Math Objects: The Equation Editor Title: Version: First edition: First English edition: Math Objects: The Equation Editor 1.
Contents Overview..........................................................................................................................................ii Copyright and trademark information.........................................................................................ii Feedback..................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments...................................................................
Overview Overview OpenOffice.org has a component (OOo Math) for mathematical equations. OOo Math provides mathematical objects which can be embedded in other OOo documents, or saved on their own. Copyright and trademark information The contents of this Documentation are subject to the Public Documentation License, Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may only use this Documentation if you comply with the terms of this License. A copy of the License is available at: http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/PDL.
Introduction Introduction OpenOffice.org (OOo) has a component for mathematical equations. It is most commonly used as an equation editor for text documents, but it can also be used with other types of documents or stand-alone. When used inside Writer, the equation is treated as an object inside the text document. Important note: The equation editor is for writing equations in symbolic form (as in equation 1). If you want to evaluate a numeric value, this is not the chapter you want. See the Calc guide.
Introduction The equation editor uses a markup language to represent formulas. For example, “%beta” creates the Greek character beta ( ). This markup is designed to read similar to English whenever possible. For example, “a over b” produces a fraction: a b Entering a Formula There are three main ways of entering a formula: • Type markup in the equation editor. • Right-click on the equation editor and select the symbol from the context menu. • Select a symbol from the Selection toolbox.
Complex Formulas Complex Formulas Of course, most people can figure out how to do something simple like a . The problems appear when you try to write more complex equations. This section explores some general situations and suggests solutions. Brackets are your friends You may have heard your professor say this. It is true for science, and it is true for OOo. The equation editor knows nothing of order of operation. To make moderately complex formulas, you must use brackets.
Complex Formulas Matrices Matrices are done through the matrix command. The basic syntax is: Display a b c d Command matrix { a # b ## c # d } A single “#” symbol is used to separate entries within a given row. Two “#” symbols are used to separate different rows. One of the first problems people have with matrices is working with brackets. Regular brackets have a fixed size, which doesn't fit well with matrices (see the table below). OOoMath provides “scalable brackets”.
Complex layout Complex layout Often, the problem is not in writing the equation as such, but obtaining the desired layout. There are some features that can help: • Adjust alignment with “alignl” (left alignment), “alignr” (right alignment) and “alignc” (centered). • Use matrices for columned layout. • Use white space and several lines to make your equation understandable. • Use ~ or ‘ to produce white space on the equation.
Tips and tricks Tips and tricks Customizing the interface There are a few ways to customize the equation editor's interface to make you more productive. Here are some suggestions: • Show/hide the Selection toolbox with View > Selection. • Turn off AutoUpdate with View >AutoUpdate display to improve speed. You can still update the formula manually by pressing F9 or through View > Update. • Turn the editor into a floating window: 1) Hover the mouse above the border of the equation editor.
Tips and tricks Done! If you later add more equations to the paper before the referenced equation, all the equations will automatically renumber and the cross-references will update. Figure 2. Inserting a cross-reference to an equation number.
Math commands - Reference Math commands - Reference Unary / binary operators Table 1.
Math commands - Reference Relational operators Table 2.
Math commands - Reference Set operations Table 3.
Math commands - Reference Functions Table 4.
Math commands - Reference Operators All operators can be used with the limit functions (“from” and “to”) Table 5.
Math commands - Reference Attributes Table 6.
Math commands - Reference Operation Command Make color of following text cyan color cyan qv qv Make color of following text yellow color yellow qv qv Make color of following text green color white qv qv Make color of following text white color green qv qv Make color of following text blue color blue qv qv Make color of following text red color red qv qv Make color green returns to default color black color green X qv X qv Brace items to change color of more than one item color green
Math commands - Reference Others Table 7.
Math commands - Reference Brackets Table 8.
Math commands - Reference Formats Table 9.
Math commands - Reference Characters – Greek Table 10.
