Bug 170213 - LibreOffice Math on Windows does not render Greek letters despite the OpenSymbol font being active.
Summary: LibreOffice Math on Windows does not render Greek letters despite the OpenSym...
Status: RESOLVED NOTABUG
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Formula Editor (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
25.8.4.2 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2026-01-03 11:28 UTC by Nox0815
Modified: 2026-01-03 19:30 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
griechische Buchstaben (LibreOffice 25.8.4.2 on Windows 11) (31.53 KB, image/png)
2026-01-03 19:07 UTC, nutka
Details

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Description Nox0815 2026-01-03 11:28:55 UTC
LibreOffice Math stellt griechische Buchstaben wie alpha, pi, theta nicht dar, obwohl:

die Eingabe korrekt ist (alpha → α)

OpenSymbol installiert und aktiv ist

die Schriftart unter „Format → Schriftart → Mathematik“ korrekt auf OpenSymbol gesetzt ist

Brüche (a over b) korrekt dargestellt werden

sowohl Writer als auch Math betroffen sind

der FontCache-Dienst aktiv ist (sc query FontCache → RUNNING)

OpenOffice wurde deinstalliert

LibreOffice wurde vollständig entfernt, inkl. Profil und Programmordner

Neuinstallation durchgeführt

/regserver ausgeführt

Echtzeitschutz deaktiviert

Schutzverlauf leer

keine blockierten DLLs im Defender-Verlauf

keine Verbesserung nach FontCache-Reset oder DISM/SFC

Erwartetes Verhalten:
alpha sollte als α dargestellt werden, pi als π, etc.

Tatsächliches Verhalten:
alpha bleibt ausgeschrieben, keine griechischen Buchstaben erscheinen.
Brüche funktionieren, aber alle Symbolzeichen fehlen.

Vermutung:
Die StarMath-Engine wird geladen, aber die Symbolfont-Zuordnung schlägt fehl.
Möglicherweise wird OpenSymbol nicht als Symbolfont erkannt oder die Font-Substitution blockiert.
Comment 1 V Stuart Foote 2026-01-03 15:46:02 UTC
<gloss>
LibreOffice Math on Windows does not render Greek letters despite the OpenSymbol font being active.

LibreOffice Math does not display Greek letters such as alpha, pi, and theta, even though:

the input is correct (alpha → α)

OpenSymbol is installed and active

the font is correctly set to OpenSymbol under "Format → Font → Mathematics"

fractions (a over b) are displayed correctly

both Writer and Math are affected

the FontCache service is active (sc query FontCache → RUNNING)

OpenOffice has been uninstalled

LibreOffice has been completely removed, including the profile and program folders

a reinstallation has been performed

/regserver has been executed

real-time protection has been disabled

the protection history is empty

no blocked DLLs are listed in the Defender history

no improvement after FontCache reset or DISM/SFC

Expected behavior:
alpha should be displayed as α, pi as π, etc.

Actual behavior:
alpha remains spelled out, no Greek letters appear.
Fractions work, but all symbol characters are missing.

Hypothesis:
The StarMath engine is loaded, but the symbol font mapping fails.
OpenSymbol may not be recognized as a symbol font, or font substitution is being blocked.
</gloss>
Comment 2 V Stuart Foote 2026-01-03 15:51:07 UTC
Actually, isn't the actual StarMath syntax [1] for entry to precede each greek/special letter with '%' ?

=> WFM

=-ref-=
[1] https://books.libreoffice.org/en/MG252/MG25206-CommandReference.html#toc16
Comment 3 Nox0815 2026-01-03 17:11:06 UTC
I’ve tested the issue in both Writer and standalone Math mode. The syntax is correct — I’m using standard StarMath input like alpha, pi, theta, and sin alpha = GK over H. Brackets, fractions, and layout commands like newline and quad work as expected.

However, Greek letters do not render at all. Instead of showing symbols like α or π, the formula displays the codewords (alpha, pi) as plain text. This happens even though:

OpenSymbol is installed and selected under Format → Fonts → Math

The FontCache service is running (sc query FontCache = RUNNING)

The system is clean: OpenOffice removed, LibreOffice reinstalled, profile reset

No blocked DLLs or Defender interference

/regserver has been executed

The issue persists in both Writer and standalone Math

I’ve also tried using font sans, nitalic, and other layout modifiers — no change. Brackets and fractions render correctly, but Greek symbols do not.

This seems to be a reproducible issue on Windows, possibly related to how StarMath maps symbol fonts internally.

Thanks again for looking into it — happy to provide more diagnostics or screenshots if needed.
Comment 4 Nox0815 2026-01-03 17:15:05 UTC
I am not using any % comments in my formulas. The issue occurs even with a minimal input like alpha or pi alone.
Comment 5 nutka 2026-01-03 19:07:13 UTC
Created attachment 204910 [details]
griechische Buchstaben (LibreOffice 25.8.4.2 on Windows 11)
Comment 6 Nox0815 2026-01-03 19:30:33 UTC
Thank You! 
Danke, hab mich zu sehr auf die KI verlassen....
%alpha works!