Manual preview reload

[mathijssch]

Use case or problem

I typically type my notes (which tend to be math-heavy) with the source on the left and the preview on the right. This works fine for very small note sizes, but even for moderately sized pages, the typing latency due to the the live LaTeX compilation becomes prohibitive in this manner.

Proposed solution

Introduce a setting allowing for manual preview reloading. This way, one can type without being slowed down by the real-time rendering and simply compile occasionally to preview the results. This is more akin to a typical LaTeX workflow (e.g., Overleaf has this configuration as well, if I remember correctly).

Current workaround (optional)

Several workarounds that I use now are:

1. Use an external editor (VS Code) to open the sources, and on the side, have an instance of Obsidian open in preview-mode. The preview will only refresh whenever I save the file in VS Code.
   Drawbacks: Requires another editor, so it’s not as clean; Features like autocomplete when inserting links or inserting attachments from clipboard etc. are not very well integrated, so I would occasionally need to jump back into Obsidian anyway.
2. Simply switch between preview and edit mode.
   Drawbacks: While I’m typing, I can’t reference equations that are higher up in the note; Switching between views can be a bit disorienting, making the overall workflow a bit distracting.

Related topics

High typing latency when authoring a math-heavy note with linked preview](High typing latency when authoring a math-heavy note with linked preview - #16 by wandern)

[WhiteNoise]

I don’t think we want to go there. For the most part, we solved the issue related to that bug report.

Download and reinstall obsidian. Try without third party plugins and with default theme.
Perhaps, there is something problematic in your documents.
If the problem persists, send me a copy of a document on Discord.

[mathijssch]

Thanks for the quick reply! I did as you suggested and found that indeed the theme I was using was the main culprit. I have reduced the CSS file to a more minimal version, and the overall typing latency is now substantially reduced. That being said, I think it could still be useful to provide users the possibility of updating the preview manually, but of course, I understand if this is not considered a worthwhile effort.
Thanks again for the help, and thanks for the amazing work on Obsidian!