Math equations and chemical formulas

MathType is a popular mathematical and science formula editor with classical and handwriting input modes. You can use it to create math equations or chemical formulas right inside the CKEditor 5 content.

To create math or chemical formulas in the editor below, click the MathType or ChemType buttons in the toolbar. This will open the relevant dialog.

Use the toolbar to write your equation or formula. At any time, you can also click the “Go to handwritten mode” button on the right side of the MathType editor to switch to handwriting.

When you are done creating your scientific content, click the “OK” button to insert your formula into the editor. You can also edit any existing formulas by double-clicking them in your document.

MathType is based upon standards like MathML for internal representation and the PNG image format for displaying formulas. It can also handle other formats like LaTeX, Flash, SVG, and EPS.

Additionally, MathType offers a special tool designed to help you work with chemical notation. When enabled, ChemType adds a specialized toolbar with the common chemical symbols as well as changes the notation to make it more intuitive to work with chemical formulas.

The MathType window is split into two main areas: a tabbed toolbar that contains a large number of icons that are useful for creating math equations and chemical formulas, and an editing area where you can see your current formula, the location of the cursor, and the text currently selected (if any).

The following resources can come in handy if you want to become proficient at working with this tool:

• Using MathType Web covers the basics of creating formulas, using your keyboard, moving the cursor in templates, formatting your content, or writing on mobile devices.
• Introductory tutorials are intended to get you started using MathType.
• ChemType explains the features of the dedicated chemistry toolbar.
• MathType documentation is a complete reference to all MathType features and settings.

MathType lets you choose between two editing modes:

• Classic input mode provides options to choose symbols and templates from the MathType or ChemType toolbars and combine them to build the equation.
• Handwritten input mode lets you write the equation in your own handwriting. After checking the equation preview to ensure its accuracy, you can insert the equation or switch to classic input for further editing. Read more here.

If you visit a page using MathType with your mobile device, the handwriting interface will appear by default. However, if you visit the same page with a laptop or desktop computer, the classic input will be displayed. The user is always free to change between the two interfaces.

MathType is delivered as a CKEditor 5 plugin, so it can be combined into an editor preset just like other features. To add this feature to your editor, install the @wiris/mathtype-ckeditor5 package:

npm install --save @wiris/mathtype-ckeditor5

Then add it to your plugin list and the toolbar configuration. Please note, that unlike native CKEditor 5 plugins, this one is imported from its own package. Also, that this import is different than the standard CKEditor 5 plugins import:

import { ClassicEditor } from 'ckeditor5';
import MathType from '@wiris/mathtype-ckeditor5/dist/index.js';

ClassicEditor
    .create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
        licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>', // Or 'GPL'.
        plugins: [ MathType, /* ... */ ],
        toolbar: [ 'MathType', 'ChemType', /* ... */ ]
        mathTypeParameters : {
            // Configuration.
        }
    } )
    .then( /* ... */ )
    .catch( /* ... */ );

It is possible to use different services for MathType support. There are several ways to deploy it in the CKEditor 5 environment. The following instructions will allow you to customize MathType Web Integration services for CKEditor 5.

To install the Java service, follow the steps below:

1. Download the MathType Web Integration Services - Java package.

2. Deploy the pluginwiris_engine war file.

3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor 5 with the configuration shown below:

   ClassicEditor
       .create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
               // ... Other configuration options ...
               // MathType parameters.
               mathTypeParameters : {
                   serviceProviderProperties : {
                       URI : '/pluginwiris_engine/app/configurationjs',
                       server : 'java'
                   }
               }
       })
       .then( /* ... */ )
       .catch( /* ... */ );
   

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To install the PHP service, follow the steps below:

1. Download the MathType Web Integration Services - PHP package.

2. Copy the generic_wiris/integration folder into your project. In this example, it was assumed the services are located at DOCUMENT_ROOT/php-services/.

3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor 5 with the following configuration:

   ClassicEditor
       .create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
               // ... Other configuration options ...
               // MathType parameters.
               mathTypeParameters : {
                   serviceProviderProperties : {
                       URI : 'http://localhost/php-services/integration',
                       server : 'php'
                   }
               }
       })
   .then( /* ... */ )
   .catch( /* ... */ );
   

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To install the .NET service, follow the steps below:

1. Download the MathType Web Integration Services - Aspx package.

2. Copy the generic_wiris/integration folder into your project. In this example, it was assumed the services are located at DOCUMENT_ROOT/aspx-services/.

3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor 5 with this configuration:

   ClassicEditor
       .create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
               // ... Other configuration options ...
               // MathType parameters.
               mathTypeParameters : {
                   serviceProviderProperties : {
                       URI : 'http://localhost/aspx-services/integration',
                       server : 'aspx'
                   }
               }
       })
   .then( /* ... */ )
   .catch( /* ... */ );
   

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To install the Ruby on Rails service, follow the steps below:

1. Download the MathType Web Integration Services - Ruby on Rails package.

2. Install the wirispluginengine.gem gem.

   gem install -l wirispluginengine.gem
   

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3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor 5 with the configuration below:

   ClassicEditor
       .create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
               // ... Other configuration options ...
               // MathType parameters.
               mathTypeParameters : {
                   serviceProviderProperties : {
                       URI : '/wirispluginengine/integrationn',
                       server : 'ruby'
                   }
               }
       })
   .then( /* ... */ )
   .catch( /* ... */ );
   

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By default, MathType returns equations in MathML which is not supported by all browsers. To display equations on a page, you will need to use an engine that will handle the rendering process.

Fortunately, MathType introduces the full MathML mode that handles the unsupported markup and converts it into a form that can be properly recognized by browsers. You can read more about the full MathML mode in the documentation.