# Latex compiler in Paraview
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [November 11, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727 "2022-11-11T15:50:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/1 "2022-11-11T15:50:07Z")
Dear support,
I have been playing with the compilation of different versions of Paraview and now it seems that my latex interpreter stopped working. It seems that it comes from a shared configuration among the Paraview versions and I cannot rectify this problem. How can I specify to Paraview to use again a latex interpreter to render equations and mathematical expressions?
Kind regards,
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/2 "2022-11-11T18:51:50Z")
ParaView uses matplotlib for this. Did you enable it (search the cache variables to see what is available)?
---
### Author:  [@kgreen](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/kgreen)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/3 "2022-11-13T00:04:55Z")
I was having a similar problem on Fedora 36 (not sure if the same since you don’t have many details). The solution there was to revert my matplotlib version to v3.5.3:
> [@Fedora 36 and math text (MaskParser is not initialized!)](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/fedora-36-and-math-text-maskparser-is-not-initialized/10721):
>
> Hi! On Fedora 36, I’m unable to use LaTeX math fonts for any string. When using the package: paraview.x86\_64 5.10.0-0.4.fc36 I get the errors: ERROR: In /builddir/build/BUILD/ParaView-v5.10.0/VTK/Rendering/Matplotlib/vtkMatplotlibMathTextUtilities.cxx, line 984 vtkMatplotlibMathTextUtilities (0x55aa49684830): MaskParser is not initialized! ERROR: In /builddir/build/BUILD/ParaView-v5.10.0/VTK/Rendering/Matplotlib/vtkMatplotlibMathTextUtilities.cxx, l…
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/4 "2022-11-13T14:10:05Z")
I didn’t specify explicitly the version of matplotlib. How should I indicate it in the compilation flags? These are the flags that I used for my compilation of the superbuild with OSMESA:
```auto
cmake \
-GNinja \
-DENABLE_osmesa=ON \
-DPARAVIEW_ENABLE_VISITBRIDGE=ON \
-DENABLE_python3=ON \
-DENABLE_mpi=ON \
-DENABLE_paraview=ON \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
./paraview-superbuild
```
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/5 "2022-11-14T00:25:00Z")
`-DENABLE_matplotlib=ON` will do it. The superbuild currently has 3.5.2 and should work fine.
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2022, 11:41am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/6 "2022-11-14T11:41:57Z")
I compiled the OSMESA version again (without erasing the previous version) with the following flags:
```auto
cmake \
-GNinja \
-DENABLE_osmesa=ON \
-DPARAVIEW_ENABLE_VISITBRIDGE=ON \
-DENABLE_python3=ON \
-DENABLE_matplotlib=ON \
-DENABLE_mpi=ON \
-DENABLE_paraview=ON \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
./paraview-superbuild
```
Since the OSMESA version is for headless post-processing (no GUI), I am connecting to the superbuild server with the version 5.9.1 but as you can observe below, the latex interpreter is not working:
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2022, 11:00am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/7 "2022-11-17T11:00:17Z")
Is there any way to totally reset Paraview’s configuration in my computer? Maybe I accidentally modified some configuration or path files.
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/8 "2022-12-09T15:08:55Z")
I still have the same issue and I cannot find a solution. How can completely reset the Paraview’s instalation (even the used latex compiler)?
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/9 "2022-12-09T15:28:28Z")
You can `rm -rf superbuild/paraview` in the superbuild’s build tree to reset its build directory and configuration.
As for the configuration, you can do it on a launch with the `--dr` flag to ignore any configuration. Other than that, they live in `~/.config/ParaView` IIRC.
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2022, 9:47am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/10 "2022-12-13T09:47:19Z")
I tried to erase it totally and build it but I still have the same issue. I found out that the latex compiler issues only occurs now for the version 5.9.0 and 5.9.1 in my computer (I re-downloaded them too). I don’t have these problems in the version 5.11 but since my scripts are working fine on the version 5.9.\* I would prefer keep using it for time-saving reasons. Therefore it seems that there is something in my computer that it is preventing Paraview 5.9.\* from using the latex compiler. Have you any thoughts about this?
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Convergence](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Captain_Convergence)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/11 "2023-01-31T16:57:30Z")
Dear support,
I am still having problems with the latex interpreter in my Paraview installation. I cannot even remember how many things I have tried, some of them are in previous posts in this thread. I even tried to install the superbuild with the version v5.9.1 but the latex interpreter for this specific version doesn’t work. I tried other versions of Paraview and it works which means that in my computer the installation of Paraview 5.9.1 is somehow damaged and I cannot revert it to defaults or reinstall the default configuration. All my scripts are adapted for this version and this is why I insist in fixing my installation. Would it be possible to provide different ways to reinstall totally a paraview version?
Thank you in advance!
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/latex-compiler-in-paraview/10727/12 "2023-04-24T01:41:53Z")
Since then, there has been work in VTK to support newer matplotlib versions. Maybe that helps? Does 5.11 work for you? [https://gitlab.kitware.com/vtk/vtk/-/merge\_requests/9750](https://gitlab.kitware.com/vtk/vtk/-/merge_requests/9750)