tim@ism780c.UUCP (05/20/87)
How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? For example, I think that I would like one that gives me a window that I type an equation into in some sort of text format ( e.g. eqn or TEX format ), and it displays the finished equation, which could then be CUT and PASTEd into my MacWrite document. Do any of them work this way? -- Tim Smith "Froh wie seine Sonnen fliegen sdcrdcf!ism780c!tim Durch des Himmels praecht'gen Plan, Laufet, Brueder, eure Bahn, Freudig wie ein Held zum Siegen"
hallett@macbeth.steinmetz (Hallett) (05/21/87)
In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP> tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: >How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a >document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? > They interface exactly as you desire. I have both MacEQN and Mathwriter. MacEQN is a DA. They both bring up windows for you to type into. As you need complicated structures like fractions, integrals, matrices, etc., they provide templates for you to fill out. MacEQN is excellent for smaller equations, but isn't really cut out for matrices. Mathwriter is probably the most powerful, but is a separate application designed to run under Switcher. When you finish the equations, both allow you to cut and paste them into your document with full Quickdraw and LaserWriter resolution (both use Laser fonts Times and Symbol but allow you to use others if you choose). In addition, Mathwriter has a utility that allows you to generate TeX representations for inclusion into a TeX or LaTeX document. It is quite good. I think you will find them quite usefull. I have. (Note: I am in no way connected either of these products and don't really care if you buy them or not.) MacEQN can be purchased through many campus stores and smaller distributors. Mathwriter can be purchased through Cooke Publications, PO Box 4448, Ithaca, NY 14852. Phone is 800-482-4438 ext 15 (in NY, 800-435-4438 ext 15). It is $49.95. MacEQN is about $15-$35 depending where you get it. I got mine at the Cornell Campus Store for $15. Jeffrey A. Hallett (hallett@ge-crd.arpa hallett@desdemona.uucp) Software Technology Program General Electric Corporate Research and Development ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many" -- Kirk (STIII) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer: My opinions do not represent my employer's, but it is his fault for giving me this thing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mrh@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Marc Hannah) (05/22/87)
In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP>, tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: > How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a > document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? > For example, I think that I would like one that gives me a window > that I type an equation into in some sort of text format ( e.g. > eqn or TEX format ), and it displays the finished equation, which > could then be CUT and PASTEd into my MacWrite document. > Do any of them work this way? > Tim Smith "Froh wie seine Sonnen fliegen Definately MacEqn doesn't work this way but I agree that would be the best way to implement one. TeX is so easy (and FAST) to specify an equation that using it would far outweigh the lack of interactivity. I find MacEqn tedious (and not particularly well formatted) for doing anything complex and minor changes turn into major hassles due to the lack of editing. If there is something better PLEASE tell us about it! David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu
keeshu@nikhefk.UUCP (Kees Huyser) (05/22/87)
In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP> tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: >How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a >document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? > >For example, I think that I would like one that gives me a window >that I type an equation into in some sort of text format ( e.g. >eqn or TEX format ), and it displays the finished equation, which >could then be CUT and PASTEd into my MacWrite document. >Do any of them work this way? >-- >Tim Smith >sdcrdcf!ism780c!tim The only Math DA that I have used is MacEqn. The user interface in MacEqn work more or less as follows: Open MacEqn, you will be presented with a window approx. 2/3 of the entire screen. Your cursor (a dot) is on the lefthand side in the middle of the window. On the MenuBar a new item has appeared called MacEqn. In this menu are the various options on the type of math you want. Suppose you wanted a 9 element matrix you would use either the matrix choice from the Menu, or you could type in <clover M>. The MacEqn screen will present you now with a small [ (left hook). Now you type in the first 3 elements [ 1 2 3 <at this point you hit Return> type in the next 3 elements [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 <hit Return again> type in the last 3 elements [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 <at this point you hit Enter> The screen now show you a PICT of a large [, the elements neatly arrayed and a large ] - - | 1 2 3 | | 4 5 6 | | 7 8 9 | - - From the Edit Menu you now choose Copy, click on the 'GoAwayBox' in the top left corner. Position your MacWrite cursor at the appropriate place and choose Paste from the Edit menu. Your equation is now in your document in PICT format. Other math symbols are just as easy to process; you can even stack different tyes of math symbols, eg. an integral sign before a root over a matrix divided by a sum (if you have a math crazy enough to allow this :-). All fonts in your system can be used in all the pointsizes you have. In short, a very powerful DA. I heartely reccomend it. -- Kees Standard Disclaimer: I have no ties, financial or otherwise with the makers of MacEqn. | UUCP : keeshu@nikhefk.uucp or {[wherever]!seismo}!mcvax!nikhefk!keeshu | BITNET : keeshu@hasara5.bitnet | FIDO : kees huyser at 508/15 (SagaNet_MacBBS) or 500/11 (HCC_Amsterdam_1) | SNAIL : kees huyser, NIKHEF-K, PO Box 4395, 1009 AJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
fry@huma1.HARVARD.EDU (David Fry) (05/22/87)
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but I met one of MacEqn's developers at an Expo in Boston a few weeks ago. He said that they intend to have an optional TeX-format TEXT output from MacEqn by Fall. So you can make your equations graphically and still have the TeX, too. David Fry fry@huma1.harvard.EDU Department of Mathematics fry@harvma1.bitnet Harvard University ...!harvard!huma1!fry Cambridge, MA 02138
g555377912ea@ucdavis.UUCP (g555377912ea) (05/22/87)
> > Definately MacEqn doesn't work this way but I agree that would be > the best way to implement one. TeX is so easy (and FAST) to specify > an equation that using it would far outweigh the lack of interactivity. > I find MacEqn tedious (and not particularly well formatted) for doing > anything complex and minor changes turn into major hassles due to the > lack of editing. If there is something better PLEASE tell us about it! > David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu There's something better. We had it demo'd for us at the UC Davis MUG last week: MathWriter, by Cooke Publications, $49.95. It's a wysiwyg editor for equation, for Macs and MSDOS both (well, each...). The author demo'd it, it worked for him (of course). The audience volunteer he'd requested then came up and, based on the demo, got the quadratic input with no difficulty. It's been used to create a finite-elements text. Our local physics prof, who's written an intro physics text based on Logo(!), went ga-ga. (With delight, that is.) And since you're at Stanford, and like TeX, I'll twit you with the thoughtful (nah, -obligatory-) extra: for another $50, he'll give you a postprocessor, from his PICT files into TeX. Slick. All orders through him: 800 482 4438, ext 15 outside New York. Disclaimer: I don't own any computer stocks, my PG&E's down 1/3 (as in 33%), and I prefer prose to equations. Ron Goldthwaite, UC Davis Psychology.
frankk@mcvax.UUCP (05/22/87)
In article <1683@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU> mrh@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Marc Hannah) writes: >In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP>, tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: >> For example, I think that I would like one that gives me a window >> that I type an equation into in some sort of text format ( e.g. >> eqn or TEX format ), and it displays the finished equation, which >> could then be CUT and PASTEd into my MacWrite document. >> Tim Smith "Froh wie seine Sonnen fliegen > > Definately MacEqn doesn't work this way but I agree that would be >the best way to implement one. TeX is so easy (and FAST) to specify >an equation that using it would far outweigh the lack of interactivity. >I find MacEqn tedious (and not particularly well formatted) for doing >anything complex and minor changes turn into major hassles due to the >lack of editing. If there is something better PLEASE tell us about it! >David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu Resently I've seen a new (beta) version of MacEqn. It's editing facilities are quite good now. An extra possibillity provided with the new version, is that you can copy a MacEqn PICT from your wordprocessor back into MacEqn and than edit it again! The new version is due within about two months i beleive. -- ___ Frank Kuiper, CWI, Amsterdam. _][__| | mcvax!frankk, frankk@cwi.nl, frankk%cwi.nl@seismo.css.gov <_______|-1 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. O-O-O
graifer@net1.ucsd.edu (Dan Graifer) (05/23/87)
In addition to the two products mentioned by other posters: MacEqn (a DA) and
MathWriter (a stand alone Application), there is a third possibility:
MathType from Design Science, 6475B East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 392,
Long Beach, CA 90803 (213)433-0685. $149 They also have a package called
"TryMathType" which is a limited demo for $10. It works as either a DA or
an application.
Their advertising blurb says it optimizes separately for ImageWriter and
LaserWriter output. Educational Discount, Site Licensing, Dealer Enquiries.
Quantity Pricing. Examples look good, I'm going to order the demo. I
have no relation to any of these products. (Oh, the demo price is deductable
from the purchase of the full system.)
I found their blurb interesting because the equation editting looks more
natural than MacEqn, which I've used a fair amount. Has anybody else
tried MathType?
Dan Graifer
graifer@net1.UCSD.EDU
Disclaimer: Nobody ever listens to me anyways; Why should they start now?eacj@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Julian Vrieslander) (05/23/87)
In article <1683@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU> mrh@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Marc Hannah) writes: >In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP>, tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: >> How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a >> document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? >> For example, I think that I would like one that gives me a window >> that I type an equation into in some sort of text format ( e.g. >> eqn or TEX format ), and it displays the finished equation, which >> could then be CUT and PASTEd into my MacWrite document. >> Do any of them work this way? >> Tim Smith "Froh wie seine Sonnen fliegen > > Definately MacEqn doesn't work this way but I agree that would be >the best way to implement one. TeX is so easy (and FAST) to specify >an equation that using it would far outweigh the lack of interactivity. >I find MacEqn tedious (and not particularly well formatted) for doing >anything complex and minor changes turn into major hassles due to the >lack of editing. If there is something better PLEASE tell us about it! >David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu Funny you should ask.. I just installed a copy of MathWriter on my lab's hard disk today. In case you have not seen it, MathWriter is a very versatile equation processor, much easier to use than MacEqn, and produces nice output from either the LaserWriter or the ImageWriter. It has a interactive graphic user interface (WYSIWYG). Symbols are selected by typing or clicking on palettes, whereupon they appear at the selected location in a graphic window. The logic for moving between structures in an equation is more intuitive (and smarter) than MacEqn. Unlike MacEqn, you CAN edit an equation: just click on the equation to position the cursor where you want it. There are keyboard shortcuts for many of the palette selections, and options for customizing the palettes and commands. Finished equations are transferred into documents by cut/paste via the clipboard. It is an application however, not a DA. But it is shipped with Switcher, and the documentation provides detailed instructions on how to set it up for optimum use with Switcher and MacWrite. The generalization to other word processors is not hard - we are using it with WriteNow. There are a lot of very clever features in this program, and anyone interested in putting formulae in Mac documents should at least try to get a demo. Check it out even if you are used to dealing with embedded-command equation processors. Cost at my local dealer was $50. The developer and publisher of MathWriter (Ted Sobel and Bob Cooke) are Ithaca locals, but I have no connection with them other than having seen them demonstrate their baby in seminars, etc. For more information, contact Cooke Publications, PO Box 4448, Ithaca NY, 14852 (800) 435-4438, ext. 15 in NY state (800) 482-4438, ext. 15 elsewhere -- Julian Vrieslander (607) 255-3594 Neurobiology & Behavior, W250 Mudd Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853 UUCP: {cmcl2,decvax,rochester,uw-beaver,ihnp4}!cornell!batcomputer!eacj ARPA: eacj@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu BITNET: eacj@CRNLTHRY
radford@calgary.UUCP (Radford Neal) (05/24/87)
In article <1683@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU>, mrh@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Marc Hannah) writes: > In article <6353@ism780c.UUCP>, tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes: > > How do the various programs/DAs that allow you to put math in a > > document ( e.g., MacEqn ) interface to the user? > ... If there is something better PLEASE tell us about it! Microsoft Word 3.0 has a reasonably sophisticated equation facility. You enter the equation as a bunch of cyptic codes, but you can quickly change its appearance to the final product (and back for editing). I haven't used it seriously, but it seems to work. Radford Neal
mrh@Shasta.UUCP (05/24/87)
In article <2052@husc6.UUCP>, fry@huma1.HARVARD.EDU (David Fry) writes: > > I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but I met one of MacEqn's > developers at an Expo in Boston a few weeks ago. He said that > they intend to have an optional TeX-format TEXT output from > MacEqn by Fall. So you can make your equations graphically > and still have the TeX, too. > David Fry fry@huma1.harvard.EDU I find the interactive equation making of MacEQN to be MORE difficult than TeX. I really hope they can have MACEQN read the TeX output back in and create a QuickDraw picture. Then everybody should be happy (at least I will be!). David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu
coleman@cartan.Berkeley.EDU (Robert F. Coleman) (07/05/87)
Key words: Superpaint,Switcher,Writenow I've found that using Superpaint and Writenow together with switcher to be much better than Maceqn or Mathwriter. The main advantages are that the user has complete freedom to put symbols wherever he wants and is able to edit his equations easily.