MathJax 2.6 beta

Question

Today we are entering the public beta phase of MathJax v2.6 beta. We are asking you to try out the new output. Be aware, this one will offer a new set of fonts. I will allow Peter Krautzberger to explain the differences in an answer to this post.

As always, we will be monitoring this post for any bug reports or missing features.

Answer 1

Thanks, Geoff! And thanks to the community for any and all feedback on the beta -- we really appreciate your comments!

Local fonts and the Common HTML output

In v2.6 we improved the so-called CommonHTML output to the quality of our HTML-CSS and SVG outputs (it's faster though).

Since this is a completely new output, we would love to get lots of feedback on it to catch any issues before the release.

Since we didn't want to force this on every user at math.SE, we're hoping that people will try it out "manually" by switching MathJax output themselves (see below for how to do that).

There's a small catch: the CommonHTML output currently only works with an updated version of our default MathJax "TeX" fonts. That's usually not a problem as most users get the fonts as webfonts.

But if you have locally installed copies of the MathJax "TeX" fonts and want to test the CommonHTML output, then we strongly suggest you update those fonts for best layout quality. Of course, the changes to the fonts are backward compatible so they work with all versions of MathJax.

Note also that OSX comes with STIX fonts installed which MathJax would use with the HTML-CSS output by default. So using the CommonHTML output means you'll be seeing a different font.

Test page

We set up this page which will do a small test to check if

a) you have MathJax TeX fonts installed (another application may have installed them for you!) b) if you need to update an installed copy.

It also includes this link to a copy of the updated fonts.

For more background, see also our release announcement on mathjax.org.

Switching to the CommonHTML output

For those users unfamiliar with the MathJax menu, you can right-click (cmd-click on OSX, double-tap+hold on mobile) an equation to open the MathJax menu. Among other features, the menu allows you to switch the output engine under

Math Settings -> Math Renderer

You can now also reach that menu via keyboard tabs and open it with space or menu keys (and navigate the menu by keyboard).

Finally, if you are using a MathML-enable screenreader, you should now be able to get it to read out expressions; for more information on the expected results see our docs.

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As usual, we'll be around so please let us know if you encounter any issues.

Thanks again for all your help and support in making MathJax better!

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Update to 2.6.0-beta.1

Thank you for all your feedback and bug hunting!

We've just pushed out the second beta which should fix most of the bugs mentioned on this thread (and more). See also the release milestone for recently closed issues.

Please clear your browser cache (some browsers need a restart to really clear them) to ensure you get the new update. You can check the MathJax Menu's about page for 2.6.0-beta.1.

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Update to 2.6.0-beta.2

Thank you once again for all your feedback and bug hunting!

We've just pushed out the third (and final) beta which should fix the remaining the bugs mentioned on this thread (and more). See also the release milestone for recently closed issues.

Please clear your browser cache (some browsers need a restart to really clear them) to ensure you get the new update. You can check the MathJax Menu's about page for 2.6.0-beta.2.

Answer 2

Whenever I reach a question through a link to one of its answers, MathJax doesn't seem to render anything on that page after its initial run. In particular, math content in post previews (for drafts of both new answers and inline edits) and new comments are never rendered.

Compare the behavior at

Laplace transform of $t^2e^{at}$?? (question link)

with

Laplace transform of $t^2e^{at}$?? (answer link).

Answer 3

If a post (question or answer) has more than $5$ comments and the link "show $n$ more comments" must be clicked to see them all, when it is clicked, formulas are not rendered, but displayed verbatim.

Answer 4

The spacing in eqnarray environments seems to be broken. For instance,

\begin{eqnarray}
1&=&2
\end{eqnarray}

renders as

\begin{eqnarray} 1&=&2 \end{eqnarray}

with the space between the equals sign and the $2$ missing. Here's a screen shot:

Answer 5

The commutative diagrams produced by AMScd are very bad-looking now:

$$\require{AMScd}
\begin{CD}
A @>>> B \\
@VVV @VVV \\
C @>>> D
\end{CD}$$

gives:

$$\require{AMScd} \begin{CD} A @>>> B \\ @VVV @VVV \\ C @>>> D \end{CD}$$

and here's a screenshot (I'm on Chrome, Windows 10):

Answer 6

The CommonHTML output seems to be slightly smaller than the HTML-CSS output.

HTML-CSS:

CommonHTML:

From this question. I set math scaling to 100% before taking these screenshots.

Answer 7

When using Common HTML, bad formats display as [Math processing error] for a moment then just disappear. Here's an example:

$\begin{notanenvironment} \notacommnd \end{notanenvironment}$

For me, on Chrome 45.0.2454.101 in Windows 10, HTML-CSS renders with the box as previously.

Note that when I jump to this answer directly, it remains as [Math processing error] (in red). (And when editing this answer the preview remains in this state for seconds -- after rerendering for every keystroke -- then returns to blank as described above, if you wait.)

Answer 8

If for whatever reason you want to stick with the older non-beta MathJax version, I have created a workaround.

First, given Mozilla Firefox (might or might not work in other browsers), install the following add-ons:

• GreaseMonkey,
• AdBlock (AdBlock Plus, AdBlock Edge, whatever);

then restart the browser (if necessary). Now go to AdBlock Filter Preferences (Control-Shift-F) → Custom filters, add new filter group with the Add filter group button, invoke Actions → Show/hide filters (Control-R) near the newly created filter group (if necessary) for the list of the filters in the filter group to show up on the right, and then filter out *beta.mathjax.org/mathjax/latest/MathJax.js* using the Add filter button. Close once you are done. This will kill the new MathJax beta.

Now, to restore functionality, proceed to this Gist and click the Raw button (the top-right corner just above the code). Given your installation of GreaseMonkey is functional, you will be prompted to install the userscript. Proceed, and you are done.

Answer 9

With the new Common HTML renderer, \sqrt interacts badly with \frac in inline math (but not in display math). Something like \frac{1}{\sqrt{x}} ($\frac{1}{\sqrt{x}}$) will render like this for me:

As you can see, there's no bar above the $x$. It renders fine in display mode (e.g. with dfrac or between double dollars), and the bar is there when the sqrt is outside frac. I'm using Chrome, Windows 10, Common HTML renderer, and I have the latest MathJax fonts according to this page.

Answer 10

As Najib Idrissi notes in the comments, the outlines for focused links that contain MathJax seem to be a bit messed up in Chrome. Sure, it looks OK now when the focus is on the MathJax element itself:

but when you Shift+Tab back to focus on the link that contains the MathJax, it looks like this (Chrome 45.0.2454.101, 64-bit, Ubuntu Linux):

I don't think this is really how it's supposed to look, is it?

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Edit: Oops, I forgot that I wasn't on my home computer, and that I was using the old HTML-CSS renderer. With the new CommonHTML renderer, things are a bit better (but also, in some ways, a bit worse):

I suppose that's good enough to live with.

Answer 11

I'm seeing vertical alignment differences between CommonHTML and HTML-CSS, using Safari 9.0 on Yosemite. The following images are pulled from this question.

Here's Common HTML:

Here's HTML-CSS:

Interestingly, the vertical bar actually looks better with Common HTML!

Answer 12

The spacing in this formula is very odd: $$\prod_{r=2}^{N}\frac{\Gamma^2(r\alpha+‎1‎‎)}{\Gamma((r-1)\alpha+‎1‎‎)\Gamma((r+1)\alpha+‎1‎‎)}<1$$

(Found in Properties of the Gamma function)

In case others aren't seeing the same thing: this is what it looks like for me (OS X, Safari, HTML-CSS renderer):

With HTML-Common, it looks a bit better, but there is still spurious spaces before the closing parentheses.

Answer 13

When using Common HTML rendering, the math in the answer on this page shows $\color{red}{\textit{[Math Processing Error]}}$ for a moment then disappears. When using HTML-CSS it renders fine.

I've tried clearing my cache and cookies but the problem persists.

Chrome 46.0.2490.71 m, Mathjax v2.6.0-beta.1 using local (updated) TeX fonts

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The problem seems to be with the \big, \bigg, \bigr, \biggr, etc. commands, then adding both a subscript and a superscript to the item that was embiggened.

For example:

$$
\left[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \right]_{x=1}^{\infty}
$$

$$ \left[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \right]_{x=1}^{\infty} $$

works fine, but neither

$$
\biggl[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \biggr]_{x=1}^{\infty}
$$

$$ \biggl[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \biggr]_{x=1}^{\infty} $$

nor

$$
\bigg[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \bigg]_{x=1}^{\infty}
$$

$$ \bigg[ x^{x^{x^{x^{x^x}}}} \bigg]_{x=1}^{\infty} $$

work for me when using Common HTML. When using HTML-CSS they all render fine and look the same.

Answer 14

When using the HTML-CSS renderer long math expressions are automatically wrapped. With CommonHTML they overflow out of their element.

Example:

$$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{e^{-t^2}}{t-z}\,dt = \int_{|t-x| < s(z,x)} \frac{e^{-t^2} - e^{-x^2}}{t-z}\,dt + \int_{s(z,x) < |t-x|}  \frac{e^{-t^2}}{t-z}\,dt - i\pi e^{-x^2} - e^{-x^2} \int_{s(z,x) < |t-x|} \left( \frac{1}{t-z} - \frac{1}{t-x} \right) \,dt$$

$$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{e^{-t^2}}{t-z}\,dt = \int_{|t-x| < s(z,x)} \frac{e^{-t^2} - e^{-x^2}}{t-z}\,dt + \int_{s(z,x) < |t-x|} \frac{e^{-t^2}}{t-z}\,dt - i\pi e^{-x^2} - e^{-x^2} \int_{s(z,x) < |t-x|} \left( \frac{1}{t-z} - \frac{1}{t-x} \right) \,dt$$

Answer 15

I didn't know about this until less than a minute ago, but some days ago I noticed a conspicuous abrupt change for the worse in the behavior of MathJax on math.stackexchange.com. I frequently see unrendered code, even after repeatedly reloading the page. Sometimes while editing an answer I see my code rather than the mathematical notation one is supposed to see. Formerly that was always fixed by reloading the page. That frequently no longer works.

I am one of the most prolific contributors to m.s.e. and accordingly I have more opportunity to observe what is happening than most others do.

Answer 16

With the new version from yesterday, I'm seeing some spacing problems. In the first screenshot there is reduced spacing.

If I right-click on a link on the page the spacing suddenly appears correctly, as in this second screenshot. The same even if I just click on some of the whitespace areas on the page, it corrects it. Then clicking elsewhere, it reverts to being wrong again.

It's happening with questions, answers and comments.

I've cleared cache and installed fonts to no avail. I'm not seeing the problem on MathOverflow or CrossValidated.

Would you be able to look into it?

Thanks

EDIT: added screenshots:

About MathJax:

About Internet Explorer:

Message from the CodePen web page is:

Congratulations, you have the new versions of the MathJax fonts installed on your system. These should work fine with any version of MathJax.

Answer 17

While not exactly a beta issue, I think this is a good place to put the wish that double lines in arrays work (they don't need to reproduce the $\rm\LaTeX$ result perfectly — the latter not being optimal anyway —, but it should definitely show a difference between single and double lines).