LaTeX no longer editable as of today
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Hey,
Have been writing some math-related articles the last few days. Everything has been fine until I rebooted this morning. Now LaTeX is not working correctly:
- Making changes to existing math blocks does not change the displayed equation
- Creating a new math block and entering an equation does not display anything
- When creating inline math, the entry box persistently displays “s is not a function” no matter what I enter, including when it’s blank
Tried on two browsers and a different PC, tried with new and existing posts, problem persists in all cases.
Could someone take a look? Thanks!
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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The error message “s is not a function” in the WordPress editor is a classic indicator of a JavaScript conflict, typically caused by a recent background update that is preventing the LaTeX renderer from correctly processing your math blocks. Since you have already verified that this persists across multiple browsers and devices on katyscode.wordpress.com, the issue is likely a bug in the current version of the block editor’s visual interface. To bypass this while the editor is being fixed, you can use the LaTeX shortcode method directly inside a standard Paragraph block by typing your equation between $latex and $ tags, such as $latex ihbarfrac{partial}{partial t}Psi = hat{H}Psi$. This method uses a different rendering path that often remains functional even when the visual tools fail. Additionally, try going to Jetpack → Settings → Writing to toggle the “LaTeX” option OFF and then back ON, which can sometimes refresh the connection and clear the script error.
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Thank you for the $latex <equations> $ tip, James. I was having the same issue as Katy and your tip has been helpful.
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OK, it works but it seems to generate blurry results! I hope the issue with the Math Block gets fixed soon.
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Hi @katyscode
Thanks for reporting this.
This is a confirmed bug in a recent update to the block editor that is affecting the Math block on WordPress.com. The error you’re seeing (“s is not a function”) is caused by a module that the Math block depends on not loading correctly after the update.
Our developers are already aware of the issue, and a fix is in progress.
In the meantime, as James mentioned, you can use the LaTeX shortcode method as a workaround. In a Paragraph block, type your equation between
$latexand$tags:$latex int_{a}^{b} f(x), dx$@ziadmbaroudi — regarding the blurry output with the shortcode method: this is expected, as the shortcode renders the equation as a bitmap image rather than using the native MathML rendering that the Math block provides.
Thanks, everyone, for flagging this and for your patience!
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Hey both,
That’s really helpful, thanks! The background of the $latex $ tags doesn’t match the rest of my site so I’ll just wait for the math block to be fixed, good to hear it’s being worked on. The tags were a really handy tip though, I’ve used them for the time being.
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Hey, I just wanted to say thanks to you guys / the developers for fixing the problem. Much appreciated!
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Thanks for the follow-up. This was a known issue introduced in a recent editor update; our developers have since pushed a fix. Glad to hear things are back to normal on your end.
If you run into any further trouble with the Math block, feel free to reply back and we’ll take a look.
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Well.. if you’d like to investigate, there are two other problems that have been around for a hot minute:
- When you re-open a page with math blocks to edit, everything in LaTeX that had an ampersand becomes “&” (HTML decoding error), which is extremely problematic when you have a bunch of matrices :)
- If you duplicate a math block and edit it, the next time you open the post to edit, it will render the contents of the original math block until you edit it and type anything like a space, then it renders correctly
Issue 2 is easy enough to work around but issue 1 is really quite annoying, so feel free to investigate if you like!
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Thanks for flagging these. The ampersand encoding issue with matrices is a problematic; I’ve reported it to our development team for investigation. No ETA on a fix yet, but it’s on their radar.
The duplication rendering quirk is noted as well. As you mentioned, clicking into the block and making a small edit does force it to re-render correctly; not ideal, but a workable interim solution. If it continues in the future and you notice any other odd behaviour with the Math block, feel free to post here or open a new thread.
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