diff --git a/src/app/editor/[id]/page.tsx b/src/app/editor/[id]/page.tsx
index 6daea60..2cec3ea 100644
--- a/src/app/editor/[id]/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/editor/[id]/page.tsx
@@ -162,7 +162,13 @@ export default function EditorPage({ params }: { params: { id: string } }) {
               )}
             </div>
           }
-          right={<PreviewPane projectId={id} version={pdfVersion} />}
+          right={
+            <PreviewPane
+              projectId={id}
+              version={pdfVersion}
+              documentStatus={status}
+            />
+          }
         />
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/src/app/page.tsx b/src/app/page.tsx
index aec4934..ff16e16 100644
--- a/src/app/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/page.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import Image from "next/image";
 import { listProjects } from "@/lib/projects";
 import { templates } from "@/lib/templates";
 import { NewProjectButton } from "@/components/dashboard/NewProjectButton";
@@ -21,9 +20,8 @@ export default function DashboardPage() {
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen">
       <header className="sticky top-0 z-10 glass border-b border-border">
-        <div className="mx-auto flex h-14 max-w-5xl items-center gap-2.5 px-6">
-          <Image src="/TexSet.svg" alt="" width={26} height={26} priority />
-          <span className="text-base font-semibold">TexSet</span>
+        <div className="mx-auto flex h-14 max-w-5xl items-center px-6">
+          <span className="text-base font-semibold tracking-tight">TexSet</span>
         </div>
       </header>
 
diff --git a/src/components/editor/PreviewPane.tsx b/src/components/editor/PreviewPane.tsx
index 656f334..320eca6 100644
--- a/src/components/editor/PreviewPane.tsx
+++ b/src/components/editor/PreviewPane.tsx
@@ -1,21 +1,28 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import type { CompileStatus } from "./useCompile";
 
-type PreviewState = "loading" | "ready" | "empty" | "error";
+type RenderState = "loading" | "ready" | "blank" | "error";
 
 interface PreviewPaneProps {
   projectId: string;
   // bumped after each successful compile so we know to re-render the PDF
   version: number;
+  // the compile outcome, used to explain why there's nothing to show yet
+  documentStatus: CompileStatus;
 }
 
 // Renders the compiled PDF with pdf.js, one canvas per page. The worker is
 // bundled from the package so it keeps working offline.
-export function PreviewPane({ projectId, version }: PreviewPaneProps) {
+export function PreviewPane({
+  projectId,
+  version,
+  documentStatus,
+}: PreviewPaneProps) {
   const pagesRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
   const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
-  const [state, setState] = useState<PreviewState>("loading");
+  const [state, setState] = useState<RenderState>("blank");
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let cancelled = false;
@@ -26,9 +33,9 @@ export function PreviewPane({ projectId, version }: PreviewPaneProps) {
       const scroller = scrollRef.current;
       if (!container || !scroller) return;
 
-      // nothing has been compiled yet on first open
+      // no successful compile yet, so there's no PDF to render
       if (version === 0) {
-        setState("empty");
+        setState("blank");
         return;
       }
 
@@ -92,24 +99,30 @@ export function PreviewPane({ projectId, version }: PreviewPaneProps) {
     };
   }, [projectId, version]);
 
+  // pick the placeholder message for when there's no rendered PDF on screen
+  const placeholder = (() => {
+    if (documentStatus === "running") return null; // show the spinner instead
+    if (documentStatus === "empty")
+      return "This document is empty. Start writing to see the preview.";
+    if (documentStatus === "error" || state === "error")
+      return "No preview yet. Check the compile log for errors.";
+    return "Compile to see the preview.";
+  })();
+
+  const showOverlay = state !== "ready";
+  const showSpinner =
+    state === "loading" || (state === "blank" && documentStatus === "running");
+
   return (
     <div ref={scrollRef} className="relative h-full overflow-auto bg-surface-2">
       <div ref={pagesRef} className="p-6" />
 
-      {state !== "ready" && (
-        <div className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center">
-          {state === "loading" && (
+      {showOverlay && (
+        <div className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center p-6 text-center">
+          {showSpinner ? (
             <span className="h-6 w-6 animate-spin rounded-full border-2 border-accent border-t-transparent" />
-          )}
-          {state === "empty" && (
-            <p className="text-sm text-text-muted">
-              Compile to see the preview.
-            </p>
-          )}
-          {state === "error" && (
-            <p className="text-sm text-text-muted">
-              No preview yet. Check the compile log for errors.
-            </p>
+          ) : (
+            <p className="max-w-xs text-sm text-text-muted">{placeholder}</p>
           )}
         </div>
       )}
diff --git a/src/components/editor/Toolbar.tsx b/src/components/editor/Toolbar.tsx
index 9177138..8c9e0cf 100644
--- a/src/components/editor/Toolbar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/editor/Toolbar.tsx
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ function statusLabel(
       };
     case "error":
       return { text: "Compile errors", className: "text-danger" };
+    case "empty":
+      return { text: "Empty document", className: "text-text-muted" };
     default:
       return { text: "", className: "" };
   }
diff --git a/src/components/editor/useCompile.ts b/src/components/editor/useCompile.ts
index f8d249c..607f2c3 100644
--- a/src/components/editor/useCompile.ts
+++ b/src/components/editor/useCompile.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useRef, useState } from "react";
 
-export type CompileStatus = "idle" | "running" | "success" | "error";
+export type CompileStatus =
+  | "idle"
+  | "running"
+  | "success"
+  | "error"
+  | "empty";
 
 // Drives compilation for one project. Reads the Server-Sent Events stream from
 // the compile route, accumulating the log and learning when the PDF is ready.
@@ -22,6 +27,7 @@ export function useCompile(projectId: string) {
     setLog("");
 
     let success = false;
+    let empty = false;
     let duration: number | null = null;
 
     try {
@@ -57,6 +63,7 @@ export function useCompile(projectId: string) {
           else if (event.type === "error") setLog((prev) => prev + event.message);
           else if (event.type === "done") {
             success = event.success;
+            empty = event.empty;
             duration = event.durationMs;
           }
         }
@@ -70,6 +77,8 @@ export function useCompile(projectId: string) {
     if (success) {
       setStatus("success");
       setPdfVersion((v) => v + 1);
+    } else if (empty) {
+      setStatus("empty");
     } else {
       setStatus("error");
     }
diff --git a/src/lib/compiler.ts b/src/lib/compiler.ts
index 3a61642..7661f69 100644
--- a/src/lib/compiler.ts
+++ b/src/lib/compiler.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ import { mainSourcePath, outputPdfPath, ensureProjectDirs } from "./storage";
 
 export interface CompileResult {
   success: boolean;
+  // the document compiled cleanly but had nothing to typeset (an empty body).
+  // not a failure, just nothing to preview yet.
+  empty: boolean;
   log: string;
   durationMs: number;
   passes: number;
@@ -66,14 +69,14 @@ export async function runCompile(
   } catch {
     const message = `Unknown engine: ${engineId}\n`;
     onLog?.(message);
-    return { success: false, log: message, durationMs: 0, passes: 0 };
+    return { success: false, empty: false, log: message, durationMs: 0, passes: 0 };
   }
 
   const mainPath = mainSourcePath(projectId, engine);
   if (!fs.existsSync(mainPath)) {
     const message = `No ${engine.mainFileName} found for this project.\n`;
     onLog?.(message);
-    return { success: false, log: message, durationMs: 0, passes: 0 };
+    return { success: false, empty: false, log: message, durationMs: 0, passes: 0 };
   }
 
   ensureProjectDirs(projectId);
@@ -99,8 +102,11 @@ export async function runCompile(
   }
 
   const pdfExists = fs.existsSync(outputPdfPath(projectId, engine));
+  // an empty body makes xelatex finish cleanly with no PDF and this notice
+  const empty = !pdfExists && /no pages of output/i.test(log);
   return {
     success: lastCode === 0 && pdfExists,
+    empty,
     log,
     durationMs: Date.now() - start,
     passes,
@@ -132,6 +138,7 @@ export function compileStream(
       send({
         type: "done",
         success: result.success,
+        empty: result.empty,
         durationMs: result.durationMs,
         passes: result.passes,
       });