For the students here: Microsoft Equations Writer

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Yotam · #1 Post by **Yotam** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:06 pm

I'm sure some of you already know this tool, but I found it today and like it.
Microsoft has an "Education Pack for Tablet PC", which contains some programs. One of these programs is the Equations Writer - which recognizes equations and allows adding them to a word documents or something like that.
I tried to write some kind of equations and it recognized most of them very well.

I'm very happy that I found this tool, it gonna be very useful for me.

Its only problem is that after reconizing the equation and showing it as normal text, for some reason, it can only copy it as a bitmap, and not as characters - so once you copied it to Word, you can't change it (you have to write it again).

Microsoft... Nobody's perfect, especially they.

Click here to download Education Pack for Tablet PC
Be careful! There is an agilix software inside (like FranklinCovey PlanPlus). Don't use "typical" installation...

#2 Post by **BillMorrow** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:24 am

thanks for the information..

Thinkpaddict · #3 Post by **Thinkpaddict** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:24 pm

Yes, I reiterate the thanks for that information.

I don't have a Tablet PC. Does this work by typing as well?
Would be nice to have a program that could take scripting shorthand and translate it into equations. For example, to show the definite integral of e raised to the X square between 0 and pi, just type int(e^x2, x, 0, pi).

About the reason why the software outputs bitmaps instead of characters:
It would be extremely cumbersome to output individual characters for an equation, due to the way equations have different levels vertically, subindexes, superindexes, etc. Positioning characters like that is extremely difficult (and I am almost sure most applications such as Word wouldn't support pixel-accurate placing of characters in that way). Creating a bitmap is much more straightforward.

Yotam · #4 Post by **Yotam** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:27 pm

I remember that in Office 97 there was an optional program called "Equations Editor". You could use it to write an equation with your keyboard. It had some "shortcuts" to create special signs like x^2, roots or integrals. I was using it for school. In my Office 2003 I can't find it.

As for my disappointment from the way it being copied - in that old editor it copied the equation as text characters (in different font sizes and design) into Word (or any other program).
I'll try to look for this application somewhere since you can't use the new editor without a tablet (you may be able to install it, but it's very hard to write an equation with the mouse).

Yotam · #5 Post by **Yotam** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:51 pm

Good news...

I found it in my Office 2003.
In Word, for example, click "Insert" menu (I hope I translate the menus and options right, since I have the Hebrew version of Office).
Then choose "Object", and under "Add New", from the list, choose "Microsoft Equation 3.0".
It opens a toolbar (which wasn't changed since it was in Office 97) and you can type an equation using this toolbar and your keyboard.
After you finish, doubleclick the white area and return to edit your document. If you want to change the equation, doubleclick it.

If you don't have the Microsoft Equation 3.0 option, go to Control Panel>Add/Remove Software, look for Microsoft Office and click "Change". The Equation Editor is under "Office Tools".

daba · #6 Post by **daba** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:05 am

Why don't you just use LaTeX?

Yotam · #7 Post by **Yotam** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:24 am

daba wrote:Why don't you just use LaTeX?

Can you tell me what is it? I don't know it.

stgreek · #8 Post by **stgreek** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:20 am

Yotam wrote:
daba wrote:Why don't you just use LaTeX?
Can you tell me what is it? I don't know it.

It is a typesetting system that is infinitely more powerful than word-processors, especially when typing scientific text. However, it is not wysiwyg, but rather uses a programming logic: You create your text in an ASCII file, and then you compile it into your final format (usually a PDF).

If you are doing an engineering/science subject, I advise you to start getting to grips with LaTeX, when the time for reports and thesis comes you will be pleasantly surprised. However, it is of no use whatsoever for the function you mentioned in your original post, so stick with your program for that.

The best introductory text to LaTeX is the not-so-short introduction to LaTeX, get it from here.

Yotam · #9 Post by **Yotam** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:28 am

Thanks, I'll look at the link later.
I don't know yet how many "scientific documents" I'll write, but it is always good to know it exist and use it when needed.

Thank you.

For the students here: Microsoft Equations Writer

For the students here: Microsoft Equations Writer

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