I can no longer render LaTeX

[renormalize]

I just tried to post a message with LaTex using Windows Chrome but it fails to render using the Preview button, even after refreshing the page several times. I've logged out of my account and deleted all saved cookies associated with PF but still no luck. I've never before encountered problems posting LaTeX until this week. Any suggestions?

 

[Ibix]

I can reproduce this in Android Firefox.

Occam's razor makes me suspect it's related to the software update yesterday, @Greg Bernhardt.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Something changed with the editor. I'll look into it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

hmmm this is a tough one. I'm at a bit of a loss. Nothing I'm trying is close to working.

 

[fresh_42]

I observed that refreshing the page makes a difference. As long as I do not refresh or preview + refresh my code while editing, everything seems ok, but one refresh or preview + refresh, and it turns into a mess with several problems, up to not being able to add anything to it.

 

[fresh_42]

Test without refresh or preview: $\begin{pmatrix}1&0\\0&1\end{pmatrix}$

 

[renormalize]

A new result: I looked at my unposted message and the LaTeX code has been converted to an ASCII version:
−∇⋅[ρ∇ψ(r,θ)]=(sxx−syy)ΔTsin⁡2θlog⁡(ro/ri)r2[H(θ)−H(θ−π/2)]+syyΔTlog⁡(ro/ri)r2δ(θ−π/2)−sxxΔTlog⁡(ro/ri)r2δ(θ)
But now I'm unable to recover the raw code, nor can I properly render it!

 

[fresh_42]

A new result: I looked at my unposted message and the LaTeX code has been converted to an ASCII version:
−∇⋅[ρ∇ψ(r,θ)]=(sxx−syy)ΔTsin⁡2θlog⁡(ro/ri)r2[H(θ)−H(θ−π/2)]+syyΔTlog⁡(ro/ri)r2δ(θ−π/2)−sxxΔTlog⁡(ro/ri)r2δ(θ)
But now I'm unable to recover the raw code, nor can I properly render it!

Once it is ASCII there is no way to recover it. I had a couple of attempts.

 

[Ibix]

Once it is ASCII there is no way to recover it. I had a couple of attempts.

Undo (if you're using the rich text editor or a laptop or something where ctrl-z will work) used to work to recover your original LaTeX when this bug was around before. Probably not once you've left the page, though.

 

[fresh_42]

Undo (if you're using the rich text editor or a laptop or something where ctrl-z will work) used to work to recover your original LaTeX when this bug was around before. Probably not once you've left the page, though.

Yes. The "refresh" command is the critical point. This is therefore problematic since it has to be used if the "preview" option doesn't render LaTeX.

 

[JimWhoKnew]

I just tried to post a message with LaTex using Windows Chrome but it fails to render using the Preview button, even after refreshing the page several times. I've logged out of my account and deleted all saved cookies associated with PF but still no luck. I've never before encountered problems posting LaTeX until this week. Any suggestions?

I still have this problem. No "preview", "refresh", backward nor forward helps. If I submit the reply and refresh, I can see the LaTeX, but then I send some premature notifications to some innocent honest members. If I go back to editing, LaTeX disappears again.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'm working on, thanks!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Making small progress. I can get the preview to render latex, but it also breaks regular post latex rendering globally

 

[mjc123]

The "Insert Symbol" button seems to have disappeared from the ribbon at the top of the box.

 

[renormalize]

The "Insert Symbol" button seems to have disappeared from the ribbon at the top of the box.

See:

Announcement Post in thread 'Moderate software update 4/10'

May 8, 2025

What happened to the link to symbols? That was previously on the edit bar next to the "table" icon...

Similar issue with the latex previewing. The editor changed and I'm struggling to figure out the fixes.

• Greg Bernhardt

• 
• 

 

[JimWhoKnew]

I still have this problem. No "preview", "refresh", backward nor forward helps. If I submit the reply and refresh, I can see the LaTeX, but then I send some premature notifications to some innocent honest members. If I go back to editing, LaTeX disappears again.

I installed FireFox 113.0.2 in hope to overcome the rendering issue. Now it is even worse. Preview mode only works on rare occasions, and when it does, exiting preview mode ruins all LaTeX.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I installed FireFox 113.0.2 in hope to overcome the rendering issue. Now it is even worse. Preview mode only works on rare occasions, and when it does, exiting preview mode ruins all LaTeX.

Still working on a fix. Hoping for next week.

 

[JimWhoKnew]

Still working on a fix. Hoping for next week.

Thanks for everything. Much appreciated

 

[PeroK]

Still working on a fix. Hoping for next week.

It shouldn't be broken in the first place.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I ran into this problem recently and found this thread. I was going to say that next week was last week, but I guess one could argue that it's never next week. Hoping for a fix soon!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

tex and itex bbcode brackets now work in preview but the short hand ## and $$ currently do not. I'll continue to work to get those working. Progress is being made.

 

[fresh_42]

tex and itex bbcode brackets now work in preview but the short hand ## and $$ currently do not. I'll continue to work to get those working. Progress is being made.

Adapted. One of the great advantages of using AutoHotKey.

 

[Ibix]

tex and itex bbcode brackets now work in preview but the short hand ## and $$ currently do not. I'll continue to work to get those working. Progress is being made.

Not sure if this is related, but the editor box is extremely laggy for me since this announcement. I'm frequently typing two words ahead of the text in the box. It might just be my phone being rubbish, but thought I'd comment in case others are experiencing this.

Firefox 139.0.4 on Android.

 

[fresh_42]

tex and itex bbcode brackets now work in preview but the short hand ## and $$ currently do not. I'll continue to work to get those working. Progress is being made.

It does not really work. The code

Just multiply the sums:

[tex]
\left( \sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n \right) \cdot \left( \sum_{m=1}^\infty b_m \right)= \sum_{k=2}^\infty \sum_{n+m=k}a_nb_m= \sum_{n=1}^\infty \sum_{m=1}^\infty a_nb_m
[/tex]
by the distributive law. The real question is why you can swap the infinite summation with the integral.

led to

My current workaround is "post"+"refresh"+"edit" (repeat as long as necessary). I added a comment "Do not answer. This post is still under construction." at the beginning of longer posts and delete this line when I'm done.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

It does not really work.

yeah it's rendering the returns. keep the tag on the same line as the start of the latex

 

[fresh_42]

yeah it's rendering the returns. keep the tag on the same line as the start of the latex

The color trick to prevent code from rendering also isn't working anymore. It seems to strip the color tags.

It looks as if this whole thing is really complicated to fix. Just a question: MSE uses a MathJax version that renders LaTeX one-to-one, why can't we do the same?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What is MSE? What is one-to-one? The problem is the Xenforo 2.3 editor.

 

[fresh_42]

What is MSE?

https://math.stackexchange.com/

What is one-to-one?

You can type LaTeX code in their MathJax version, and it renders as a LaTeX editor would, including dollar instead of double sharp and double dollar as usual. The preview is below the edit window, and it updates immediately. I don't like the forum for several reasons, but their editor is nice.

The problem is the Xenforo 2.3 editor.

I also know a forum that uses Xenforo with an even worse editor.

 

[berkeman]

Hmm, something seems extra-broken today; testing:

-----------------------------------------------------
Example of in-line LaTeX: $v(t) = L \frac{di(t)}{dt}$

Example of stand-alone LaTeX:
$$v(t) = L \frac{di(t)}{dt}$$
-----------------------------------------------------

using [ itex ] and [ tex ]:
-----------------------------------------------------
Example of in-line LaTeX: v(t) = L \frac{di(t)}{dt}

Example of stand-alone LaTeX:
v(t) = L \frac{di(t)}{dt}
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[fresh_42]

I lost my favorite

\begin{align*}
\ldots & \ldots \\
\end{align*}

environment. The ampersand doesn't work in the preview; plus, it requires extra math tags, which it does not in the final version.

My best workaround is still:

a) Line 1: Do not answer, this post is still under construction.
b) do while necessary: type, post, refresh, edit
c) delete Line 1

I think that the code changes created more trouble than they solved. The preview function should simply be equal to the post+refresh function, just without actually posting.