Who is Palimpsa for?
Palimpsa is built for academics and professional researchers who write, edit, cite and revise. It supports individuals and research groups.
QUESTIONS · ANSWERS IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Good questions
deserve real answers.
What Palimpsa does, how the research panel works, and what you should know about your documents. We’ll keep adding the questions researchers actually ask.
THE PRODUCT
What is Palimpsa?
A writing surface for serious work, with research and collaboration built in.
01
Is Palimpsa a word processor?
It is a focused writing surface with inline and block maths, structured tables, task lists and text alignment, alongside a source research panel.
Does it write or rewrite my work?
No. Palimpsa’s research assistant helps locate source material and check citations when you choose to use it. It does not write, rewrite or complete your text.
RESEARCH & CITATIONS
Sources, passages,
and checking.
Research capabilities are built into the same workspace as your draft.
Which sources can I search?
Palimpsa searches scholarly catalogs including arXiv, Crossref, PubMed, Europe PMC, DOAJ, Semantic Scholar and OpenAlex. Each catalog provides different records and access, and a source may be temporarily unavailable.
Can I search inside a paper?
When a paper has an accessible PDF, you can open it in the research viewer and search its text. Access to full text depends on the paper and its provider.
What does “verified” mean?
The legal draft defines verification as checking that quoted words appear exactly in the retrieved or uploaded source text. It does not certify the source’s accuracy, peer-review status, currency, context or version. Always inspect the original before relying on a quote.
Can I insert a citation or passage?
You can add a citation inline or place a reference in the document’s references section. Review the source and citation details before using them in submitted or published work.
How are search results ranked?
Results are ranked by how closely their titles and abstracts match your search wording. A paper found in several catalogs may receive a modest ranking boost so you can see records that appear across sources.
Does appearing in several catalogs prove a paper is reliable?
No. Multiple records can help confirm that a work is discoverable across indexes, but they do not establish research quality, peer review, or whether a claim is sound. Check the original publication and its context.
Can I open a paper’s full text?
If an open-access PDF is listed, you can view it in a wide in-platform viewer or open it in a new tab. Some papers only have an abstract or metadata record; Palimpsa does not bypass paywalls.
Which citation styles are available?
The editor offers more than 25 styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA, Nature, OSCOLA and Bluebook. Check the generated citation against your institution or publisher’s current requirements.
Which file formats can I import and export?
You can import TXT, HTML, DOCX and ODT. Export options include DOCX, ODT, RTF, Markdown, HTML and plain text, plus print or save as PDF. Complex formatting may need a review after conversion.
WORKSPACE & PRIVACY
Your work is synced
for collaboration.
See the published product description and the draft privacy notice together.
Where are my documents stored?
Real-time collaboration requires shared document data to be processed on a server. A local working copy supports editing and offline access; changes synchronize when connected. The exact hosting, retention and security details are being confirmed.
What is sent to Google Gemini?
The supplied Privacy Notice draft says that when an AI research feature is run, the selected excerpt and query are sent to Google through the Gemini API. The exact live data flow and retention details are marked for confirmation in the draft.
Are my documents used to train AI?
The supplied Terms and Privacy drafts say Palimpsa does not use your content to train AI models and does not allow its providers to do so for the service. Read the draft documents and check the open items for technical details still being confirmed.
What is the minimum age?
13. Under-16 users must consult a parent or guardian, as stated in the supplied Terms draft. The Privacy Notice draft was aligned to the 13+ requirement.
PLANS & AVAILABILITY
What’s included,
and what’s next.
Our pricing page shows what is free, what is planned, and what is not available yet.
What stays free?
The Free plan is intended to include the writing workspace, scholarly search, source viewing and collaboration. The editor and account are available now; some research and collaboration capabilities are still rolling out. See the pricing page for the latest availability.
Are paid plans available now?
No. Author and Business are proposed plans, and paid checkout is not active. The prices and features shown on the pricing page are proposals until checkout opens with final terms.
Will team collaboration cost extra?
Core collaboration is intended to remain free. A future Business plan may add organisation features such as seat administration, central billing and group-level controls; it is not required just to collaborate.
How can I contact Palimpsa?
Send a question through the contact form on the Palimpsa home page, or email hello@palimpsa.com.
YOUR QUESTION IS PROBABLY USEFUL TO SOMEONE ELSE TOO
Ask Palimpsa ↗Didn’t find the answer?
Write to us. We’ll answer plainly, and we can add the question here for the next researcher.