Equations

Orbit renders maths written in TeX with KaTeX. An equation shows as rendered maths until you click it. Clicking opens its TeX source, and the maths redraws as you type.

Inline equations

An inline equation sits inside a sentence, next to the words around it.

• Type $$, the TeX, then $$. For example, $$E = mc^2$$ turns into an equation as you type the last dollar sign.
• Or select text and press √x in the formatting toolbar, or ⌘⇧E (Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows).
• Or type / and choose Inline equation.

Click an inline equation to edit it in the small box underneath. Press Enter to keep it, or Esc to undo your changes. The arrow keys also step into an equation and back out of it.

Block equations

A block equation sits centred on its own line, which suits longer maths.

1. Type / and choose Block equation.
2. Type the TeX in the box that opens. Use as many lines as you like.
3. Press ⌘↵ (Ctrl+Enter on Windows), Esc or Done to finish.

Click a block equation to edit it again.

Mistakes

When the TeX has a mistake, Orbit shows the source in red and says what went wrong, such as Expected '}'. Nothing is lost, and the equation renders again as soon as the TeX is fixed. KaTeX supports most of LaTeX’s maths commands. Use aligned rather than align for multi-line equations.

How equations are saved

Equations are plain markdown in the file:

A team pays $C = p \cdot n$ a month.

$$
\sum_{m=1}^{12} C_m
$$

GitHub and most markdown tools render the same syntax. A dollar sign followed by a digit is read as a price, so $5 and $10 stays text. Inline maths that starts with a digit is saved as $$2^n$$ for the same reason.

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