Typing chemical formulae in 'word'

[ellie]

How do I type simple chemical formulae, ie H2O - water, so that the 2 is in a
smaller font and below the preceeding letter?

 

[Jezebel]

Use subscripts and superscripts. Format > Font ....

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The 2 in H20 should be subscripted. The keyboard shortcut for the subscript
format is Ctrl+=. You can either press this before typing the 2 and again
afterward, or type the 2, select it, and press the keyboard shortcut. The
keyboard shortcut for superscript (used for exponents) is Ctrl+Shift+=.

 

[StrugglingChemist]

What are the new commands to toggle on/off superscripts? subscripts? I cannot
for the life of me figure out how it is working. In previous versions, cntl+=
toggled subscripts on/off. It no longer works (in Word or Powerpoint). As a
chemist this is extremely frustrating, because super- and sub-scripting is a
way of life for us. Perhaps I will switch back to a previous version or to
another word processor. Any program that gets my work done faster is best for
me. I am not happy if I have to download something to work around something
that worked in previous versions. I am sorry if this message seems scathing,
but had I known of this issue, I would not have updated.

R

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In which version are you seeing it not working? It still works for me in
Word 2007. Check to make sure that the shortcut hasn't been assigned to
something else (or unassigned).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Jay Freedman]

Nothing has changed in this respect between versions. Possibly your
default shortcuts have been removed or overwritten by something, such
as a badly written add-in.

I assume -- though you didn't bother to say -- that you now have Word
2007. If so, go to Office button > Word Options > Customize and click
the Keyboard Shortcuts Customize button in the bottom left of the
dialog. In the categories list, click Home Tab. In the Commands list,
click Subscript. By default you should see Ctrl+= in the Current Keys
box. If it's not there, put the cursor in the "Press new shortcut key"
box and press Ctrl+=, then click the Assign button in the bottom left
corner of the dialog.

If it's Word 2003 or earlier, click Tools > Customize and click the
Keyboard button. From there the instructions are the same as above.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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