Alignment of "Equation objects"

[Jean-Pierre]

When one inserts an equation object (created with the equation editor) in line
with text, the alignment chosen by WORD is "bottom of paragraph = bottom of
object". This results in odd appearance when the height of the equation object
is more than one line. For example if one writes x= a ratio , when "x=" is pure
WORD text and the "ratio" is an equation object, the whole expression is located
well above the "x=".
Is there a way of locating, say the middle of the equation object at the same
height as the middle of the text.

Note that creating a "drawing canvas" that can be located at will is not a
solution as this procedure is very cumbersome (the "at will" is very optimistic
!) and very often leads to "unexpected" results, such as sending the "drawing"
to the beginning or end of the document when one tries to move it "a little"
when it is "close" to the start or the end of a page.

I have OFFICE 2002 SP3 - - W2000-SP4.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Jean-Pierre
BELGIUM

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can use the Format | Font | Character Spacing control to lower the
equation, or you could include "x =" in the equation to begin with, in which
case it would be centered with the rest. In such cases, it's conventional to
use a "display equation" (the whole thing centered in a paragraph of its
own).

 

[Bob Mathews]

How are you inserting the equation? If you are using copy &
paste, it will sometimes produce the results you are seeing. You
should insert the equation by clicking on Insert > Object, create
the equation, then when you're finished, press the Esc key to
return to your document. Note that you can also put an Equation
Editor icon on the Word toolbar so you don't have to click on
Insert > Object every time. This process is described here:
http://www.dessci.com/en/products/ee/ee_tips.htm#button_for_word

--
Bob Mathews
Director of Training
Design Science, Inc.
bobm at dessci.com
http://www.dessci.com/free.asp?free=news
FREE fully-functional 30-day evaluation of MathType 5
MathType, WebEQ, MathPlayer, MathFlow, Equation Editor, TeXaide

 

[Jean-Pierre]

I have the Equation Editor icon in the toolbar. Clicking on it is the way I
insert the "equation" in the text.

==========================================================================

 

[Jean-Pierre]

When the equation is large enough I place it in a paragraph of its own and the
everything looks OK.

When it is a short expression, it would be a waste of space and the text would
look "strange" devoting a full paragraph to it. Imagine a sentence such as "For
a function of the form (...)" where (...) is (1/2 times x raised to the power
y). One could write it in the FORTRAN form : (1/2*x**y) or the BASIC form :
(1/2*x^^y).
Not very "professionnal".
Devotig a full line/paragraph to it would be barely better. The best way is to
embed it in line with the text, using the equation editor.

What baffles me is that I tried to reproduce the problem on a blank document and
there the alignment is correct : the "fraction bar" of the equation aligns with
the "axis" of the text ! In my original document, it work OK in some places and
not in other.
Any idea why the behaviour varies according to the location in the document ?
All the paragraphs are "Normal", as defined in the template.

In these places, I used the "Format|Font| Character Spacing..." to fix the
alignment and it gave the desired aspect. Thank you for the suggestion.

Jean-Pierre
BELGIUM
=============================================

 

[Bob Mathews]

What baffles me is that I tried to reproduce the problem on a
blank document and there the alignment is correct : the
"fraction bar" of the equation aligns with the "axis" of the
text ! In my original document, it work OK in some places
and not in other. Any idea why the behaviour varies according
to the location in the document ? All the paragraphs are
"Normal", as defined in the template.

The only thing I can think of that would cause that is the
paragraph line-spacing. "Format > Paragraph > Line Spacing". Is
it set to "single"? Sometimes setting it to "exactly _ _ pt"
looks better when there are equations in your paragraph, but
sometimes you have each paragraph with a different line spacing.

As to your other problem (equations not lining up with the text),
I don't know what might be causing that. If you'd like to send me
a document privately, I'll take a look at it and see if I can
find the problem.

--
Bob Mathews
Director of Training
Design Science, Inc.
bobm at dessci.com
http://www.dessci.com/free.asp?free=news
FREE fully-functional 30-day evaluation of MathType 5
MathType, WebEQ, MathPlayer, MathFlow, Equation Editor, TeXaide