There should be universal LaTeX/MathJax guide for sites supporting it

Question

Currently, stats, math, cstheory and physics have MathJax support which turns LaTeX code into equation.

At least on math, occasionally there are users that do not know this feature or don't know it's possible to use LaTeX (MathJax), resulting a badly formatted post.

I suggest that there should be a common "LaTeX/MathJax typesetting help" page for those sites that enabled MathJax support, like the "Markdown editing help" that is present on all sites. Preferably, there should also be a line

• LaTeX equations $\sin^2 \theta$

in the "How to Format" on the right hand side.

See also: The MathJax help link should point to a more specific guide

Answer 1

This is basically completed, but I can't find a good help / demos page to link to for MathJaX.

There is this:

http://www.mathjax.org/demos/

but oddly it requires users to "view source" before showing them the markup required, which is ... annoying.

Per suggestion, I am now changing it to

http://www.math.harvard.edu/texman/

Answer 2

Let's write our own help page for our use of MathJax. Here is a start. It is based on Stack Overflow's own Markdown editing help, the FAQ for typing math on math.SE and Math Overflow, and "Using LaTeX" on ask NRICH.

Characters in bold italics indicate highlighting.

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MathJax turns LaTeX markup into beautiful formulae

This site supports typesetting mathematical formula with AMS-LaTeX markup, powered by the MathJax rendering engine.

Entering math mode

Surround the TeX code with dollar signs to insert an inline equation

The integers $x,y,z$ form a Pythagorean triplet when $x^2 + y^2 = z^2$.

and use double dollar signs to insert an equation in its own line

The Bessel functions $J_n(x)$ and $Y_n(x)$ are
solutions to the Bessel equation
$$ x^2 y'' + x y' + (x^2 - n^2) y = 0 $$
where $n$ is a constant.

Basic LaTeX markup

• Superscript and subscript — x^2, a_n, a_{n+1}, H_n^{(2)}

• Spacing — a\ b (text space). Other kinds of spacing.

• Square root and radicals — \sqrt{x}, \sqrt[3]{x}

• Fraction — \frac{a}{b}

• Sum and integral — \sum_{k=0}^n k^2, \int_0^1 x^3 dx

• Greek letters — \alpha (α) to \omega (ω); \Gamma (Γ) to \Omega (Ω)

• Symbols — \ne (≠), \ge (≥), \le (≤), \sim (∼), \pm (±), \to (→), \infty (∞), etc.

• Function names — \sin, \cos, \log, \lim, etc.

Visit Detexify² to lookup command for a symbol.

Check the MathJax documentation for the complete list of commands supported.

Show source

Right-clicking on any equations should reveal a context menu. Clicking "Show source" will open up a new window showing the LaTeX markup that generates it.

Need More Detail?

The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX2e is a good beginner's guide on the LaTeX system.

Answer 3

I brought this up on meta.math and was directed to this question. I thought I'd share the mockup here too, showing what I'd like:

Answer 4

A much much more detailed MathJax tutorial/reference has been created on Math.SE: MathJax basic tutorial and quick reference