Equations in Embedded TEX

Embedded TEX makes use of the world gold standard for mathematics typesetting, LATEX. It provides a subset of the features of LATEX that make sense in an embedded environment. Embedded TEX allows you to mix LATEX equations directly into your Microsoft Office documents.

Before you can make use of Embedded TEX to write mathematics in Word, you will need to install Embedded TEX.

Simple Equations

Writing simple arithmetic in Microsoft Word is even easier than using the built-in Equation Editor. From the Insert menu, choose Object...

Choose "Embedded TEX" from the list and click OK.

This dialog box is the "preview dialog". In this box, you can enter your TEX code at the top and preview the result before returning to your document. Let's try a simple addition:

As you can see, LATEX has automatically formatted the equation, ensuring the spacing is correct and the perfect symbols are in use. Click OK to see this equation in Word.

If you want to change an equation, just double-click on it.

Optimising for Printing

The default Embedded TEX environment is set up to produce output for your screen. This is the fastest method. However, if your document is intended for the printer, you may instead wish to change the equation to be optimised for printing.

This give you a high-quality equation on paper, which takes a little more time to generate. Note that printing-optimised equations may look a little blurry on the screen.

Symbols

Most symbols that are not either letters (A-Z, a-z) or digits (0-9) are symbols. Symbols are introduced by typing a backslash \ followed by the symbol name:

3 \times 2 = 6

You will need to put a space after a symbol name if a letter is going to follow, as otherwise LATEX will consider the following character as part of the symbol name. Remember that LATEX will handle the spacing of the output by itself, so any additional spaces you add won't matter.

3\delta x

Commands and Grouping

LATEX has several useful commands for simple maths. The most basic are the superscript:

e=mc^2

and the subscript:

T_s = 3\pi

Notice that these commands only use one character for the text. To make a superscript of more than one character, you must use a group. Groups of text are enclosed in curly braces. This makes LATEX consider all the text inside the braces as one unit.

e^{j\omega t}

To get both superscript and subscript, just specify one after the other:

Cl_{35}^{2-}

The square root operator uses a group to specify its contents:

\sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}

The fraction operator takes two arguments: the first group is the top of the fraction, and the second is the bottom of the fraction.

\frac{1}{T}

Finally, to get sum and integral operators with limits, just use superscripts and subscripts:

\int f(t)dt

\int_A f(t)dt

\int_0^T f(t)dt

\sum_{i=0}^\infty X[i]

Brackets and Parentheses

Using the basic brackets and parentheses, you always get the standard size:

y = 35(\sum_{i=0}^\infty X[i])

To get a more appropriate size, you can use the \left and \right commands:

y = 35\left(\sum_{i=0}^\infty X[i]\right)

If you want to specify a particular size, you can use a specific command:

y = 35\Bigl(\sum_{i=0}^\infty X[i]\Bigr)

Multiple Equations

To line up multiple equations, you will want to use the Math (aligned) template.

Simply type in your equations, putting an ampersand (&) character before the equals (=) sign. This will line up the equations at the ampersand. Put two backslashes (\\) between the equations.

x &= \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}\\&= 3 \pm 5

For more information, see the Short Math Guide for LATEX, by the American Mathematical Society.