[Rich Content Editor] Restore Math Editor Functionality

[ssnyder2]

The new Equation Editor is nice, but we've lost a couple of features that are quite useful if you enter a lot of equations into your courses.

1.) In the previous version, once you selected "Advanced" to enter equations using LaTex, it remained in the Advanced state for future equations on the same quiz, discussion, etc.  Now, I have to click on "Directly Edit LaTex" every time, which is a pain to remember if you're typing quickly.

2.)  Quite often, I need to type several lines of equations when demonstrating how to simplify an expression or solve an equation.  So, I need to be able to see the previous line(s) while typing a new equation.  The previous version allowed me to move the Equation Editor window around my screen.  The new version won't let me, so I have to keep writing the math out on paper and typing it into the editor.  The extra time adds up....

[BruceNewell]

They also mentioned that they will look at how many votes it gets.

How does one VOTE for something in these community threads?

Is a new comment considered a VOTE? It shows concern for the item, but I do not see a place to actually VOTE FOR these items to be fixed (not enhanced as they suggest).

EDIT: It looks like you need to touch the star rating at the top under the title. It turns gold with your rating.

[dlyons]

@BruceNewell, I'm sorry you had a frustrating interaction with our Support folks. It sounds like they may not have had the context of the changes that happened as well as the feedback here on those changes.

I noted in this previous comment that some of the bugs have already been addressed, and the state of the ones still being addressed. Was there anything you had raised with support that was not mention in my update?

Finally, to clarify: the issues mentioned so far have been considered bugs, not enhancements, (except the ability to move the window which has accessibility considerations) and are being addressed as such. We've left this thread open as folks were already gathering feedback here, and not because voting is required to have bugs addressed.

[ezaurova]

@dlyons I noticed you didn't mention the other issue that's been brought up of selected text not being pulled into the editor when the editor is opened (which is what used to happen).  Since this works if you encapsulate the text with \( and \), could you verify that this is not a bug?

[dlyons]

@ezaurova, ah, my mistake. I had discussed that in a different conversation.

You are correct that text selection for import into the equation editor must be delimited with latex delimiters. At this moment it works with inline delimiter \( ... \) as you mentioned, and the next deploy will add the block delimiter $$ ... $$. Since Canvas has standardized on latex across all input fields this helps ensure consistency of display to students whether latex is directly entered into the RCE, or the equation editor is used, or they are used together.

[JoyHolly]

This is a loss of functionality, but since I'm sure it's also not intentional, it is a bug so I will also report this separately. I've had ongoing issues with what happens after typing an exponent in basic mode in the math editor. The issue is, after typing an exponent, it's not possible to exit that exponent state to type something non exponential. (Gets stuck there.) This is no big deal for me because I just switch to advanced mode, close the bracket, and finish out the line there. But if you have beginner users (like students or teachers who don't know LaTeX) who only work in the basic view of the math editor, they will get hung after typing an exponent and become frustrated. This happens in FF and Chrome.

[ezaurova]

@JoyHolly Have you tried pressing the right arrow to get out of the exponent?  I'm using Chrome and that works for me.

[ezaurova]

@dlyons Thanks for the thorough response!  So would being able to pull in text into the math equation editor that's not delimited by latex delimiters (something we were able to do before) be considered a restoration of functionality, a feature request, or perhaps something that is now off the table?

[JoyHolly]

@ezaurova -- Yes, of course I tried the right arrow, and it didn't escape out of the bracket for exponents. (But now, I just checked--it is! So I don't know if this was something transient, or if they did something. I waited over a week before saying something since it was such an obvious thing I was sure it would be noticed and taken care of.) Hmm.

[dlyons]

@JoyHolly, it is correct that the arrows should get you out of place holders. We didn't change anything with that behavior so I'm sorry you were seeing issues before. If it happens again please let support know so we can figure out if there is an inconsistent bug.

@ezaurova, we are not planning to go back to importing non-delimited text into the editor because it opens an accessibility hole. I'm happy to hear feedback of course, but there are no plans at this time.

[JoyHolly]

@dlyons I definitely will report it again if it happens again. I'm not able to duplicate it now. Previously pressing the right arrow would not shift the cursor outside of the exponent area like it is doing now. I also checked to see if it was something only happening when using the math editor inside a quiz environment, but it's working for me there too. I didn't scrutinize it much when it happened, would just flip over to LaTeX mode so can't unpack if it was only happening in certain situations or not. Will keep an eye out.