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MathType for CKEditor

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Before you continue reading

The following article assumes the MathType integrations architecture. We encourage you to grasp the architecture to properly understand the Frontend and Services notation and choose the appropriate deployment to satisfy your needs.

Demos and integration downloads

Demo site

Download button

Collaborative mode

Note MathType is compatible with CKEditor's collaborative mode, allowing your users to write equations simultaneously in a shared document.

Requirements

  • CKEditor 3.0 or higher installed.

  • A valid license to install the integration in a production environment; otherwise, you can use the downloaded file just for demo purposes.

Frontend + Services

1. Copy files and configuration

Unzip the CKEditor MathType integration and copy the ckeditor_wiris directory into your CKEditor integration directory. For example, you will have ckeditor/plugins/ckeditor_wiris. The name of the MathType integration directory must be ckeditor_wiris.

Technologies

Our integration is available for various technologies. Click below on the technology you use to see the full instructions you should follow.

Java

  • Install the pluginwiris_engine.war' in your Java web applications server. For example, tomcat.

  • Give write permissions to pluginwiris_engine/cache and to pluginwiris_engine/formulas directories to the web server user. Those folders will be used to store formula MathML codes and temporal images. If you prefer, you can configure the location of these folders.

Configuration

Edit ckeditor/plugins/ckeditor_wiris/configuration.ini to set your own values.This table specifies all possible parameters.

PHP

  • mbstring extension must be installed and enabled in the server.

  • Give execution rights to the web server user on the PHP files contained at to ckeditor/plugins/ckeditor_wiris/integration.

  • Give write permissions to ckeditor/plugins/ckeditor_wiris/cache and to ckeditor/plugins/ckeditor_wiris/formulas directories to the web server user. Those folders will be used to store formula MathML codes and temporal images. If you prefer, you can configure the location of these folders.

  • Very large formulas may not be rendered if the output_buferring option is enabled. Either disable it or set a high enough value in your server's php.ini file.

Configuration

Edit configuration.ini file on wirispluginengine gem root directory. This table specifies all possible parameters.

2. Include it in your platform

You must include some content on your CKEditor configuration file ckeditor/config.js (see CKEditor documentation).

For CKEditor 4

The result should be like this:

/*
Copyright (c) 2003-2010, CKSource - Frederico Knabben. All rights reserved.
For licensing, see LICENSE.html or http://ckeditor.com/license
*/
CKEDITOR.editorConfig = function( config )
{
    // Add[MT]to the integration list
    config.extraPlugins += (config.extraPlugins.length == 0 ? '' : ',') + 'ckeditor_wiris';
};
If you use the Full MathML mode and for CKeditor versions higher than 4.0 you have to add this line as well:

config.allowedContent = true;

Caution

If you have a configured custom toolbar, you must add ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditor', ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditorChemistry' buttons where you want.

3. WIRISplugins.js

Add WIRISplugin.js script. Follow this instructions.

4. Testing

In order to check if the integration is installed correctly, there is a page that makes some tests on your server. Open this link to see where is your test page.

5. Clean and backup

Visit this page if you want to know how to clean the cache folder and backup your formula images.

Frontend

npm Installation steps

Generic Installation

CKEditor 5

Requirements:

  • npm (v6.13.4)

Steps:

  1. Install the npm module:

    npm install @wiris/mathtype-ckeditor5

  2. Update the CKEditor configuration by adding the new plugin and including the MathType and ChemType buttons:

    import MathType from '@wiris/mathtype-ckeditor5/src/plugin';

...

ClassicEditor
     .create( editorElement, {
         plugins: [ ..., MathType, ... ],
         toolbar: {
             items: [
                 ...
                 'MathType',
                 'ChemType',
                 ...
             ]
         },
CKEditor 4

Requirements:

  • npm (v6.13.4)

Steps:

  1. Install the npm module:

    npm install @wiris/mathtype-ckeditor4

  2. Add the plugin as an external plugin:

    CKEDITOR.plugins.addExternal('ckeditor_wiris', '../node_modules/@wiris/mathtype-ckeditor4/', 'plugin.js');

  3. Update the CKEditor configuration by adding the new plugin, allowing MathML content, and adding the MathType and ChemType buttons to the toolbar:

    CKEDITOR.replace('editor', { //eslint-disable-line
   extraPlugins: 'ckeditor_wiris',
   // Allow MathML content.
   allowedContent: true,
   toolbar: [
      { name: 'wirisplugins', items: ['ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditor', 'ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditorChemistry'] },
      // To avoid errors and have mathtype fully functional
      { name: 'others' },
   ],
   // language: 'de',
   // mathTypeParameters: {
   //   editorParameters: { language: 'es' }, // MathType config, including language
   // },
});

    Notice the example assumes this directory structure:

    └───index.html
└───node_modules
    └───@wiris/mathtype-ckeditor4

Add the Services to the Frontend

If you need additional configurations (e.g., MathType's editor customization or specific cache storage destination), you need to install the integration services.

These services are available for various technologies. Hit on the technology you are using to see full instructions.

CKEditor 5
Java

To install the Java services follow the steps below:

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

  2. Deploy the pluginwiris_engine war file.

  3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor5 with the configuration below:

    ClassicEditor.create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
        plugins: [ ..., MathType, ... ],
        toolbar: {
            items: [
                ...,
                'MathType',
                'ChemType',
                ...,
            ]
        },
        language: 'en',
        // MathType Parameters
        mathTypeParameters : {
            serviceProviderProperties : {
                URI : '/pluginwiris_engine/app/configurationjs',
                server : 'java'
            }
        }
}
PHP

To install the PHP services follow the steps below:

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

  2. Copy the generic_wiris/integration folder into your project. For this example we are assuming that the services are located at DOCUMENT_ROOT/php-services/

  3. Add mathTypeParameters to CKEditor5 with the configuration below:

    ClassicEditor.create( document.querySelector( '#example' ), {
        plugins: [ ..., MathType, ... ],
        toolbar: {
            items: [
                ...,
                'MathType',
                'ChemType',
                ...,
            ]
        },
        language: 'en',
        // MathType Parameters
        mathTypeParameters : {
            serviceProviderProperties : {
                URI : 'http://localhost/php-services/integration',
                server : 'php'
            }
        }
}
CKEditor 4
ASP.NET

To install the PHP services follow the steps below:

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

  2. Copy the generic_wiris/integration folder into your project. For this example we are assuming that the services are located at DOCUMENT_ROOT/aspx-services/

  3. Add the following attribute to CKEditor 4 configuration:

    CKEDITOR.editorConfig = function( config ) {
    config.mathTypeParameters : {
        serviceProviderProperties : {
            URI : 'http://localhost/aspx-services/integration',
            server : 'aspx'
        }
    }
}
Java

To install the Java services follow the steps below:

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

  2. Deploy the pluginwiris_engine war file.

  3. Add the following attribute to CKEditor 4 configuration:

    CKEDITOR.editorConfig = function( config ) {
    config.mathTypeParameters : {
        serviceProviderProperties : {
            URI : '/pluginwiris_engine/app/configurationjs',
            server : 'java'
        }
    }
}
Ruby

To install the Ruby on Rails services 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

  3. Add the following attribute to CKEditor 4 configuration:

        
CKEDITOR.editorConfig = function( config ) {
    config.mathTypeParameters : {
        serviceProviderProperties : {
            URI : '/wirispluginengine/integrationn',
            server : 'ruby'
        }
    }
}
PHP

To install the PHP services follow the steps below:

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

  2. Copy the generic_wiris/integration folder into your project. For this example, we are assuming that the services are located at DOCUMENT_ROOT/php-services/

  3. Add the following attribute to CKEditor 4 configuration:

    CKEDITOR.editorConfig = function( config ) {
    config.mathTypeParameters : {
        serviceProviderProperties : {
            URI : 'http://localhost/php-services/integration',
            server : 'php'
        }
    }
}

External integration

Some rich text editors, such as CKEditor or TinyMCE, allow you to specify a URL based location of plugins outside of the normal plugins directory.

This option is useful when loading the rich text editor from a CDN or when you want to have the editor directory separate from your custom integrations. In case you are using a programing language for which MathType Integrations are not available this is also a good option.

You can install MathType integration as an external integration in CKEditor. Using this option you do not need to install any component on your servers. You only need to add the following line to your CKEditor configuration.

CKEDITOR.plugins.addExternal('ckeditor_wiris', 'https://www.wiris.net/demo/plugins/ckeditor/', 'plugin.js');

To Include MathType buttons in CKEditor's toolbar:

config.toolbar_Full.push({ name: 'wiris', items : [ 'ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditor','ckeditor_wiris_formulaEditorChemistry']});
In this section: