NextPad help
NextPad is the successor of Etherpad at Hochschule Düsseldorf (University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf). Several people write in the same text at the same time and see each other’s changes immediately.
Detailed guides with short films are in the manual on the project site.
Joining a pad
Enter the name of the pad and choose “Open or create”. The same name means the same pad. If the name does not exist yet, NextPad creates a new, empty pad. Allowed are letters, digits, spaces and the characters - _ . ( ) , up to 50 characters.
Starting from a template
Templates create a pad with a random name and an outline for group work or minutes. To invite others, open “Share and export” at the bottom left of the pad and choose “Copy link”, on a phone also “Share via device”; whoever opens the link can write along.
Idea collection
“Idea collection” creates a list where everyone adds ideas or questions without a name and votes for entries. Each person has one vote per entry. The person who created the collection can set the question at the top, mark entries as done or hide them. “Copy link to take part” copies the address for the group. “Open board” shows the most popular entries large for the projector, for free collections with a QR code to take part. The collection can be saved as Markdown or CSV. In Moodle and ILIAS, the idea collection is also available as a course activity: then only course members can take part, and teachers moderate.
Step by step with films in the manual: Create an idea collection, Collect and moderate.
Quiz grid
“Quiz grid” creates a quiz by categories and point values. The person who creates it leads: paste the questions as a table Category | Points | Question | Answer, enter the teams, choose a field at the projector, reveal the answer and award points. Anyone with the link or the QR code follows the grid, the question and the scores, but not the answers before they are revealed. Keys for the lead: Space reveals, Esc goes back to the grid, Z undoes the last scoring. Played fields are locked; “Undo” brings back the last question. Undo, QR code, full screen, editing questions, buzzer measurement and the buzzer sound are in the ⋯ menu at the top right.
Flow: after saving, the grid is locked; everyone chooses their team on their phone and may still switch. “Start game” releases the grid, after that the teams are fixed. “End game” shows the result at any time, even with fields still open; after the last question it appears by itself. The result shows the ranking, the buzzer statistics (fastest team, average time to press per team) and the questions that nobody solved or that were only solved after a wrong attempt, for discussion. “New game” resets points and fields; questions and teams stay.
Buzzer: anyone following chooses their team on their phone. While a question is open and the answer is not revealed, a large buzzer appears. What counts is when the buzzer was pressed, not when the press arrives: the phone keeps aligning its clock with the server. Half a second after the first press, the order is fixed; if two teams are less than 50 ms apart, “tied” appears next to them. One press counts per phone and question. The projector shows large which team pressed first, and a buzzer sound plays at the first press (can be switched off in the menu; the browser only plays it after one click at the projector). The lead still awards the points. Next to each team is the reaction time from opening the question. If the lead deducts points after a wrong answer, the question stays open and the projector shows “Your turn” with the next team in the order.
Countdown: when creating the quiz, the time per question can be set (default 10 seconds, 0 switches the countdown off). The time runs large at the projector from opening the question; after that the buzzer no longer accepts presses. Anyone who pressed before stays in the order.
“Buzzer measurement” (for the lead) checks whether a phone buzzer would be fair in the room: everyone opens the QR code or taps “Take part in the measurement” at the top right of the quiz (the button appears while the lead has the measurement page open) and then “Measure”; the lead sends a few signals and everyone presses as soon as “Now” appears. The page shows round-trip times, how much the phones’ clock alignment varies (not whether their clocks are right), and a verdict. Only times and the type of device are stored, no names; the lead can save the data as CSV and delete it.
Step by step with films in the manual: Create a quiz, Measure the buzzer, Run the quiz.
Whiteboard
“Whiteboard” creates a shared drawing area: shapes, arrows, freehand and text; everyone sees the others’ pointers. It is saved from the menu at the top left as PNG, SVG or Excalidraw file. Inserting images is not possible yet. The whiteboard is hardly usable with screen readers; for accessible collaboration, a text pad is the better choice.
Started from Moodle or ILIAS
Pads, quizzes and idea collections started as an activity from Moodle or ILIAS show “Back to course” at the top. The link leads to the course page in the learning platform, also from the embedded view.
Name and profile picture
Without signing in, a person appears as “Guest” in the pad. A different name can be entered under “Participants”. Anyone coming from Moodle or ILIAS appears with their name from the learning platform, from Moodle also with their profile picture.
Earlier versions
The timeline shows how the text came about and replays the changes. The owner of a pad (whoever created it on the start page; in courses, the teachers) can bring back an earlier version with “Restore this version”. It is added as a new change on top; the version before stays in the timeline.
Export
“Export” offers the text as HTML, Markdown, plain text, PDF or a print view.
Markdown
Pasted Markdown text is formatted, for example headings with #, lists with -, tasks with - [ ], **bold** and tables with vertical bars (| A | B |, below it | --- | --- |). Three backticks (```) enclose a code block.
Code
Three backticks at the start of a line followed by Space or Enter create a code block, with a language for example ```python. “Code” in the “Paragraph style” menu does the same. In a code block, Tab indents the line by two spaces and Shift+Tab outdents it. To move on with the keyboard, press Esc and then Tab. Pressing Enter three times at the end or choosing “Normal” as paragraph style leaves the block. Pasted text stays in the code block as it is.
Indenting
Tab indents the paragraph or heading by one level, Shift+Tab outdents it; the buttons “Indent” and “Outdent” do the same. Selected paragraphs move together. In lists, Tab nests the item further; in tables, Tab moves to the next cell.
Tables
The table icon inserts a table with three rows, three columns and a header row. With the cursor in a table, the “Table” menu adds or deletes rows and columns and switches the header row on and off. The Tab key moves to the next cell. In the PDF, tables with seven or more columns go on a landscape page, except in the document types Documentation and Brochure.
Page break
Ctrl+Enter (Mac: ⌘+Enter) or the “Insert page break” icon starts a new page in the PDF and when printing. The pad shows a dashed line that can be deleted like a paragraph. In lists and tables, NextPad puts the break after the list or table. No empty pages are created. Shift+Enter remains the line break within a paragraph.
Sender and document type
In the HSD design, the toolbar offers two choices for the PDF. “Sender” picks a faculty or unit (for example SK, ZWEK): its mark appears next to the HSD logo in the PDF, and in the documentation the main heading uses its typeface. “Document type” picks the layout: “Standard” is the familiar PDF, “Documentation” follows the HSD Word template with a margin column, “Brochure” the brochure template: a cover with the longest word of the title in large letters, inner pages with headings in HSD Sans and an imprint at the end. A heading “Imprint” (or “Impressum”) in the pad starts a new page and replaces the short imprint. Both apply to everyone who edits the pad. The pad then shows the typefaces of the PDF: the main heading in HSD Sans, in the documentation in the sender’s cut, plus the second level in HSD Sans and body text in Arial or Times. HSD Sans has capital letters only.
Rating
The thumbs icon inserts a rating with thumbs up and thumbs down at the cursor, for example after a suggestion. Each person has one vote per rating; a second click takes it back, a click on the other thumb changes it. The counts also appear in the export. Unlike in the idea collection, the browser counts these votes; for binding votes, use the idea collection or Moodle.
Table of contents
The H icon on the right of the toolbar shows a table of contents of all headings on the left; a click jumps to the heading. “Insert into pad” also puts the table of contents into the text. It updates itself and appears in HTML, Markdown and PDF, in the PDF with page numbers.
Who can see a pad?
Everyone who knows its name or link. Pads from the start page are open at first. Whoever created the pad can set, change or remove a password under “Participants” in “Protection”. Anyone opening the link then enters it, and the browser remembers the access for 30 days. The password keeps strangers out but does not encrypt the content. Managing the pad is tied to the browser it was created in; an “Owner link” under “Participants” extends it to another browser. For courses with fixed groups, the pad activity in Moodle or ILIAS is the better choice; there, only course members see the pads.
How long does a pad stay?
Pads from Moodle or ILIAS stay as long as the activity exists in the course. Pads from the start page belong to the person who created them; they can delete their pad under “Participants”. Automatic deletion is currently switched off.
Recently opened
Only this browser stores the list on the start page. It can be cleared there.
Language
NextPad is available in German and English. “DE | EN” at the top of the page and in the pad’s toolbar switches the language; this browser remembers the choice for a year. Without a choice, the language from the learning platform applies, otherwise the browser’s. The text in pads is not translated. Exports (PDF, print view, text, Markdown, ideas CSV) follow the chosen language. The email before deletion comes in the language last chosen while signed in through Moodle, otherwise in German and English.
About NextPad
Idea, concept and development: Christian-Maximilian Steier. NextPad is free software under the EUPL-1.2; the source code is on GitHub.