX and the markdown to render as one combined document. They do not. Each file compiles or exports in its own format. The cross-format combination is a manual final-assembly step today.