How to type terminology on word document.

[Mathmanman]

So, I was trying to type something like dy/dx or dt/dy or a^(n)dy/dx
But the problem is: I can't write subscripts on word or nth order derivatives. For my math club, I can't use ^ symbol or dx/dx (must be fraction form). I also need to know how to write the subscripts for y1, y2, y(n-1), y(n) for example.

So how do I do that? The main goal is to be neat and easy to read, since I don't want to confuse people in my mathematics club. (I'm making notes for them)

 

[micromass]

You could always make your notes in LaTeX. It takes a very short while to learn the specifics.

 

[Mathmanman]

I forgot to mention, the integration symbol with interval [a,b]

 

[Mathmanman]

What is LaTeX?

 

[micromass]

What is LaTeX?

It's this awesome program that all mathematicians use to typeset documents. It's really not too difficult to learn and you end up getting nice formulas such as

$$\int_a^b \frac{dy}{dx} dx$$

This is a short guide for how to type LaTeX on this forum: https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3977517&postcount=3

If you are interested in making your own documents, then I highly recommend the website https://www.writelatex.com/ No need to download anything, you can start typing your notes immediately (of course, if you write a lot in LaTeX, it might be worth it to finally download the program on your computer, it's free).

Read through this to get started: http://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/latex-veryshortguide/veryshortguide.pdf
A list with the basic commands can be found on the FAQ I linked: https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3977517&postcount=3

The only real difference is that the command

##x^2##

should be changed by

$x^2$

 

[Mathmanman]

So, I can copy and paste it into word?

 

[jtbell]

Microsoft Word normally comes with a tool named Equation Editor. Do you have it installed?

 

[micromass]

So, I can copy and paste it into word?

The idea is never to use word again.

 

[Mathmanman]

The idea is never to use word again.

Oh okay. But will it print out as a full page on paper? Can I copy and paste a word document that has been already made and edit with LaTeX?

 

[Mathmanman]

Microsoft Word normally comes with a tool named Equation Editor.

No I have not. Where can I go to install it? Link please.

 

[micromass]

Oh okay. But will it print out as a full page on paper?

Sure. LaTeX is used to generate pdf documents (or other formats). These can be read and printed.

Can I copy and paste a word document that has been already made and edit with LaTeX?

Yes, you can just copy paste a word document into a LaTeX editor. You will likely have to make some adjustments though.

You should really try LaTeX. All mathematicians use it and all math books and articles are written with it. I am willing to help you with it if you want.

 

[jtbell]

No I have not. Where can I go to install it? Link please.

Which version of Word are you using? Apparently with Word (for Windows) 2003 Equation Editor was an add-on program (available on the Word installation disc, not as a download), but for 2007 and later the equation-editing capability was built in.

Inserting an equation in Word 2013

Word 2010

For other versions of Word, try Googling for something like "Word xxxx equation editor".

I use the Mac OS version (2011) which still has a separate Equation Editor, but I replaced it with MathType (not free) which has more features including exporting to LaTeX.

 

[AlephZero]

Oh okay. But will it print out as a full page on paper? Can I copy and paste a word document that has been already made and edit with LaTeX?

People sometimes use "LaTeX" to mean just the equation editing part of the system (and on a forum like PF, the equation editing is the only part that is available).

LaTeX is a complete document creation system. I've used it on huge projects (e.g. 10,000 pages of text with maybe 50,000 cross-references from one place to another) that didn't contain any math equations at all. Don't try doing something that big in Word, if you want to stay sane!

 

[Mathmanman]

@AlephZero I know this has nothing to do with the topic, but out of curiosity, what did you need for 10,000 pages of text??