LaTeX support brings prettier math to your messages

Posted on by

With our new add-on, any mathematics contained in your conversations will be beautifully rendered using MathJax.

It’s rather nice to be able to discuss math using familiar LaTeX markup, but with the equations displayed properly. And of course, as LaTeX is text-based, this works for all protocols, and does not depend on your conversation partners also using Instantbird!

No configuration is necessary — to use this, you don’t even need to have TeX installed.

You can easily obtain the LaTeX source of any equation using the context menu. AMSmath symbols and environments (such as \\begin{align}...\\end{align}) are supported.

There are a few customization options — for example, you can choose to have displayed equations numbered automatically, to make them easier to refer to.

The add-on works with all Instantbird message styles, so you don’t have to change your favourite theme.

Get the add-on here!

6 thoughts on “LaTeX support brings prettier math to your messages”

  2. I take it, then, there is no free wysiwyg math editor around.

    • I’m not sure I understand your question properly. Do you mean “I don’t speak LaTeX, is there another (more graphical) way to enter equations?” Are you looking for something like this wysiwyg LaTeX generator maybe?

      • The answer to your first question is yes.
        But when I say wysiwyg I mean more like BlueGriffon where you edit formatted text/equations inline. FireMath, which clokep mentioned below, is close. I struggled some with it, but maybe that’s just inexperience.
        When I was in college in the late 90s, the computer lab had a math program (…I think it had “math” in the name) that had inline wysiwyg editing that worked nicely. I remember you could tab around or click in place to edit. This is what I mean.