User Guide

Chapter 3: Basic Concepts

Chapter 3

Basic Concepts

Introduction

This chapter outlines the basic concepts used in MathType. If you are an

experienced Windows user, you will be familiar with some of them already,

since they are common to many Windows applications. On the other hand, the

symbol and template ideas are unique to MathType, so you may want to read a

little about them.

The basic purpose of MathType is to allow you to create and edit mathematical

equations. In this manual, we use the term “equation” to refer to any

combination of mathematical symbols. The approach to equation creation is very

intuitive and visually oriented. For each basic mathematical construct, like a

fraction or an integral, MathType provides a template containing various

symbols and empty slots. You build equations simply by inserting templates and

then filling in their slots. Chapter 4 explains the techniques in detail.

You will generally be placing MathType equations into a document you’re

creating with a word processor (or a page layout application, or a similar

program). You’ll want to run MathType and your word processor

simultaneously, and transfer equations into and out of your document. Chapter 5

explains several ways to do this.

You can start MathType by clicking on the Start button, choosing Programs,

selecting the MathType 5 menu, and then choosing MathType. An empty

MathType window will appear.