Technical description

MathType is a WYSIWYG formula editor, also known as equation editor. It is based on JavaScript, so it runs on any browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari,…) and operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac,…), including mobile and tablet devices.

With MathType can edit content from mathematics, physics, and science in general. Thanks to the chemistry toolbar, editing inorganic chemistry is now easier than ever.

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

The editor allows easy integration in Web applications and desktop applications for Windows (.NET) or macOS. There is also a porting of the editor to Flash/Flex and Java/Swing.

To start knowing what formulas can handle MathType, you can visit the examples gallery or the live demo.

Two main components comprise the editor:

We are taking MathType accessibility seriously: MathType can generate a textual representation of the formulas at display time. The editor's user interface has many features to improve the user experience of users with different disabilities.

Hand is an input method for writing mathematics in handwriting mode. You can use a touch device, a digital pen or a mouse. Integrating our software components in any existing web, mobile, or desktop application is possible.

The resulting output of Hand is the equivalent presentation MathML of the formula handwritten by the user. Other formats like LaTeX and content MathML can be obtained using the different MathType services.

Hand is optimized to be used with an assessment system where students are requested to answer math exercises quickly. Thus, Hand will be present also as part of WirisQuizzes

Hand comprises a user interface that draws the traces interactively and a recognition engine that translates the traces into machine-readable formulas.

The JavaScript user interface component is designed to be embeddable inside a web or mobile application based on a web browser. We may implement other front-end technologies in the future, or we can help you do it yourself.

A component that provides even greater value is our recognition engine. It is implemented in native code (C++) and easily integrates into a web platform or application. We provide compiled libraries for many operating systems, and we take care of the communication between the JavaScript user interface and the native compiled recognition engine.