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# The MathJax.ElementJax Class

The element jax is the bridge between the input and output jax, and contains the data produced by the input jax needed by the output jax to display the results. It is tied to the individual `<script>` tag that produced it, and is the object used by JavaScript programs to interact with the mathematics on the page.

An element jax is stored in the `jax.js` file in a subdirectory of the `jax/element` directory, with the subdirectory name being the name of the element jax. Currently, there is only one element jax class, the mml element jax, and it is stored in `jax/element/mml`.

The MathJax.ElementJax class is a subclass of the MathJax Jax class, and inherits the properties and methods of that class. Those listed below are the additional or overridden ones from that class.

## Class Properties

`id`

  The name of the jax.

`version`

  The version number of the jax.

`directory`

  The directory where the jax files are stored (e.g., `"[MathJax]/jax/element/mml"`).

## Instance Properties

`inputJax`

  The name of the input jax that created the element.

`outputJax`

  The name of the output jax that has processed this element.

`inputID`

  The DOM id of the `<script>` tag that generated this element (if it doesn’t have one initially, the MathJax hub will supply one). Note that this is not a reference to the element itself; that element will have a reference to this element jax, and if inputID were a reference back, that would cause a reference loop, which some browsers would not free properly during trash collection, thus causing a memory leak.

`originalText`

  A string indicating the original input text that was processed for this element. (In the future, this may be managed by the input jax rather than `MathJax.Hub`.)

`mimeType`

  The MIME-type of the element jax (jax/mml in the case of an mml element jax).

Other data specific to the element jax subclass may also appear here.

## Methods

`Text`(text[, callback])

  Sets the input text for this element to the given text and reprocesses the mathematics. (I.e., updates the equation to the new one given by text). When the processing is complete, the callback, if any, is called.

  Parameters : | text — the new mathematics source string for the element callback — the callback specification
  Returns : | the callback object

`Rerender`([callback])

  Removes the output and produces it again (for example, if CSS has changed that would alter the spacing of the mathematics). Note that the internal representation isn’t regenerated; only the output is. The callback, if any, is called when the process completes.

  Parameters : | callback — the callback specification
  Returns : | the callback object

`Reprocess`([callback])

  Removes the output and then retranslates the input into the internal form and reredners the output again. The callback, if any, is called when the process completes.

  Parameters : | callback — the callback specification
  Returns : | the callback object

`Remove`()

  Removes the output for this element from the web page (but does not remove the original `<script>`). The `<script>` will be considered unprocessed, and the next call to `MathJax.hub.Typeset()` will re-display it.

  Returns : | `null`

`SourceElement`()

  Returns a reference to the original `<script>` DOM element associated to this element jax.

  Returns : | the `<script>` element

`needsUpdate`()

  Indicates whether the mathematics has changed so that its output needs to be updated.

  Returns : | `true` if the mathematics needs to be reprocessed, `false` otherwise

Output jax may add new methods to the base element jax class to perform exporting to other formats. For example, a MathML output jax could add `toMathML()`, or an accessibility output jax could add `toAudible()`. These could be made available via the MathJax contextual menu.

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