Getting Started Guide

Below is a short list of common equations and their corresponding markup.
Display Command Display Command
a=b
a = b
a
sqrt {a}
a
2
a^2
a
n
a_n
f xdx
int f(x) dx
a
n
sum a_n
ab
a <= b
infinity
a×b
a times b
xy
x cdot y
Greek characters
Greek characters (
, , ,
, and so on) are common in mathematical formulas.
These characters are not available in the Elements window or on the right-click
menu. Fortunately, the markup for Greek characters is simple: Type a % sign followed
the name of the character, in English. (In localized versions of OpenOffice.org, these
names are localized.)
To write a lowercase character, type the name of the character in lowercase.
To write an uppercase character, type the name of the character in uppercase.
See the table below for some examples.
Lowercase Uppercase
%alpha
%ALPHA
A
%beta
%BETA
B
%gamma
%GAMMA
%psi
%PSI
%phi
%PHI
%theta
%THETA
Note
A complete table of Greek characters is provided in the Math Guide.
Another way to enter Greek characters is by using the Symbols catalog window.
Choose Tools > Catalog. Under Symbol set, select Greek and double-click on a
Greek letter from the list. The markup name of the character is shown below the list
window.
258 Getting Started with OpenOffice.org 3.3