Name Math (ASCIIMath) Plugin Vendor Edinburgh University (Website) Authors Andy Brook Homepage http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/CONFEXT/Math+(ASCIIMath)+plugin Issue Management https://studio.plugins.atlassian.com/browse/CASCII Continuous Integration n/a Categories Confluence Content Most Recent Version 1.2.2 Availability confluence v2.10 to v3.0.2 State Stable Support License Freeware / Open Source (Lesser GNU Public License (LGPL)) Price Free Release Docs Java API Docs n/a Download Source https://studio.plugins.atlassian.com/source/browse/CASCII/trunk Download JAR 955

• Examples
• DisplayOptions
• Symbols
• Troubleshooting
• VersionHistory

Whenever entering maths markup in a page you are editing, you have to enter the maths environment . You do this in the same way you enter any environment - surround it with the name of the wiki markup. So enter {math} ... some mathematical equations ... {math}. There are two types of syntax you can use to type your mathematical expressions - a 'calculator-like' syntax allows you to specify things as you might on a calculator - e.g 'x/(y+1)' or 'x^4+y^5'. For those wishing more control, a TeX-like syntax can also be used. This means that you should be able to copy and past equations from LaTeX examples should you have the .tex file. You can mix and match the calculator-like and TeX-like syntaxes.

You can also find guides at http://www.wjagray.co.uk/maths/ASCIIMathTutorial.html and http://www1.chapman.edu/~jipsen/mathml/asciimathsyntax.html. Alternatively, search google for ASCIIMath (possibly with the word tutorial) and see what comes up.

The Math (ASCIIMath) Plugin is compatible with Confluence v2.8+. An option is available for older installations of Confluence: ASCIIMath plugin for older versions of Confluence.

Examples

Instead of giving a large tutorial, lots of examples are given. Sometimes, certain points are made clear but hopefully you should get the gist of how ASCIIMath works just by seeing it in action (see image top right). Note that it is necessary to show the examples as images instead of actual MathML renderings because the ASCIIMath plugin itself is not installed on this particular instance of Confluence. The images used are real screen captures from Firefox 3.0x using Confluence with ASCIIMath installed. There is also a handy

Display Options

Normally when you use {math} markup the mathematical expressions inside will be displayed inline - that is it will be merged in with the surrounding paragraph text. You can put {math} in lists, in tables, in headings, can color them, etc - just as you'd expect. Sometimes you may wish to emphasize a particular piece of mathematics and/or label it so you can refer back to it.

'Block' {math}

To make a mathematical expression interrupt the flow of a paragraph and 'stand out' you can add display=block to the starting {math} markup like so:

{math:display=block}d/dxf(x)=lim_(h->0)(f(x+h)-f(x))/h{math}

produces:

Labels

You can also add labels to your creations - Just add label=whatever. Normally you might use labels when displaying in a 'block' but this does not need to be the case - so

{math:label=1.1}sqrt(x-y^2){math}

looks like and

{math:display=block|label=1.2}d/dxf(x) =lim_(h->0)(f(x+h)-f(x))/h{math}

looks like:

The labels appear on the far right in line with the expression. The text of the label can be anything you want.

List of Symbols

Here are all the symbols you can use and their markup. It should be pointed out that they are pretty much identical to the LaTeX markup except that latex markup are always preceeded with a \ (backslash).

Troubleshooting

This section may be useful if you are having problems authoring or displaying the mathematics.

Browser Recommendations and Compatibility

ASCIIMath uses a technology called MathML to display the the maths. We recommend Firefox 1.5+ or Internet Explorer 6.0+ with MathPlayer installed for viewing. Other browsers (e.g Safari, Opera) or Internet Explorer without MathPlayer will display the mathematics as images as a fallback.

Authoring Issues

• The Rich Text editor can sometimes break existing {math} markup in your page. We strongly recommend that you use the Wiki Markup method of editing wiki pages with {math} tags.
• ASCIIMath tries to guess what you mean in a lot of cases. If you are finding that the output looks wrong then try wrapping sub-expressions in parenthesis to help clarify meaning.
• Be sure to escape $ or ` (backquote) symbols inside your {math} markup - as these are used by ASCIIMath itself. To escape $ and `, use \ (backslash) in front like so: \` and \$

Printing and Export Issues

There may be printing and/or export issues depending on the browser you are using.

All browsers: Printing

The JavaScript required to render as MathML or images is not included in the popup printing preview page. This means the {math} wiki markup will not render correctly - you will see the markup content surrounded by backquotes instead.

Soln: Can this be fixed?

MathML-rendering browsers only: Export as PDF or Word

Unfortunately, the technologies used by Confluence to convert HTML to PDF and Word do not know how to deal with the MathML present on the page. This is the case for Firefox/Mozilla and IE (6.0+) with MathPlayer. The result will be the original {math} markup shown as text.

Soln: View the page in a browser that displays the {math} markup as images - e.g Safari or Opera or IE without MathPlayer.

Technical Issues

• Firefox 1.5+: MathML uses fonts which sometimes may not be available on the computer you are using. Firefox will show a warning dialog box if it cannot find the fonts it needs to show the mathematics. If you find yourself shown this warning dialog by Firefox then you can download and install the required fonts by following instructions at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/mathml/fonts/.
• Internet Explorer requires Design Science's free MathPlayer plugin to display MathML. If you do not have the MathPlayer plugin then you can download and install it from the MathPlayer website.

Version History

Open Issues

Recently Resolved Issues