Enter and Edit Mathematics
Because Scientific Notebook assumes that you're entering text, you
must tell it when you want to start entering mathematics. Then, entering
mathematics is as easy as entering text.
To start mathematics
To enter a mathematical
character
- Click the character you want from the Common Symbols toolbar.
dtbpF4.062in0.3165in0ptcommon.wmf
or
- Click one of the character buttons on the Symbol toolbar to open a
panel of special characters, and then click the character you want. See the
mathematical character panelspanels on page 10.
Choosing a mathematical character automatically starts mathematics.
To enter a mathematical object
- Click one of the mathematical objects—such as fractions, radicals,
sub- and superscripts, operators, and brackets—available from the Insert
menu or the Math toolbars:
Math 1 toolbar: itbpF253.1875pt66pt30.25ptmath1.wmf
Math 2 toolbar: itbpF234.3125pt70.375pt30.25ptmath2bar.wmf
The program starts mathematics and places a template for the object in your
document. You complete the object by filling in the template. Here are
instructions for entering some mathematical objects.
To enter a fraction
- ClickitbpF21.125pt20.125pt2ptfraction.wmfor, from the Insert menu, choose Fraction. On the screen, you see
itbpF17.4375pt20.3125pt6ptfracpic.wmf, and
the Math/Text toggle changes to itbpF22.4375pt21.0625pt2ptmath.wmf.
- Type the numerator; then press Tab.
- Type the denominator; then press the spacebar.
dtbpF298.5625pt453pt0ptmathpanels.wmf
To enter a superscript or
subscript
- Start mathematics.
- Enter a variable.
- ClickitbpF20.3125pt19.5625pt2ptsupscrip.wmffor a
superscript oritbpF19.5625pt18.8125pt2ptsubscrip.wmffor a
subscript or, from the Insert menu, choose Subscript or Superscript.
- Enter the superscript or subscript, then press the spacebar.
To enter an expression in
parentheses
- ClickitbpF20.3125pt19.5625pt2ptparens.wmfor, from
the Insert menu, choose Brackets and then choose the parentheses.
- Type the expression. Notice that the parentheses are elastic—they
expand horizontally and vertically as far as necessary to enclose the
expression you enter.
- Press the spacebar.
To enter a matrix
- Click itbpF19.8125pt18.9375pt2ptmatrix.wmfon the
Math2 toolbar or, from the Insert menu, choose Matrix.
- Set the number of rows and columns you want.
- Choose OK.
- Fill your matrix with mathematics, moving from cell to cell with the
Tab key.
You can change the alignment of the matrix, just as you can for a
table.
To enter an operator
- ClickitbpF20.3125pt19.5625pt2ptoperator.wmfon the
Math2 toolbar or, from the Insert menu, choose Operator.
- Double-click the operator you want.
- ClickitbpF20.3125pt19.5625pt2ptsubscrip.wmf, and
then type the lower limit.
- Press Tab, and then type the upper limit.
- Press the spacebar, and then type the variable.
- If the variable carries a subscript, clickitbpF19.5625pt18.8125pt2ptsubscrip.wmf, type the subscript, and then
press the spacebar.
If the expression is in a line of text, limits are automatically
placed to the right, like this:
ai. If the expression is
displayed on a line by itself, limits are automatically placed above and
below the operator:
ai
To change in-line mathematics
to displayed mathematics
- Enter an expression; then select it.
- ClickitbpF20.5625pt19.625pt2ptdisplay.wmfon the
Math2 toolbar or, from the Insert menu, choose Display.
To change displayed
mathematics to in-line mathematics
- Place the insertion point to the right of the display; then press
Backspace.
If you enter a certain expression or equation frequently,
you can save it as a fragment and then enter it in any document with just a
few keystrokes. Fragments are available from the File menu and from the
popup list on the Fragments toolbar:
dtbpF5.6092in0.7092in0ptfragbar.wmf
To save and enter a fragment
- Enter the expression you want to save as a fragment, then select it.
- From the File menu, choose Save Fragment.
- Type a name for the fragment; then choose OK.
- When you want to enter the expression in your document, click the
Fragments popup to display the list of fragments, and then click the one you
want.
or
From the File menu, choose Import Fragment, select the fragment you want,
and choose OK.
The program inserts your saved expression into your document. You
can save both mathematics and text in a fragment. The only restriction is
that a fragment can be no larger than a paragraph.
You can enter a series of mathematical expressions even
faster if you enter them in a Body Math paragraph. The Body Math tag is
available from the Section/Body Tag popup list. Each time you press Enter in
a Body Math paragraph, the program automatically switches to mathematics.
This makes it easy to use Scientific Notebook as a mathematics
scratchpad without ever having to leave your document.