Instiki
Browsers (changes)

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Here are instructions for setting up various browsers to work with XHTML+MathML and Instiki. I’ve divided them by Operating System and Browser. Generally, all you need to do is install some fonts, and download the most recent version of your favourite MathML-capable browser.

Be forewarned: many older versions of these browsers will not work well, and will display all sorts of MathML rendering bugs. In many cases, there are workarounds for these bugs. But you’ll generally find it simpler to upgrade to the latest version of the browser.

From late-November 2006 to late-February 2008, the nightly builds of Mozilla-based browser have had completely-broken MathML support. So it was vital to stick to either a release version, or a nightly build from mid-November 2006.

Now that the MathML bugs on Mozilla trunk have largely been fixed, the advantages of using the latest builds (particularly their support for the STIX fonts, and enhanced support for SVG) are significant.

While there are some lingering bugs in Firefox 3.0 and Seamonkey 1.1, they’re probably “good enough” for most people. If you want the most bug-free MathML and SVG viewing experience (and can’t wait for Firefox 3.1/Seamonkey 1.2), I heartily recomment using a nightly build of one of these browsers.

Cruft

If you’ve been using an older version of any of the Mozilla family of browsers, you probably followed my advice and performed various tweaks to improve the MathML experience in those browsers. It’s time to undo those tweaks.

• If you set a

  user_pref(“font.mathfont-family”, ”…”);

  in your user.js file, edit the file and delete that line. Fire up your browser, and type about:config in the URL bar. Type mathfont into the filter box, and check that the preference has reverted to its (new) default value

Preference Name      Status  Type   Value
font.mathfont-family default string STIXNonUnicode, STIXSize1, STIXGeneral, Symbol, DejaVu Sans, Cambria Math

• Remove the Code 2000 and Code 2001 Fonts, which you may have installed. In rare circumstances, your browser may use glyphs from those fonts instead of the desired ones from the Stix Fonts family.

• Install the STIX Fonts.

Mozilla Browsers

If you had previously set up your browser for use with MathML, follow the instructions above before proceeding.

For all these browsers, you will need to install the following fonts:

• The STIX Fonts

Firefox

Download the latest release or, better yet, a Firefox nightly build.

Seamonkey

Download the latest release or, better yet, a SeaMonkey nightly build.

Camino (MacOSX Only)

Download theCamino 2.0β or the latest nightly build. The current release version, Camino 1.6.1 1.6.6 has ridiculously slow Javascript and somewhat borked MathML, making it useless for S5 slideshows.

Install PlugSuit (or SIMBL, for MacOSX 10.4) and megazoomer, which allows you to go to full screen mode by hitting ⌘ -return. Of all the MathML-capable browsers for MacOSX, Camino is the only one which allows you to go into full-screen mode. So, even if you decide to make, say, Firefox, your default browser, you might want a copy of Camino to display S5 slideshows.

Windows Internet Explorer

Install

• The STIX Fonts

and then install the MathPlayer plugin for IE.

Testing

Whatever you installed, head over to Jason Blevins’s test site, to give your new MathML-enabled installation a workout.