[comp.text.tex] Novice Math Mode Question

dbuchtal@math.lsa.umich.edu (Dave Buchthal) (10/10/90)

I'm struggling to learn TeX, and after grappling with my FM for
several days, I can't find the answer to a simple question.
I wish to display math formulae, as one does in display mode
in TeX ($$...$$), but I wish precise control over the position
of my formulae, as I get with math mode ($...$).  I want to
be able to list formulae left justified on a page, or in columns.
Any suggestions?

Dave Buchthal

price@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu (John Price) (10/11/90)

In article <1990Oct10.043029.22597@math.lsa.umich.edu>, dbuchtal@math.lsa.umich.edu (Dave Buchthal) writes:
>I'm struggling to learn TeX, and after grappling with my FM for
>several days, I can't find the answer to a simple question.
>I wish to display math formulae, as one does in display mode
>in TeX ($$...$$), but I wish precise control over the position
>of my formulae, as I get with math mode ($...$).  I want to
>be able to list formulae left justified on a page, or in columns.
>Any suggestions?

	Well, I hate to say this, but the answer's in the FM.  Part of it, 
anyway.  Exercise 19.4 talks about left-justified displayed equations, or 
rather, displayed equations justified with the paragraph indentation.  Note 
that if worst comes to worst, you could follow that example, and set 
\parindent to whatever you wanted just before, and reset it just after, and 
you can align your equations wherever you want.  Caveat - I haven't tried 
this myself; I just remember reading it in the TeXbook the other day, while 
looking for something else.

	Now, putting equations in columns is a different story...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  John Price                   | Internet: jprice@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu
  5-145 Knudsen Hall           | BITNET:   price@uclaph
  UCLA Dept. of Physics        | DECnet:   uclapp::jprice
  Los Angeles, CA  90024-1547  | YellNet:  213-825-2259
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Where there is no solution, there is no problem.

eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu (Victor Eijkhout) (10/11/90)

dbuchtal@math.lsa.umich.edu (Dave Buchthal) writes:

>I'm struggling to learn TeX, and after grappling with my FM for
>several days, I can't find the answer to a simple question.
>I wish to display math formulae, as one does in display mode
>in TeX ($$...$$), but I wish precise control over the position
>of my formulae, as I get with math mode ($...$).  I want to
>be able to list formulae left justified on a page, or in columns.
>Any suggestions?

If you can write macros you should try the following approach:
don't use $$...$$ but for instance
   \hbox{$\displaystyle ... $}
which works for a lot of applications. You can then enclose two
formulas next to each other, or shift the box by \parindent,
or whatever. You'll get problems with \eqalign, tho', but
you can solve these if you know sufficiently about alignments.

Good luck.

>Dave Buchthal

Victor.