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Easy way to type math

J

JJChicken

Diamond Member
Hi guys, this might not be the most "Highly Technical" question out there, but I think you guys are probably the best to answer it.

What program do you recommend for typing up documents that make heavy use of math equations? I use Mathematica a lot, and it is absolutely fantastic as each math symbol/operator has an easy to remember keyboard shortcut. The downside is that it doesn't format well on pages (word wrap issues) and you have little freedom over alignment.

I would like to avoid learning LaTex as I think its a very cumbersome way to type equations in. Do you guys have any gem programs you use?
 
Why not use LaTeX? Once you get used to it, it's fairly convenient and very powerful.

If you want something with a gui, try the MS word equation editor.
 
TheFlyingSheep said:
Hi guys, this might not be the most "Highly Technical" question out there, but I think you guys are probably the best to answer it.

What program do you recommend for typing up documents that make heavy use of math equations? I use Mathematica a lot, and it is absolutely fantastic as each math symbol/operator has an easy to remember keyboard shortcut. The downside is that it doesn't format well on pages (word wrap issues) and you have little freedom over alignment.

I would like to avoid learning LaTex as I think its a very cumbersome way to type equations in. Do you guys have any gem programs you use?
Click to expand...

I use TeXnic Center (http://www.texniccenter.org/) to produce my LaTeX. It's just a plain text editor that interfaces with LaTeX and has a pretty good MS-Word style "buttons" that short cut to common math symbols and you can bind keyboard short cuts pretty much anyway you like (so you could emulate Mathematica). You will probably want a good LaTeX guide to help you through anyway; I recommend "A Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX", which (besides google) is the only LaTeX manual I've ever needed.
 
philosofool said:
I use TeXnic Center (http://www.texniccenter.org/) to produce my LaTeX. It's just a plain text editor that interfaces with LaTeX and has a pretty good MS-Word style "buttons" that short cut to common math symbols and you can bind keyboard short cuts pretty much anyway you like (so you could emulate Mathematica). You will probably want a good LaTeX guide to help you through anyway; I recommend "A Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX", which (besides google) is the only LaTeX manual I've ever needed.
Click to expand...
This. I've been using TeXnic Center for ~6 years now. Use with JabRef to manage your references and you're good to go.
 
TheFlyingSheep said:
Hi guys, this might not be the most "Highly Technical" question out there, but I think you guys are probably the best to answer it.

What program do you recommend for typing up documents that make heavy use of math equations? I use Mathematica a lot, and it is absolutely fantastic as each math symbol/operator has an easy to remember keyboard shortcut. The downside is that it doesn't format well on pages (word wrap issues) and you have little freedom over alignment.

I would like to avoid learning LaTex as I think its a very cumbersome way to type equations in. Do you guys have any gem programs you use?
Click to expand...

Windows 7 comes built in with a utility called math input panel which kicks ass.
 
I used to use LaTeX, and also used Mathematica. But, starting with Office 2007, I've relied almost exclusively on the equation editor in Word. Up through Calculus II material, it's been capable of doing almost everything that I want it to do. The lone exception is for arcs - it doesn't have an accent mark that is a little arc.

It's also nice for Greek letters, plus has a bit of a flavor of LaTeX to it.

i.e. I can type:
cos \theta = \sqrt 3 <space>/2
and it formats it just fine as the fraction square root of 3 over 2.

(x+2)/(x-3) would format to the fraction correctly, and not have the parentheses in it. x_1 automatically puts in the subscript. x^2 automatically puts in the superscript.
 
I use Latex. I use Miktex and Texniccenter. The fact is, I've only met one person that professionally did not use Latex, and he did his thesis using Microsoft Word (and I believe equation editor). The horror... The horror...

Some of my coworkers use Latex to produce their presentation slides though I don't know if I will ever go that far myself.
 
If you need to type one document with a lot of math, then use whatever you want.

If you foresee needing to type of many documents with a lot of math in the future (e.g., you're a grad student, a researcher, or something of that nature), then learn LaTeX now. It's the best way to typeset things in general (not just math).
 
esun said:
If you need to type one document with a lot of math, then use whatever you want.

If you foresee needing to type of many documents with a lot of math in the future (e.g., you're a grad student, a researcher, or something of that nature), then learn LaTeX now. It's the best way to typeset things in general (not just math).
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I have yet to come across any software that beats the capabilities of LaTeX and BibTeX when it comes to handling equations, citing references, generating bibliographies, etc.
 
Just to add another vote to the LaTeX camp. If you're in/planning any sort of research/development career in science/engineering you can only benefit from learning LaTeX. Picking up the script language is easy as perl or php, and the speed of typsetting over other methods is amazing.

Further, if like myself you have to do a lot of Powerpoint slides with the math, get a copy of MathType to plug into Office. It replaces the MS Equation Editor with a more functional version, but most useful, it converts LaTeX commands on the fly, and you can paste whole lines of LaTeX into it for instant conversion. Massive time-saver for making good looking slides to match a paper.
 
I've always just used the Equation Editor in Microsoft Office. Once you learn the shortcuts, it can be pretty efficient.
 
I used to use MathType occasionally with Office. But, seems to me that it's rather obsolete since Office 2007. I agree, Latex > all, but unless you're doing tons every day, Office's new equation editor is pretty handy.
 
I've been using Texmaker + miktex for a while now. I put the usb install for both in dropbox and write everything from within there, the new version has a pdf viewer side by side with your code.

I've also switched to using Beamer for presentations since I can reuse slides and equations with the same code as I write papers etc in.

Next point, vectorized graphics!!!

While I know a guy who is writing his thesis in Office 2007, and he is as fast or faster at equation editor than I am at handwriting the equations...LaTex just looks SO much better.
 
I use Mathematica and TexMaker on Linux64.

For rough drafts, Mathematica is fine. I move everything to LaTeX for the final paper.

Mathematica has a neat feature: right click a selection and Copy To LaTex. Then you can paste it where ever you want. It's nice for blogs that take LaTeX.

gif.latex


The image was generated by itex within Grease Monkey within Ice Weasel (as an email composition). Then I saved the location and pasted it here. Nifty!
 
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