Writing formulas (Word 97 and >)

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Folks

Please don’t let me go crazy and pull my hair out , but how do I write fractions and the division symbol and mathematical equations and formulas and things like that.

I am a math teacher, a brand new one , and I am preparing some handouts for my students. I am using Word but Word is giving me a heck of a time writing fractions.

I want the fraction to be a number Numerator above a line and then another number the Denominator, below that line, not the / thingy.

Also I like to use the insert symbol to insert the division sign, but is there any easier way to find these special characters.

Thanks for helping me out, but I am at a loss here . All comments will be put to god use so I assure you send them all my way, they are all going to a good home.

Wassim

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Try Insert | Object | Microsoft Equation, then you can either be really dangerous or really

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Thanks a Million Sammy

But an extra question, can I have the toolbar on and docked all the time?

Wassim

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Hmmm. Not that I know of… but there may be an adequate workaround.
1. Insert a new equation object into your document. You could give it some standard content or not
2. Click away from it – the toolbar will disappear.
3. Single click it to select it and then choose Insert > Autotext and add it to your Normal template with the name “Equation”
4. Now customise a toolbar to include a button which will insert that object into your document. Right click a toolbar area and choose Customize. Under the Commands Tab, select a Category called Autotext and drag the word Equation from the Commands box into a toolbar.
5. Click Close in the Customize Dialog

Now you can click that button to get a new blank equation on your page and then double click it (Note: its hard to see if you left it empty) to give yourself the toolbar you were after.

When exiting Word, if you are asked to save Normal.dot, say Yes

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You could assign this macro to a toolbar button, but it won’t dock the equation toolbar. Note that the activate at least leaves the equation toolbar up. might be a better option, but I’ve not tried it. It does give you a dockable tool bar! –Sam

Sub InsertEquation()
Dim s As InlineShape
    Set s = Selection.InlineShapes.AddOLEObject(ClassType:="Equation.3", _
        FileName:="", LinkToFile:=False, DisplayAsIcon:=False)
    s.Activate
End Sub

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Now thats a much better way! Good one Sam

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Sammy

So many thing to learn, so little time. But I will investigate the MathType thingy and see how it works.

Thanks

Wassim

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I’m a bit confused about exactly what Wassim was wanting with a “docked toolbar” in Equation Editor (EE).

Wassim, if what you want is for the EE toolbar to become part of the Word toolbar, that’s not possible. EE works as a separate application that inserts an equation object into a Word document with a process called Object Linking and Embedding (OLE).

If what you want is for the EE toolbar to be “docked” to the equation editing window, that is possible by converting EE to “separate window” operation. (The default is “in-place” operation, which is what Andrew was thinking of when he said “Click away from it – the toolbar will disappear.”)

We have a document called “Equation Editor Tips & Tricks” on our Web site. Tips & Tricks shows how to change EE to separate window operation, and it also shows how to put an EE icon onto your Word toolbar, thus obviating the time-consuming steps of Insert | Object | Microsoft Equation. This is what Sam was talking about when he mentioned MathType’s “dockable toolbar”. This toolbar docks onto Word’s toolbar, and is for opening MathType; it does not allow directly inserting symbols and equations. MT does have a toolbar that remains docked to the editing window, but like EE, does not have a toolbar for inserting symbols that docks to the Word toolbar.

There is a free 30-day full-featured evaluation version of MathType available at the link in my sig. If you choose not to buy it, it will remain usable beyond the evaluation period in a reduced-features mode, and will be able to edit all equations created during the evaluation period.

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Hi Bob

Yes you answered my question. What I wanted to do, is to have the Equation Editor available for me at all times, instead of having to go Insert|Object|MS Equaltion Editor and then get the toolbar and work with it.

As you may have heard, I teach math as a side job, and I teach adults, so I have to work with the EE a lot in one document and that makes it time consuming to have to do the above menu selections.

But the tip about getting a toolbar button might be what the doctor ordered.

I’ll also check the 30-day trial, I can always use something new.

Thanks for your reply, can you tell me the URL for the Equation Editor Tips & Tricks?

Wassim still in the

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Wassim, you wrote:

I have to work with the EE a lot in one document and that makes it time consuming to have to do the above menu selections.

The toolbar button will, as you say, speed things up a bit. There’s also a shortcut key combination you can use: Ctrl+Alt+Q. When in Word, this key combination should open Equation Editor. If you have MathType installed, it will open MathType instead.

One other thing that makes MathType speedier than Equation Editor… When you finish an equation and close the EE window, EE dumps itself from memory and must be loaded into memory again for the next equation. This takes 2-3 seconds each time — perhaps longer on a slower machine. MT is memory-resident, so the first time you use it, it will take the same 2-3 seconds that EE did, but after that, it’s immediate.

can you tell me the URL for the Equation Editor Tips & Tricks?

Sure, but it’s just as easy to click on the link in my signature. The Tips and Tricks article is linked from our home page.

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Hi Wassim:

In reading your posts, I thought of another idea. First, you want to convert a fraction that’s written as

234/5678

to have the slash become horizontal. I’m wondering if a macro could be written that would convert a selected fraction into what you want. I don’t know the answer to that (& I don’t know VBA), but if possible, this would be easier than doing everything inside the Equation Editor. Perhaps someone here or on the VBA board could tell you whether this is possible.

So far as inserting symbols more easily, try this:
1. Go to insert/symbol & select the symbol that you use commonly, such as the divisor. You’ll notice that there is a button on the dialog box called “shortcut key…”.
2. Press shortcut key & then assign something like Alt+NumPad2, Alt+NumPad2, etc. You’ll probably find less than 9 symbols that are commonly used, & this should save you time.

Hope this helps.

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