Equation Editor Hand Out

7/28/2019 Equation Editor Hand Out

1/4

Becky Afghani, Math Office [email protected]

p.1

Equation Editor

in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint

Many math, science, business, and economics educators use MathType software or

Equation Editor from Design Science to create tests and other classroom materialscontaining math notation. Equation Editor is the free version of MathType which comes

with Microsoft Word and Works. Equation Editor allows users to insert equations,

fractions and other math symbols into Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents.

Opening the Equation EditorIn Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, open the

Insert menu and choose Object. A window

will open as shown at right. Select

Microsoft Equation 3.0 and then OK.

A box will open to type your equation and a

toolbar will float over your text.

Add a Toolbar Button for the Equation EditorYou can add a button to a Word or PowerPoint toolbar which opens the Equation Editorwith a single click. From the Tools menu, choose Customize. Click on the Commands tab.

On the left side, click on Insert. On the right side, scroll down to find the button for

Equation Editor. Click on this button and drag it to the toolbar, placing it wherever youwant it. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.

Typing will appear here

Toolbar


2/4


p.2

Using the Equation EditorEquation Editor's symbols and templates are contained in the two rows of palettes

across the top of the Equation Editor window. The uppermost row contains symbols, and

the lower row contains templates.

To insert a symbol or template from a palette:1. Position the arrow pointer over a symbol or template palette.

2. Press and hold the mouse button to display the contents of the palette.3. While holding the mouse button, drag the pointer to the symbol or template you

want to insert.

4. When the symbol or template is highlighted, release the mouse button.

Symbols are single characters such as logic symbols, set theory symbols, and Greek

characters. Templates are symbols combined with one or more empty slots, which provide

a framework for creating basic mathematical constructs such as fractions. You insert a

template and then fill in its empty slots.

When finished typing into the Equation Editor, just close the window using the X

(Windows) orF (Mac). The equation will automatically insert into Word where you hadyour cursor placed.

Changing the Style, Font or Size and Inserting SpacesThe Style menu in the Equation Editor allows you to change from Math to Text and

to designate a new font for numbers, letters and symbols. When typing a letter in Math

format, Equation Editor uses italic letters because it assumes you are typing variables.

If you do not want italics or you want to use spaces, you must change the format to Text.

To change the font, choose Define under the Style menu and make the desired changes.

To change the size of a character or the entire equation, open the Size menu andchoose Define.

templates

symbols


3/4


p.3

Right Aligning or Aligning at a Decimal Point or Equal SignThe goal is to create a simple arithmetic problem:

34 5

45824

49274

.

.

.

+ OR

5245

848

6093

+ OR

x

x

x

+ =

+ =

=

5 4

5 5 4 5

9

The steps for creating this problem follow:

1. Insert a 3-row, 1-column matrix.

2. Type 34.5 into the top row, +458.24 into the second row, and 492.74 into the bottomrow.

3. To move the plus sign away from the four in the second row, insert a thick space fromthe 2nd symbol palette menu.

4. Select the entire matrix (all three rows) and then from the Format menu in theEquation Editor window, choose Matrix.

5. The window shown at right will open.Notice you can align the numbers on the

left side, center or right side, as well asat an equal sign or a decimal point.

Choose the decimal point alignment. Click

once between the second and third row

to place a solid bar between the rows.

Click OK.

matrices

spaces


4/4


p.4

Use Matrices to Create Simple Blank Grids

Follow these steps for creating the above grid.

1. Insert a matrix with 6 rows and 6columns. Use the last button in the

matrix template menu to create a matrix

with as many rows and columns as you

like.2. Single click between rows or columns to place a solid line. Click a second time to placea dashed line and click a third time to place a dotted line. Click OK when finished.

Ways to Avoid Using the Equation EditorSome commonly used math symbols can be inserted as symbols, rather than equations.

In Microsoft Word, from the Insertmenu, choose Symbol. You may need to

change the font to Symbol. Notice you will

find many math symbols here such as: , ,

, , , , , , , and .

You can also add a button to a toolbar for

inserting Symbols by following the same

procedure described on page one.

Exponents can be written without the Equation

Editor by following these steps. Select the exponent

and from the Format menu choose Font. When the

font window opens (shown at right) click the box

next to Superscript. Click OK.

You can also add a button to the toolbar for

superscripts by following almost the same procedure

as before. The Superscript button is found under

Commands, Format (instead of Insert).

Documents

Equation Editor Hand Out