✨ Feature: pylatexenc as latex renderer

[Reledia]

🔖 Feature description:

Hello,
coming from MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim, I personally appreciate more the features supported by pylatexenc (like & to align fixed points in multi-line equations, support of \quad \frac \mbox ...).

📂 Possible solutions:

This said, I do actually prefer your solution for ^n and _n, so what I am really asking for is either feature parity or the possibility to switch to pylatexenc (with the output replacing the line as the native solution)

🧾 Feature reference:

MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim

[OXY2DEV]

the possibility to switch to pylatexenc

I was originally going to slap it in and call it a day but,

1. It didn't improve readability(at least for me). When I tried using it, I was was struggling to differentiate between the preview text and the latex blocks themselves.
2. It breaks nested items(e.g. block quote markers, list item indentations etc.)
3. Stuff like \frac{}{} kinda sucks as they don't show which part of the code is being fractioned.
4. I don't really do much python so I was unsure about the implementation details.

I am still skeptical about using it(pylatexenc) as I generally prefer not replying on external tools. But if there's more people who need that then I have no problem adding support.

---

I am really asking for is either feature parity

I have no issues adding feature parity. But I don't know which commands are used commonly and what they look like (I have never used $LaTeX$ before).

So, unless somebody can point to what commands should be added I can't do much on my own.

---

You can also add your own command previews like so(this is for \quad),

local quad = {                                                                                            condition = function (item)
        --- Only show preview                                                                                 --- If \quad receives
        --- a single argument.
        return #item.args == 1;
    end,

    on_command = {                                                                                            --- Hide \quad part.
        conceal = ""
    },

    on_args = {
        {
            on_before = function (item)
                --- Hide {
                return {
                    end_col = item.range[2] + 1,
                    conceal = "",

                    virt_text_pos = "inline",
                    virt_text = { { "    " } }
                };
            end,

            --- Change the position of the `after`
            --- extmark.
            --- Needed to hide }
            after_offset = function (range)
                return { range[1], range[2], range[3], range[4] - 1 };
            end,

            on_after = function (item)
                --- Hide }
                return {
                    end_col = item.range[4],
                    conceal = ""
                };
            end
        }
    }
};

require("markview").setup({
    latex = {
        commands = {
            ["quad"] = quad
        }
    }
});

[Reledia]

Thanks for the example, I don't think I found it in the docs for the latex section.

About the commands, I'm not a latex expert either, but I would check out the ones I mentioned and possibly all the math related ones (like logic operators), text boxes and the environments like aligns and equations.

Additionally, can I ask for more examples about how to modify the ^n and _n rendering? I like the idea, but I found the colours and size to be off for my case

[OXY2DEV]

Thanks for the example, I don't think I found it in the docs for the latex section.

There's an entire section just for LaTeX commands

ask for more examples about how to modify the ^n and _n.

You unfortunately can't. There's no way to render subscript & superscript text. The plugin just uses symbols that look-alike.

So, depending on the font they would look off.

I will add an option to only use ↑() instead.

[Reledia]

There's an entire section just for LaTeX commands

I am indeed stupid, thanks for the patience.

We can close the issue I assume, then

[OXY2DEV]

You can now do latex = { subscripts = { fake_preview = false } } to disable those symbols.

See wiki