Hi all!

 

I was wondering if it would be possible to have something like a LaTex test pad - put in the LaTex code and see how it would display without having to use the preview post feature, could be useful for those who are learning LaTex too

 

Comments anyone?

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

what's wrong with previewing the post?

what's wrong with previewing the post?

 

Well, its not exactly very effective. Especially if you don't actually intend to post anything but are just testing and practicing with LaTex... if you see what I mean

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Get the real thing then; with Miktex and texniccenter (both are free). And if you want a guide; The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX2e

You could also use the Sandbox on Wikipedia, and fool around with the <math> tags.

Yes I know you can, but It was just a thought to make it easy for the people who are learning LaTex to play with

 

Its not really important, just a convenience thing – I’m quite happy to use preview post but I just though some people may find that method... annoying

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Or, you could play around in this thread if you really felt like it.

 

[math]\phi^{2}+\phi^{-1}=2\phi[/math]

Well, it [the preview button'] is not exactly very effective. Especially if you don't actually intend to post anything but are just testing and practicing with LaTex... if you see what I mean

Seems more effective than the "submit reply" button to me. After pressing "preview post", I have a preview on top with the source below it. After pressing submit, I only see the outcome but have to press edit to see the source text again.

Seems more effective than the "submit reply" button to me. After pressing "preview post", I have a preview on top with the source below it. After pressing submit, I only see the outcome but have to press edit to see the source text again.

 

 

True, like I said I do use the preview button (Or sometimes Wiki if its big)

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

How would the test pad work, then? I mean: If we agree that the preview button is better than the submit button, then there should be something even better than the preview button. What?

How would the test pad work, then? I mean: If we agree that the preview button is better than the submit button, then there should be something even better than the preview button. What?

 

 

Well, maybe a link in the post, click it and it opens a little window with a textbox. type the code in there click submit and then it does something like a live preview (Like a preview post).

he benefit to this is people like me () don't click the submit button by mistake and make a reply they did not intend to make

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Just install latex. It's free and easy, I'll even send you a latex fine template to edit and you can play around with it to your heart's content, so stop whining about wanting a test pad here (which is called the preview button; I've no idea why that is not sufficient for you, and that is after reading your posts).

 

So, get latex (TeTex for linux, Miktex for windows, forget the names for others), and grab a hold of emacs, also free. C-c C-c b and look at the out put. Or if you must use one of those wisywig things that some people seem to think are useful (they're not). (g)vi(m) is probably better for latex these days but it's a steep learning curve on that one, though probably worth it (`g auto-expands \gamma for instance), where as emacs is newbie tolerant.

Just install latex. It's free and easy' date=' I'll even send you a latex fine template to edit and you can play around with it to your heart's content, so stop whining about wanting a test pad here (which is called the preview button; I've no idea why that is not sufficient for you, and that is after reading your posts).

 

So, get latex (TeTex for linux, Miktex for windows, forget the names for others), and grab a hold of emacs, also free. C-c C-c b and look at the out put. Or if you must use one of those wisywig things that some people seem to think are useful (they're not). (g)vi(m) is probably better for latex these days but it's a steep learning curve on that one, though probably worth it (`g auto-expands \gamma for instance), where as emacs is newbie tolerant.[/quote']

 

I have LaTex installed my local server and on my hosts server It can be a pain in the back to get working though

 

Actually, I'm currently making a lot of use of these to test my new examples...

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Why on earth is latex a pain in the back to use? Produce a latex file, get a command line and

 

latex filename.tex

 

and woo-hoo, it's done. If you're usign emacs or vi you don't even need a command line (C-c C-c b, I believe, and I can't remember the vi command, something like :ll is all you need). It is absolutely straightforward, and not at all a pain in anywhere. even windows has a command line you can use to do things if you don't have emacs or vi(m) lying around, and mac OS X has TeXshop that makes life a breeze.

 

There is no reason for latex to be a problem at all on any system that you might reasonably use. I admit I've not used OS/2 or amiga OS but I doubt that these are a problem in any sense.

Why on earth is latex a pain in the back to use? Produce a latex file, get a command line and

 

 

I've had it working or ages... I meant its hard to initialy setup requiring lots of componts and stuff when you use Wndows (Which I prsume a lot of the people here use). thet then thaat Linux comes with LaTex pre-instlled so I never relly had a problem with it

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones