LaTeX Can't Preview Latex Equations - Newbie Needing Help

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion addresses issues with previewing LaTeX equations on the Physics Forums platform. Users report that LaTeX code appears as ASCII text in the preview area, with some experiencing caching problems that display previous equations instead of the current ones. The Ctrl-F5 refresh method has been identified as a temporary solution to update the preview. The caching policy, possibly influenced by the internet service provider, is noted as a potential cause for these issues.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of LaTeX syntax and usage
  • Familiarity with web browser caching mechanisms
  • Basic knowledge of troubleshooting web applications
  • Experience with Physics Forums platform features
NEXT STEPS
  • Research LaTeX troubleshooting techniques for web applications
  • Learn about browser caching policies and how to manage them
  • Explore user settings and preferences on the Physics Forums platform
  • Investigate alternative LaTeX rendering tools for online forums
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for forum users, particularly those who utilize LaTeX for mathematical expressions, web developers addressing caching issues, and moderators managing forum functionality.

SunMesa
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I'm a newbie, please bear with me...

I can't seem to be able to preview equations generated with the Latex buttons. The Latex code itself appears in the message composition box, but in the preview area all that appears is the ascii text, along with a lower-case greek "alpha" character in the place where the equation should be. I have cut and pasted Latex code from other posts and get the same result. Help! Thanks-
 
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All,

Apologies for not searching previous threads on this. I gather this has been an ongoing issue. The Ctrl-F5 trick seems to be working for me. Not sure if I can delete this thread on my own, if not, moderators feel free.
 
I always have the same issue; often it shows me the last latex equation I made (even from an entirely different post). What browser are you using? Anyone else having similar issues?
 
It hasn't been quite that bad for me, but I have noticed that when I change a LaTeX equation and then preview or submit the post, my changes usually aren't reflected in the image. In Firefox I've found that I can get around it by right-clicking the image, control-clicking on "View Image" (to open just the image itself in a new tab), and refreshing that. (Refreshing the final post with F5 also seems to work)

My problem, at least, can be explained by the caching policy on the images, but if you're seeing LaTeX images from entirely different posts, that seems pretty weird. Maybe the admins have sensible reasons for doing it that way, though, I wouldn't know.
 
I often see equations from previous posts as well. Reloading the page updates the images to the correct ones.
 
diazona said:
Maybe the admins have sensible reasons for doing it that way, though, I wouldn't know.
In one of the other threads, chroot (the guy who set up the LaTeX here) claimed that no changes were made on the PF servers when this started happening. So either their internet service provider is doing some weird caching, or there have been changes made that he isn't aware of. Either way, it's not a deliberate choice made by anyone at Physics Forums.
 

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