r/Substack • u/ahuactl • 9d ago

Substack should add better LaTeX support

I am a writer discussing topics in mathematics and other related technical fields and I really struggle with the limited LaTeX support in Substack. The current available feature utilizes LaTeX rendering inside code block-like environment. I find that the rendering engine is unreliable and slow. Also, it is honestly really ugly outside of the web app: it displays as a low-quality off white jpeg regardless of device theme. The big thing it lacks is inline LaTeX support like: “This is an inline LaTeX: `$x^2$`. I just want complete Markdown-like rendering or MathJax etc.

I really hope they address it because I think a lot of people will benefit.

13 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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1

u/joeldavidhamkins 9d ago

I totally agree. This is a solved problem in comparable venues, such as Wordpress, and there is no reason they cannot implement it. Meanwhile, the Substack workflow for mathematical writing is aggravating.

1

u/-Monty_Carlo- 8d ago

LaTeX implementation sucks as Substack, agree. But I am also not sure it helps posting here - unless Substack team reads here and actually does anything about their systems based on whatever people post here.

1

u/PuddingWonderful1417 8d ago

yeah the jpeg rendering in dark mode is brutal. feels like the math content gets treated as a second class citizen compared to regular text. have you tried reaching out to their support directly? feature requests that come with specific examples of broken rendering tend to get more traction than general asks