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I was considering trying Flashmode, an instant-preview add-on for TeXshop:

https://tekonomist.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/latex-and-instant-preview/

See also one of the answers here: Is there any way to get real-time compilation for LaTeX?

However, it seems the Flashmode download page was last updated in 2013:

https://www.math.uni-heidelberg.de/studinfo/gerhardt/Flashmode/

I'm using the current version of MacTeX (2018), which contains the latest version of TeXShop (4.22), on a Mac running MacOS 10.13.6. How well does Flashmode work with this more current software? And about how much delay should I expect to see in the updating of the viewer if I'm using a mid-2014 MacBook Pro with the fastest processor option?

I ask because I'm currently evaluating BaKoMa TeX Word, and was wondering if there are any other options I should consider.

theorist
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I emailed this question to Flashmode's creator, Claus Gerhardt. Here is his reply:

"Flashmode works fine for me under OS 10.14.2. The latest version is 7.3 from 2016. Recently, some users complained that it doesn't work with the new OS but I think these are simply permission issues. With your version of TeXShop these issues can be eliminated by answering the corresponding queries from the OS.

For a normal manuscript - pages ≤ 50 - the delay on my MacPro from mid 2010, is about 0.5 seconds. Flashmode asks TeXShop to refresh the pdf in regular intervals the length of which can be user defined, mine is set to 0.02s. I guess the default is 0.2s.

However, the smaller the interval the more TeXShop leaks memory. After several hours I usually encounter that TeXShop's memory has reach 30 to 40 GB, the largest so far was 45 GB before I restarted TeXShop. My Mac has 128GB RAM so it won't slow down my machine, but it certainly would be a problem on a MacBook Pro.

Flashmode should work reasonably fine on your MacBook Pro, at least it does on my MacBook Pro 2013. But I recommend a large monitor - I never used it when only the screen of my MacPro was available.

You should also install and use Flashmode-Scripts it will smooth the work flow."

theorist
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