rpnlatex - RPN style LaTeX editor and scratchpad

• Current release version: 1.4.1 - (live build) - (alternative site)
• Development version: 1.4.2 - (live build) - (source code)

This is a browser-based editor meant for quickly entering and manipulating equations. It can be used as a scratchpad for solving math problems, as an alternative to pen and paper. It has some limited document-preparation capabilities but for a full mathematical word processor you should use something like LyX instead.

Equations are entered using a Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) input system inspired by HP calculators. Please see the built-in user manual, available by typing '?', for more information.

Note that this is not a web service, but a standalone webapp that is downloaded (cached) in your browser and runs completely on your local hardware. There is no server-side storage of documents, etc.

Features

• Open source and cross-platform, with a simple and flexible interface suited for mobile or desktop.
• Print-quality, instantaneous rendering of math formulas as you edit.
• Operates entirely from the keyboard; no mouse actions or menu items to select.
• Generates LaTeX-compatible code but does not require knowledge of LaTeX.
• Almost everything normally found in mathematical books and papers can be quickly typeset with the built-in keybindings.
• Build up formulas piece by piece in an intuitive way using a stack-based method.
• Symbolic algebra and calculus operations and numerical facilities are provided.
• Math formulas can be intermixed with normal text, with font styles, section headers, etc., and arranged into a document structure.
• Documents can be kept in local browser storage, or saved to files.
• Comprehensive user manual included.
• Source code is easily modifiable if you want to add your own custom features.

Quick start

A pre-built version is available here: https://ajb96817.github.io/rpnlatex

To run your own local copy, first download the latest release package from Github and unpack it. Due to browser security restrictions, you will need to set up a local webserver to serve the application files (it won't work using file:// URLs). No server-side dynamic features are needed on the webserver; it's only static files.

A simple option, if you have Python installed, is to use the http.server Python module. From the directory you unpacked into, run python3 -m http.server. It will display a local URL you can use.

Once you have the files available on a webserver, simply open index.html from your web browser.

An alternative to a standalone webserver is to use npm start as described below in the "Building from source" section. This runs a built-in webserver (via Vite) to serve up the application, and also lets you edit the source code if you want to make any changes or customizations.

Progressive Web App support

If your browser supports Progressive Web Apps, you can use this as a PWA to get a little more screen space.

• iOS: Open the application in Safari. Use the "send to" button and from there select "Add to Home Screen" to create a shortcut to use for PWA mode.
• Android Chrome: From the three-dots menu, use "Add to Home Screen" to create a PWA mode shortcut.
• Desktop Chrome: From the menu, select "Cast, save, and share" then "Create shortcut". After that, there should be a new menu item "Open in rpnlatex" under "Cast, save, and share" to start it in PWA mode.
• Desktop Safari: Click the "Share" icon in the browser toolbar, then "Add to Dock", then launch the app from the dock.
• Desktop Firefox: PWA is not supported.

Building from source

To build/run from source (not needed unless you want to change something):

• Install npm (Node Package Manager)
• Clone the source code repository: git clone https://github.com/ajb96817/rpnlatex
• Run npm install
• Run npm start
• Open the displayed server URL in a web browser
• To build a packaged release, run npm run build and the release will be created in the build/ subdirectory