# Chemistry formulas in Obsidian **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [October 18, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772 "2021-10-18T13:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/giulsparola)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/1 "2021-10-18T13:28:01Z")
Hi everyone! I’m kinda new to Obsidian, and I mostly use it to take notes in class. Recently I’ve been wanting to add chemistry formulas in a way that is easier to type and looks cleaner in the end. From my understanding, I can use the Extended MathJax plugin and add the `mhchem` extension in the preamble file, however, I have a few struggles with that. So far, I have installed the plugin, I have created a `preamble.sty` file, and I’ve tried typing `\usepackage{mhchem}` in it (I’m not sure if I’m supposed to add anything else, since I only care about enabling this one package in obsidian). I’ve also tried `\usepackage{chemfig}`, since that’s what’s explained on Overleaf, but that’s also not working. I refreshed Obsidian and I tried typing a formula as $\ch{formula}$ but it doesn’t work, and it just marks \ch in red, like a misspelled function. I would really appreciate if anyone could tell me if I’m doing something wrong… ---
**Author:** ![mayurankv](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@mayurankv](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/mayurankv)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/2 "2021-10-18T14:40:01Z")
Have you tried just writing the preamble at the top of the markdown file in $$ $$ delimiters rather than as a preamble? Does that work? ---
**Author:** ![saf-dmitry](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@saf-dmitry](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/saf-dmitry)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/3 "2021-10-18T19:01:36Z")
@giulsparola mhchem formulas work out of the box, without explicit package loading in Markdown file or `preamble.sty`. Just type something like `$\ce{H2O}$` and it will be rendered in the preview. > [@giulsparola](#): > > I’ve also tried `\usepackage{chemfig}`, since that’s what’s explained on Overleaf, but that’s also not working. Obsidian uses [MathJax](https://www.mathjax.org) to render math. It is not a full-fledged LaTeX environment like e.g. Overleaf, so only math macros (and mhchem syntax) are supported. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidandnancy](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/obsidandnancy/32/17913_2.png) [@Obsidandnancy](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Obsidandnancy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/4 "2021-10-18T19:25:27Z")
Cuz of course there is already a video on this… > **[r/ObsidianMD - Comprehensive Overview | LaTeX Mathjax Equation In \[\[Obsidian\]\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/ObsidianMD/comments/l4qdga/comprehensive_overview_latex_mathjax_equation_in/)** > > 16 votes and 6 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![saf-dmitry](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@saf-dmitry](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/saf-dmitry)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/5 "2021-10-19T14:59:20Z")
If I need to draw molecules like this ![Screenshot 2021-10-19 at 16.44.39](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/3X/4/2/421ee30093c5fd065f2084cfd0cac4424d362f85.png) or add a reaction scheme representing electron movements and such, I usually create it in LaTeX using the [chemfig](https://ctan.org/pkg/chemfig?lang=en) package, and then embed it in my notes as PNG file. However, if someone has a better suggestion how to represent complex chemical structures in Obsidian, I would be glad to know. ---
**Author:** ![giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/giulsparola)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:44am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/6 "2021-10-21T06:44:20Z")
Not really, but thank you anyway! I think I’ll just stick to plain formulas 😊 ---
**Author:** ![giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/giulsparola)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:45am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/7 "2021-10-21T06:45:26Z")
Thank you! I think I’ll just stick to regular formulas then : ) ---
**Author:** ![giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/giulsparola)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:46am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/8 "2021-10-21T06:46:28Z")
Hi! Thanks for the response, but I had already watched the video and I couldn’t really find anything for my problem… thank you anyway : ) ---
**Author:** ![giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@giulsparola](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/giulsparola)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:47am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/9 "2021-10-21T06:47:06Z")
Thank you, I think I’ll use your method then : ) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/3X/b/e/bec35fbd23ab28909bb6bfe62cb32eb82dd34019.png) [@system](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 6:47am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/chemistry-formulas-in-obsidian/25772/10 "2021-11-20T06:47:51Z")
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