I am working with Word for Mac in office 365. I am typing mathematical expressions. I need a full-sized stacked fraction, such as (4x^3-3x+7)/(x^8). But word converts it to. Word 2007’s AutoCorrect feature can build common fractions for you from a small set of existing fraction “characters.” However, when you need a different fraction, such as 3/64, you can create it manually. Press Ctrl+Shift+= (the equal sign). This is the keyboard shortcut for the superscript command. Type the numerator.
The latest reviewed version was checked on 25 March 2019. There are 6 pending changes awaiting review.
This book is about the Math Builder (officially called as Equation Editor) tool in Microsoft Word and Outlook 2007 and higher. It also applies to Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel 2010 and higher. Note that this is a different tool than the legacy tool Equation Editor 3.0 (which is still available on 32-bit Office versions until the January 2018 update[1]) and MathType.
Typesetting mathematics on a computer has always been a challenge. The mathematical community almost universally accepts a typesetting language called LaTeX. Math Builder is a much easier to use tool that has less functionality than LaTeX but more than typical document processing. Microsoft call this hybrid language the Office Math Markup Language, or OMML for short. It is an appropriate tool for:
- Typing any document whose focus is not itself mathematics.
- Typing a short math document quickly.
- A stepping stone between word processing (MS Word) and typesetting (LaTeX)
Note that Math Builder does not perform any mathematics; it is a tool for displaying it.
- 3Common Mathematics
- 3.7Mathematical Physics
Pros and Cons[edit]
Pros:
- Math Builder is WYSIWYG: after typing an equation you see immediately what it looks like.
- It's easy to get started: it's already built in to Microsoft Word. Common symbols have point-and-click icons.
- It's easy to use: Common symbols have keyboard shortcuts so that a veteran user need not use a mouse at all.
- Nearly all symbols use the same commands as LaTeX.
- The format used is non-proprietary and given in Unicode Technical Note #28.
- It can be used in Outlook to easily write equations in emails; it renders as images to the recipent.
Cons:
- Some uncommon symbols are not listed in the menu and require knowing the keyboard shortcut. Typically this is the LaTeX code for the symbol.
- There are differences between Math Builder and LaTeX code: advanced functionality that requires more than just a symbol tend to follow the same flavor but have slightly different syntax. Math Builder code tends to be shorter than LaTeX code and disappears upon completion to the WYSIWYG output. Examples here are matrices, multiple aligned equations, and binomial coefficients.
- No LaTeX typesetting tools such as labels and references are implemented.
- No highly advanced LaTeX tools such as graphing, commutative diagrams, or geometric shapes are implemented. (Note:- Geometric shapes are otherwise available in the Insert ribbon)
- Students studying mathematics might not be motivated to learn LaTeX because they might be able to get by with Equation Builder in Word to satisfy the vast majority of their needs. However, when such a student reaches the limits, unlike LaTeX there is absolutely no recourse to expand the program to satisfy it.
Inserting an equation[edit]
Microsoft Word has two different typing environments: text and math. To obtain the math environment, click on 'Equation' on the 'Insert' ribbon on Windows or Word for Mac '16, or in 'Document Elements' on Word for Mac '11. The keyboard shortcut is 'alt'+ '='. Everything you type in this environment is considered math: all automatic formatting of text is disabled. To exit the math environment, click on any text outside the math environment. One easy way to do this is by pressing the right arrow key.
Equation Editor on Word for Mac 2011
Common Mathematics[edit]
Fractions[edit]
There are multiple ways to display a fraction. The default is vertically aligned as illustrated below. Obtain this by typing the fraction and pressing space: 1/2
Linear fraction (resp. skewed fraction) is obtained using ldiv (resp. sdiv) and pressing space (twice) or by typing 1 ldiv 2 (resp. 1 sdiv 2) and pressing space. While you can also do this by right-clicking on the equation and clicking Linear, this affects the whole equation and not just the fraction.
Parenthesis, brackets, and braces[edit]
Grouping symbols will automatically size to the appropriate size. These symbols include '(), {}, [], ||'. For instance, the expression below can be obtained with (1/2(x+1)):
Be careful to press space after the '2' to render the fraction, otherwise Word might put 'x+1' in the denominator. Also press space after typing every closing parenthesis ')', which will adjust both the opening and closing parentheses size to fit the group's contents. Because the 1/2 fraction is is quite tall, the outer parentheses need to be adjusted to enclose the fraction appropriately. To be exact, the key presses required to reproduce the equation above are
(
1
/
2
space
(
x
+
1
)
space
)
space
.Exponents and subscripts[edit]
Exponents can be obtained by using '^' and subscripts by '_'. The monomial below can be obtained by typing x_2^5 or x^5_2 and pressing space.
Symbols: etc[edit]
These are all common symbols. The easiest thing to do would be to find a LaTeX reference sheet. A few of those symbols are shown here:
code | output |
neq or /= | |
leq or <= (resp. geq or >= ) | (resp ) |
subseteq | |
vee | |
rightarrow | |
Rightarrow | |
times | |
div | |
pm | |
infty | |
otimes (resp. oplus) | (resp. ) |
hbar |
Greek, Script, and Fraktur letters[edit]
The math environment implements 3 fronts in addition to the default.
- Greek letters can be obtained by typing a ' followed by the name of symbol. Capitalizing it creates a capital letter. delta Delta produces
- Script letters can be obtained by typing ' followed by 'script' followed by the letter. scriptd scriptD produces
- Fraktur letters can be obtained by typing ' followed by 'fraktur' followed by the letter. Fraktur does not have capitals. frakturd prodouces
Blackboard Bold letters[edit]
Blackboard bold letters can be obtained by typing ' followed by 'double' followed by the letter. doubled doubleD produces
Mathematical Physics[edit]
Vectors[edit]
A vector is often denoted by an overhead right arrow, which can be obtained by following a letter variable with 'vec': . Unit vectors (e.g. ) are denoted by a hat (circumflex), which can be obtained by following a letter variable with 'hat'. The gradient (also known as del or nabla) operator may be displayed using 'nabla'.
Newtonian Dot Notation[edit]
Dot notation for time derivatives (e.g. )can be obtained by following a letter variable with 'dot' for a first derivative and 'ddot' for a second derivative.
Vector Products[edit]
The dot product (inner product) can be displayed using the centered dot symbol 'cdot' e.g. the divergence . The cross product can be displayed using 'times' e.g. the curl .
Matrices[edit]
Matrices are obtained with the 'matrix' symbol. Use parentheses to start and end the matrix. Use '@' to separate rows, and '&' to separate columns. The matrix below can be created by typing
[matrix(1&2&3@4&5&6)]
.Multiple Aligned Equations[edit]
Aligning equations can be obtained with the 'eqarray' symbol. Use parentheses to start and end the matrix. Use '@' to separate equations. Use '&' to specify alignment and whitespace. The first '&' and then every other occurrence is alignment. The second and then every other occurrence is white space. The equations below can be obtained by typing the following text:
(The math environment here seems to be adding excess space between the alignments that doesn't occur in Word)
Radicals[edit]
Radicals are obtained using the 'sqrt' symbol, followed by the index, then '&', then the radicand.
For example:
sqrt(a&b)
will output .Additionally,
sqrt(x)
will simply output .Integrals[edit]
code | output |
Double oriented integral (No corresponding Wikibooks math symbol) | |
Triple oriented integral (No corresponding Wikibooks math symbol) | |
Clockwise oriented integral (No corresponding Wikibooks math symbol) |
Integrals are obtained by inserting the desired integral symbol (see above table), and then pressing space twice.[2]
For example:
int_a^b
spacespace1/x
spacedx
will output Inline versus Display[edit]
Equations have two forms. Inline specifies that the equation is to be in line with text. This affects a few expressions to make them appear smaller. For instance fractions will use a smaller font. Summations and integrals will place the endpoints to the right of the symbol instead of below it.Display specifies to use as much space as needed. Display mode equations must appear on their own line.
Modifying and creating shortcuts[edit]
Everything in Math Builder requires special symbols that the computer knows how to interpret. These symbols are constructed with all the commands starting with ' as illustrated in the above sections. This is implemented via math autocorrect which you can modify. For instance, you might like to use ra instead of rightarrow. You can do this by adding the command to the math autocorrect directory.
References[edit]
- ↑https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Equation-Editor-6eac7d71-3c74-437b-80d3-c7dea24fdf3f
- ↑Iztok Hozo. 'Using Word 2007’s new equation editor' (in English). Indiana University Northwest. http://iun.edu/~mathiho/useful/word07shortcuts.pdf. Retrieved 06-05-2019.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Typing_Mathematics_in_Microsoft_Word&oldid=3570446'
Part of Word 2016’s AutoCorrect function is a feature named AutoFormat. Whereas AutoCorrect fixes typos and common spelling boo-boos, AutoFormat fixes formatting fumbles.
Enjoying automagical text in Word 2016
AutoFormat controls some minor text formatting as you type. All its settings are visible in the AutoCorrect dialog box’s AutoFormat as You Type tab, as shown here.
To display that dialog box, heed these steps:
- Click the File tab.
- Choose Options.The Word Options dialog box appears.
- Select Proofing from the left side of the window.
- Click the button labeled AutoCorrect Options.The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
- Click the AutoFormat as You Type tab.The part of the dialog box you see is where all the AutoFormat options dwell. (Well, aside from the AutoFormat tab, which is redundant.) Turning an option off or on is as easy as removing or adding a check mark.
The best way to demonstrate the AutoFormat-as-you-type concept is to have a Word document on the screen and then type the examples in the following sections. Note that these samples demonstrate only a few of the things AutoFormat can do.
Smart quotes
The quote characters on the keyboard are tick marks: ” and ‘. AutoFormat converts them into the more stylish open and closed curly quotes. Type hither:
He said, “Yes, I’m being honest. I really do love
you, but the monster is coming and you broke your
ankle, so I figured that you’d understand.”
Both the single and double quotes are converted.
Real fractions
You can format a fraction by typing the first value in superscript, the slash mark, and then the second value in subscript. Or you can let AutoFormat do it for you.
The characters 1/2 are converted into the single character fraction. This trick works for some, but not all, common fractions.
Hyperlinks
Word can underline and activate hyperlinks that are typed in your document, such as
I’ve been to http://www.hell.com and back.
The website http://www.hell.com is automatically underlined, colored, and turned into an active web page link for you. (To follow the link, Ctrl+click the text.)
Ordinals
You’re guessing wrong if you think that ordinals are a baseball team or a group of religious leaders. They’re numbers that end in the letters st, nd, or rd, as this line demonstrates:
There were two of us in the race; I came in 1st
and Oglethorpe came in 3rd.
Word’s AutoFormat feature automatically superscripts ordinal numbers, making them look oh-so-spiffy.
Em dashes
An em dash is the official typesetting term for a long dash, longer than the hyphen (or its evil twin, the en dash). Most people type two hyphens to emulate the em dash. Word fixes that problem:
A red one is a slug bug — not a punch buggy.
As you type the - - (dash dash), AutoFormat replaces it with the official em dash character.
- The keyboard shortcut for typing an em dash is Ctrl+Alt+minus sign, where the minus sign is the minus key on the numeric keypad.
- The keyboard shortcut for typing an en dash is Ctrl+minus sign.The en dash is approximately the width of the letter N. Likewise, the em dash is the width of the letter M.
Formatting tricks for paragraphs
At the paragraph level, AutoFormat helps you quickly handle some otherwise irksome formatting issues. Some folks enjoy this feature, some despise it. The following sections provide a few examples of what AutoFormat is capable of.
Numbered lists
Anytime you start a paragraph with a number, Word assumes (through AutoFormat) that you need all your paragraphs numbered.
Immediately after typing 1., you probably saw the infamous AutoFormat lightning bolt icon and noticed your text being reformatted. Darn, this thing is quick! That’s AutoFormat guessing that you’re about to type a list. Go ahead and finish typing the line; after you press Enter, you see the next line begin with the number 2.
Keep typing until the list ends or you get angry, whichever comes first. To end the list, press the Enter key twice. That erases the final number and restores the paragraph formatting to Normal.
This trick works also for letters (and Roman numerals). Just start something with a letter and a period, and Word picks up on the next line by suggesting the next letter in the alphabet and another period.
Bulleted lists can also be created in this way: Start a line by typing an asterisk (*) and a space to see what happens.
Although you don’t press the Enter key twice to end a typical paragraph in a document, pressing Enter twice to terminate an AutoFormat list is completely acceptable. Doing so doesn’t add a blank paragraph to your document.
Borders (lines)
A line above or below a paragraph in Word is a border. Most folks call them lines, but they’re borders in Word. Here’s how to use AutoFormat to whip out a border: Type three hyphens and press the Enter key.
--
Word instantly transmutes the three little hyphens into a solid line that touches the left and right paragraph margins.
- To create a double line, type three equal signs and press Enter.
- To create a bold line, type three underlines and press Enter.