mathmatical symbols and formulae in word processing

[Scott]

A another person is struggling to solve a problem, so I approach this
group again seeking advise. My last request on a different need evoked a
number of very good leads but also prompted some disharmony regarding
suggestions other than freeware. So I post this in the old FidoNet spirit
of 1)Don't be excessively annoying and 2)Don't get excessively annoyed.


The problem is how to write mathmatical problems and solutions on a
WindowsXP system.

Is there is a utility that will insert very complex mathmatical
expressions in MS-Word (or Word Perfect) or create the formulae in a way
that a cut/paste .bmp can be used? Or some unimagined method?

This request arises from a graduate student in statistics who is dismayed
at the $100+ price tag for such a utility (and that's the student
discount).

If someone has a good lead that would be outside the parameters of
acceptable for this newgroup, I would appreciate it if you sent it to my
hotmail address instead of posting here since some folks find such
posting excessively annoying. Please include "From USENET" in the subject
(so my filters will treat it properly and with respect).

A freeware solution would be best which is what draws me to your
newsgroup. You guys always seem to have such a wide experience.

As is my habit, I extoll the value and scope of usenet to folks for whom
I post such requests which sometimes leads new participants to expand
their world with a new found interest in usenet (usually with a freeware
newsreader<g>).

-S-

 

[rj65]

The problem is how to write mathmatical problems and solutions on a
WindowsXP system.

Is there is a utility that will insert very complex mathmatical
expressions in MS-Word (or Word Perfect) or create the formulae in a way
that a cut/paste .bmp can be used? Or some unimagined method?

Scott,

If your friend has MS Word, then they already have Equation Editor that
comes with it, but which most folks have never heard of

Go to "Insert -> Object -> Create New -> Microsoft Equation 3.0" and
take it from there. I'm using Word 2003; IIRC, earlier versions may
have called it Equation Editor. It's possible that on choosing this
option you may need to insert your MS Office installation CD, if Office
had been set up to install some items only on first use.

HTH.

Rohit

 

[Colin Elphick]

There is a facility to write fairly complex equations in Free Office word
processor. These can be exported or saved in the clipboard for use in other
applications.

 

[rj65]

Scott,

If your friend has MS Word, then they already have Equation Editor that
comes with it, but which most folks have never heard of

Adding to my own post:

I researched this a bit further, to find that the MS Office Equation
Editor is something MS sourced from a company called Design Science.
From the Design Science site:

<quote>

Many Equation Editor users purchase MathType after they experience it.
We invite you to download a fully functional, 30-day MathType trial. If
you decide not to purchase MathType, when the trial period ends,
MathType will go into MathType Lite mode, working much like Equation
Editor but, as an added bonus, you will continue to have access to the
full set of MathType fonts and symbols!

http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/trial.asp

</quote>

So one way or another (i.e. whether Equation Editor was installed with
MS Office or whether you download MathType) you're going to get what you
want.

Rohit

 

[murray]

The problem is how to write mathmatical problems and solutions on a
WindowsXP system.

Is there is a utility that will insert very complex mathmatical
expressions in MS-Word (or Word Perfect) or create the formulae in a way
that a cut/paste .bmp can be used? Or some unimagined method?

Not a MS-word solution but you could try LaTeX,
http://www.latex-project.org/

"LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system, with features designed for
the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de
facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific
documents."

It is a kind of mark-up system, similar in a way to html. There is a
fairly steep learning curve to using it but is much quicker than things
like Word equation editor if you are using it a lot. A gui style
interface, lyx is available.

http://www.lyx.org/index.php3

LyX is what?

LyX is an advanced open source document processor that encourages an
approach to writing based on the structure of your documents, not their
appearance. LyX lets you concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual
layout to the software.

LyX produces high quality, professional output -- using LaTeX, an
industrial strength typesetting engine, in the background; LyX is far more
than a front-end to LaTeX, however. No knowledge of LaTeX is necessary to
use LyX, although it will give a user more power.

LyX is stable and fully featured. It has been used for documents as large
as a thesis, or as small as a business letter. Despite its simple GUI
interface (available in many languages), it supports tables, figures, and
hyperlinked cross-references, and has a best-of-breed math editor.

A Windows version is at,

http://www.home.zonnet.nl/rareitsma/lyx/

Download all three files on this page.

Best regards,

Murray

 

[Martin DeMello]

Not a MS-word solution but you could try LaTeX,
http://www.latex-project.org/

And lout: http://lout.sourceforge.net

I've only discovered lout recently, but I find it significantly easier
to use and do complex stuff in than LaTeX. No lyx equivalent, but you
don't really need one. Once you have your postscript file you can use
one of the utilities at http://jeff.cs.mcgill.ca/~luc/PSto.html to
convert it into an image file.

Here's an example of an equation in lout:

@Eq { big int supp 1 on 0 . dx over sqrt {1 - x sup 2} = pi over 2 }

which is
0 dx pi
S ---------------- = ----
1 --------- 2
/ 2
V 1 - x
martin

 

[-Art-]

you might try this and see if it meets you needs....
http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/~schectex/wincd/list_editors.htm

-Art-

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[Scott]

http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/trial.asp

</quote>

So one way or another (i.e. whether Equation Editor was installed with
MS Office or whether you download MathType) you're going to get what you
want.

Rohit

I am gathering links and leads for her to examine. I appreciate the post
and help. I suspect that hers was one of the installs of Word that didn't
include equation stuff and have alerted her to the knowledge file I
located. -S-

 

[Scott]

It is a kind of mark-up system, similar in a way to html. There is a
fairly steep learning curve to using it but is much quicker than
things like Word equation editor if you are using it a lot. A gui
style interface, lyx is available.

http://www.lyx.org/index.php3

LyX is stable and fully featured. It has been used for documents as
large as a thesis, or as small as a business letter. Despite its
simple GUI interface (available in many languages), it supports
tables, figures, and hyperlinked cross-references, and has a
best-of-breed math editor.

A Windows version is at,

http://www.home.zonnet.nl/rareitsma/lyx/

I am gathering links and leads for her to examine. I appreciate the post
and help. She's a grad student in Math, so she should be up to the
learning curve -S-

 

[Scott]

And lout: http://lout.sourceforge.net

I am gathering links and leads for her to examine. I appreciate the post
and help. -S-

 

[Scott]

http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/~schectex/wincd/list_editors.htm

I am gathering links and leads for her to examine. I appreciate the post
and help. -S-

 

[Paul Guertin]

The problem is how to write mathmatical problems and solutions on a
WindowsXP system.
[...]
This request arises from a graduate student in statistics who is dismayed
at the $100+ price tag for such a utility (and that's the student
discount).

For writing mathematics-intensive copy, nothing beats LaTeX.
Writing math with Word (even with helper programs such as Mathtype)
is painful in comparison.

A very good Windows port is MikTeX at www.miktex.org. You'll also
want an editor such as TexnicCenter from http://www.toolscenter.org
and probably Ghostscript and GSView from http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/.
All freeware, of course.

Two caveats about LaTeX:

1) It's not Word compatible at all.

2) There is a learning curve. LaTeX is a markup language, not a
what-you-see-is-all-you-get word processor. If the user is familiar
with HTML, he or she should have no problem understanding basic
LaTeX commands. It does take a few weeks to become proficient in
the language, though.

There is a lot of TeX tutorials on the Web. The UK TUG's FAQ
is a great starting point.
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?introduction=yes
See the "Documentation" section of the FAQ for more pointers.
The comp.text.tex newsgroup is also very helpful.

Most mathematical literature is typeset with LaTeX, and mathematical
journals and proceedings often require the author to submit their
article in LaTeX. It is a good idea for a graduate student in
statistics to learn about LaTeX.

Paul Guertin
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Scott]

Most mathematical literature is typeset with LaTeX, and mathematical
journals and proceedings often require the author to submit their
article in LaTeX. It is a good idea for a graduate student in
statistics to learn about LaTeX.

I have provided your concise information to them for review since it seemed
like a well worded post.

Thanks

-S-