|
TFE's Math Equation Editor
What is the Math Editor?
Where is the Math Editor?
How can I write an equation?
What are Terms?
What is Term Wrapping?
Can I re-use equations?
How can I edit an equation after submitting a note?
How can I format equations?
Cautions
Entering Symbols
Customize the Toolbar
Move the Cursor
.........................................................................................................
What is the Math Editor?
The Math Editor provides mathematical symbols for writing math sentences. The Math Editor does not calculate or solve math problems.
Where is the Math Editor?
This feature is found only in the TFE. Equations can only be created and edited with the TFE, but they may be viewed in Plain Text or HTML mode. Visit Account Preferences to enable the TFE.
How can I write an equation?
- Enable the Text Formatting Editor in Account Preferences
- Open a new note in any work area of WebTycho such as Conferences.
- Click the square root icon on the TFE toolbar, or select Insert > Insert Equation from the toolbar. (Figure 1) A new text box will open.
Figure 1. Open Equation Editor
- Type your equation or select a a mathematical term (terms are explained below) from one of the toolbars. (Figure 2)
Figure 2. Equation Toolbar
What are Terms?
Terms are compound mathematical expressions and they are the building blocks used to construct equations. Cosine is an example of a mathematical term. Insert several terms side by side to build your equation.
Three ways to insert terms
A. Click on a term from the toolbar.
B. Click Insert Equation and choose a term from the menu.
C. Insert a keyboard shortcut. Keyboard Shortcuts simply save time. Use these instead of clicking on the toobar.
What is Term Wrapping?
In complex equations you may need to wrap a term (cosine for example) around an existing expression. For example, perhaps you have already entered x+y when you realize it should be the numerator of a fraction. Instead of cutting x+y to the clipboard, inserting a fraction from the toolbar and then pasting from the clipboard to the numerator position, you can combine this into a single step by "wrapping" the term around x+y with one click.
To do this
- Select (highlight) your existing expression. In our example that would be x+y.
- Click the fraction template on the toobar. The x+y will automatically be placed in the first open slot in the term. All templates have a "first" slot for the purposes of wrapping. Generally this is the left-most slot, but in cases where another slot is clearly the dominant slot, the dominant slot is used.
Can I re-use Equations?
Yes, you can use your equations again in any TFE text box. Equations are automatically stored as images in the Local Library.
1. Begin by selecting Insert Image.
2. Select the equation stored there.
If I edit an equation later does it replace the original in the Image Browser?
No, a new version of the equation will be created and all notes containing the original equation will remain unchanged.
How can I edit an equation after submitting a conference note or assignment?
- Open the note or document.
- Double click on the equation. Please be patient while it may take a few seconds for the equation to open.
- Highlight portions of the equation and make changes as desired.
- Save or Submit your note.
How can I format equations?
- Type an equation.
- Highlight the text you wish to format.
- Click Properties on the Toolbar.
- Select Font Properties.
- Select either the default font which is Logical Font, or select a System Font. When choosing a System Font, make sure to select a style that is common to many computers. Arial, Times Roman and Verdana are most likely to be visible to classmates.
Cautions
Please remember that WebTycho will time out unless you save or submit your text in time, so if you are working on an equation for awhile you should save or submit your conference note or assignment and then open it again to edit and continue work.
Entering Symbols
Many equations use the letters, symbols and digits available on the keyboard. For more complex equations you can enter special mathematical symbol characters by clicking in your equation where you wish to add a symbol, and then click a symbol on the toolbar. You may also select a symbol from one of the symbol palettes, also on the toolbar.
As an alternate, if you know the symbol's name or numerical code you can type it directly using the Insert Symbol submenu.
Customize the Toolbar
The standard toolbar contains many commonly used symbol characters. The Math Editor supports more than those that appear in the standard toolbar. If you need to use other characters frequently you can make a custom toolbar containing those.
- Open the Math Editor
- Select Preferences
- Select General Editing
- In the General Editing Preferences dialogue box, for Toolbar select Standard. Doing so will add characters to the existing standard toolbar. This setting will change for you only and will not affect other class members.
- Click OK.
Moving the Cursor
In general the left, right, up and down arrows move the cursor to the next insertion point. You may also use your mouse and click an insertion point. The cursor position is represented by a blinking red vertical bar. There is also a faint gray rectangle outlining the term that contains the cursor location.
To illustrate, consider stepping through the following equation with the right arrow key.
As the cursor moves into the fraction the gray outline shifts to the fraction. it is no longer around the entire equation.
Where is the Cursor Now?
The second visual cue about the location of the cursor is the MathML Ancestry panel. As you move the cursor, you can see the nesting of mathematical terms, with the inner most term or symbol that the cursor is on at the far right of the Ancestry panel, and the outermost <math> template on the left.
In more complicated situations, you might have several nested rows whose right hand edges all line up. When this happens, hitting the right arrow will move the cursor from an inner template to an outer template in the nesting. Although you will see the gray rectangle outlining the parent template change, the actual cursor position stays the same.
Math ML Ancestry Panel
By spending a few minutes playing with cursor movement and nested terms, you will rapidly get the hang of navigating around complex mathematical expressions in the TFE Math Equation Editor.
E N D of P A G E
|
