Collaborative Plain Text Editor

A real-time collaborative plain text editor built in Java, designed for seamless document editing and sharing among multiple users. This project demonstrates real-time synchronization, CRDT-based conflict resolution, and user presence tracking.

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Project Structure
• Built With
• Prerequisites
• Usage
• Screenshots
• Technical Details
• Contributing
• License

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Overview

This application enables multiple users to collaboratively edit plain text documents in real time. Users can import/export .txt files, share documents via unique codes, and participate either as viewers or editors. The editor ensures consistency and conflict-free editing using a tree-based CRDT algorithm.

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Features

• Real-Time Collaboration: Multiple users can edit the same document simultaneously with instant updates.
• Import/Export: Import and export .txt files while preserving formatting and line breaks.
• Shareable Codes: Generate unique codes for each document—one for editors and one for read-only viewers.
• Permission Handling: Editors can modify documents; viewers have read-only access and cannot see shareable codes.
• CRDT-Based Conflict Resolution: Handles concurrent edits using a tree-based Conflict-free Replicated Data Type algorithm.
• User Presence: See a list of active collaborators in real time.
• User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive UI for editing, sharing, importing/exporting, and managing collaboration sessions.

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Screenshots

🏠 Main Menu

📝 Main Editor Interface

👥 Real-Time Collaboration

📂 Import/Export Menu

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🛠️ Built With

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Prerequisites

• Java 17 (or a compatible version)
• Maven (for dependency and build management)
• Spring Boot (included via Maven)
• JavaFX SDK (for the client UI)
• IDE (e.g., IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse)

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▶️ Running the Project Locally (Detailed Guide)

Recommended IDE: IntelliJ IDEA

We recommend using IntelliJ IDEA to run both the server and client projects easily.

🗂️ Project Structure

• CollabTE_Server: This folder contains the server.
• APTUI: This folder contains the client UI.

👉 Open each folder as a separate project in IntelliJ.

🖥️ Start the Server

1. Open the project in the CollabTE_Server folder.
2. Run the file CollabTE_Server.java.
3. Ensure the server is running at ws://localhost:8081/ws or your local IP.

💡 Set Up the Client to Connect to Your Local Server

1. Open the project in the APTUI folder.
2. Navigate to the file NetworkController.java.
3. Find this line:

   String url = "http://192.168.1.45:8081/ws";

4. Replace the IP with your own IPv4 address (instructions below).
5. Keep :8081 this is the port not the ip address.

▶️ Run the Client

Inside the APTUI project, navigate to the 'ClientSide.java' File. It's inside the 'com.example.userclientfx.communication' package.

Run ClientSide.java to start a client session.

You can run as many clients as you want after starting the server.

🔍 How to Find Your IPv4 Address

On Windows:

ipconfig

Look under your active network adapter (e.g., "Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi") and find IPv4 Address.

On macOS/Linux:

ifconfig
# or
ip a

Look for your active interface (en0, eth0, or wlan0) and find the inet line.

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⚠️ This setup is for local testing only.

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Technical Details

• Language: Java
• Architecture: Client-server model with central server for relaying edits
• Synchronization: Tree-based CRDT for conflict-free concurrent editing
• UI Framework: JavaFX
• Networking: WebSocket-based communication via Spring Boot

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