--- loncom/xml/lontexconvert.pm	2008/11/24 17:17:51	1.91
+++ loncom/xml/lontexconvert.pm	2008/12/04 09:51:14	1.92
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # The LearningOnline Network with CAPA
 # TeX Conversion Module
 #
-# $Id: lontexconvert.pm,v 1.91 2008/11/24 17:17:51 jms Exp $
+# $Id: lontexconvert.pm,v 1.92 2008/12/04 09:51:14 hauer Exp $
 #
 # Copyright Michigan State University Board of Trustees
 #
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ use Apache::lonlocal;
 use Apache::lonnet;
 use lib '/home/httpd/lib/perl/';
 use LONCAPA;
+use LWP::UserAgent;
  
 
 # ====================================================================== Header
@@ -241,6 +242,21 @@ sub init_math_support {
     return;
 }
 
+sub mimetex_valign {
+    my ($texstring)=@_;
+    my $ua = LWP::UserAgent->new; #from the perldoc of LWP::UserAgent
+    $ua->timeout(10); 
+    $ua->env_proxy;
+    #header without imagedata saved to response:
+    my $response = $ua->head('http://lcdevhost.localdomain/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?'.$texstring);
+    if ($response->is_success) {
+        #get the valign-value:
+        return($response->headers->{'vertical-align'});}
+    else {
+        return(0); #if (error) than continue without valign
+    }
+}
+
 sub mimetex_converted {
     my $texstring=shift;
     my $displaystyle=&displaystyle($texstring);
@@ -250,6 +266,12 @@ sub mimetex_converted {
     if ($displaystyle) {
 	$$texstring='\\displaystyle \\Large '.$$texstring;
     }
+
+# FIXME
+# this is the line that calls the new function mimetex_valign above:
+#   my $result='<img src="/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?'.&escape($$texstring).'" style="vertical-align:'.&mimetex_valign($$texstring).'px" alt="$'.$$texstring.'$" />';
+#
+# this line is the old implementation  without valign of the images:
     my $result='<img src="/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?'.&escape($$texstring).'" alt="$'.$$texstring.'$" />';
     if ($displaystyle) {
 	$result='<center>'.$result.'</center>';