Typing mathematical formulæ in Word 2007

[Guest]

As a beta user of Office 2007, I've come to like the new ribbon UI, and
the ribbon for working with mathematical formulæ in particular is much
improved over previous versions. It's nice to be able to use TeX-like
syntax when typing a formula, but there are two minor problems I've run
into:

1. I don't know the syntax for every symbol I'd like to use, but I don't
see an easy way to find it. I can open the "Word Options -> Proofing ->
Autocorrect" dialogue, and select the "Math Autocorrect" tab, but this is
rather tedious. It would be very nice to have the option of showing the
syntax used to type a symbol in its tooltip.

2. I may have missed something obvious, but I can't see a way to enter a
label for a display equation in the standard format, i.e. an equation
number to the right of the equation itself, in rounded brackets.

Following on from the first issue above, I'd also like a way to pop up the
tool tip for an item when using the ribbon via the keyboard. I much prefer
this to the mouse, but can't see how to show a tooltip this way. I would
like it if, when "ribbon command mode" has been activated by typing Alt,
typing F1 followed by the key sequence for a ribbon item would display
that item's tooltip, or perhaps more detailed help about the item.

 

[Patrick Schmid]

Once you insert an equation via Insert tab, Equation, you should see a
contextual tab called Equation Tools, Design at the very left of your
ribbon tab list (it should also go into the foreground). That tab will
also be there whenever you click on an equation you created previously.
1) You should find all the symbols you need on that tab.
2) If I remember correctly, this isn't possible.
I don't think there is a way to see the tooltip without using the mouse.

Patrick Schmid

 

[tas at mailueberfall.de]

Thanks for the suggestion about the first problem. However, I can find the
symbols in the ribbon, but what I can't easily find is the syntax for
typing the symbols without using the ribbon.

For an example of the above, to get a large sigma (for a summation), I
know I can type "\sum[Space]" instead of using the ribbon (where I would
have to type "[Alt]CEG

[Enter]", which is very easy to discover, but
can get tedious, especially for other symbols that require much more use
of the arrow keys to select). The key problem is that, if I didn't know
from LaTeX that "\sum" is used for summations, I don't see an easy way to
discover it. I'm also not sure how to properly group things in formulæ,
since curly brackets (used in LaTeX) don't appear to work for this.

It's too bad about the second problem. I've never seen a paper written
with text captions above/below equations, as Word seems to do, so I can't
imagine why it doesn't support the normal numbering scheme. It's
particularly disappointing since the formula support otherwise looks very
good (although I don't yet know if the printed output can compete with
LaTeX).

Right now I use a combination of Word and LaTeX for writing (Word is good
for drafts and collaboration, but LaTeX is much better for mathematical
typesetting). I had been hoping Word 2007 might be good enough to use as
my only writing tool, and for the most part I think it may be, but the
inability to easily label/reference equations is a big minus.

/tas​

 

[Patrick Schmid]

Thanks for the suggestion about the first problem. However, I can find
the

symbols in the ribbon, but what I can't easily find is the syntax for
typing the symbols without using the ribbon.

For an example of the above, to get a large sigma (for a summation), I
know I can type "\sum[Space]" instead of using the ribbon (where I would
have to type "[Alt]CEG

[Enter]", which is very easy to discover, but
can get tedious, especially for other symbols that require much more use
of the arrow keys to select). The key problem is that, if I didn't know
from LaTeX that "\sum" is used for summations, I don't see an easy way to
discover it. I'm also not sure how to properly group things in formulæ,
since curly brackets (used in LaTeX) don't appear to work for this.​

Now I understand what you mean
Open Word help and search for "Math AutoCorrect symbols". There is a
help article named like that which has the entire list you are looking
for.

It's too bad about the second problem. I've never seen a paper written
with text captions above/below equations, as Word seems to do, so I can't
imagine why it doesn't support the normal numbering scheme. It's
particularly disappointing since the formula support otherwise looks very
good (although I don't yet know if the printed output can compete with
LaTeX).

The explanation is that Microsoft ran out of time to get an equation
numbering feature done.
One thing you can do is insert Normal Text as part of the actual
equation. On the equation tab, the tools group has the normal text
button. That gives you text in the same line as the equation. Was that
what you were looking for?

Patrick Schmid​

 

[tas at mailueberfall.de]

Now I understand what you mean
Open Word help and search for "Math AutoCorrect symbols". There is a help
article named like that which has the entire list you are looking for.

Thanks. I knew about the Math Autocorrect, but not the help article,
which is much more convenient to read.

The explanation is that Microsoft ran out of time to get an equation
numbering feature done.

That's disappointing, but hopefully MathType will fill the gap. I didn't
much care for the old UI, but if it adopts the same ribbon UI, with TeX-like
syntax for typing, it might be good enough.

One thing you can do is insert Normal Text as part of the actual equation.
On the equation tab, the tools group has the normal text button. That
gives you text in the same line as the equation. Was that what you were
looking for?

It's an interesting suggestion, but I think manual numbering is too
error-prone. I've found that I can use the standard numbering feature (with
"([number])" for the format) to get almost what I want. The numbers can be
set to continue instead of restarting, and can be automatically
cross-referenced from the text, but I don't see any way to put the number on
the right side instead of the left! Maybe I can find out how to turn on
right-to-left text, although it's rather a lot to go through for such a
basic feature.

/tas