Math 300 Typing Mathematical Symbols in WORD Fall 2003

Many mathematical symbols do not appear on standard keyboards. In Microsoft Word there are at least two ways to insert such symbols into a Word document. One way is the Symbol command and the other is the Equation Editor.

The Symbol command is straightforward. Place the cursor on the spot in the text where the symbol should appear. Click on the toolbar item Insert and then click on Symbol. A table of more than 200 different symbols will appear on the screen. One simply highlights the desired symbol and clicks Insert. The symbol will appear in the text. It is possible to set up shortcut keys for frequently used symbols. This is explained in the Help for Word or in any detailed Word Manual. The usual commands for creating superscripts (Ctrl + Shift + =) and subscripts (Ctrl + =) also can be used for symbols created using the Symbol command. There are also some other tables and fonts available in other menu items here.

To obtain the Equation Editor click on Insert, then on click on Object, and then select Microsoft Equation from the list of possible objects. The desired symbols are then selected from the tables. Text can also be typed. Upper and lower case mode can also be selected. The result is automatically formatted. I suggest that the Float Over Text option be disabled when using the Equation Editor.

For example, this equation was typed using the Symbol command: çA îþ Bç = 2^a. In the Equation Editor it would look like this: . The Equation Editor automatically formats the A and B into italics and forces the spacing of symbols. The spacing can be modified using the spacing/ellipsis list of symbols.

The Equation Editor is capable of formatting complicated expressions, e.g.,

or .

Once a symbol or expression has been typed using either method, the Select, Copy, and Paste commands can be used to place other copies in the text.