Is there any good software for entering information so that it looks like you'd see math in a textbook? I mean I'd prefer a good clean look over something then something just linear...plus who knows how you'd do a square root symbol or anything.
I've never used them before myself, but my math professors use them and I've heard fantastic things about the capabilities of writing in TeX/LaTeX. Very professional stuff.
Here's a guide for writing mathematical equations in LaTeX:
Is there any good software for entering information so that it looks like you'd see math in a textbook? I mean I'd prefer a good clean look over something then something just linear...plus who knows how you'd do a square root symbol or anything.
What is your final output, use? Is it just personal, school, or do you have a professional need to typeset math? If anything other than the last one I would suggest a TeX/LaTeX solution, or baring that I think that Microsoft word has an equation editor built in (at least they used to, I haven't looked lately).
If you need to produce press ready output then there are plug-ins for Quark that handle this, or if there aren't that many you can do them in Illustrator/Freehand. Adobe has a font set, Math Pi, that is used to build most Elementary and High School text books. The division and square root symbols is made up of multiple characters, including the equation, kerned back on each other. As far as I know there are no plug-ins for InDesign that do this so far, though they were being worked on/
Do I have to type in code like that for to get decent looking equations?! I mean I guess I can get used to it and it won't be bad, but it seems like a big hassle for just wanted to type up math notes sometimes.
TeXShop includes a basic palette for point-and-click input for simple things... it's also a good way to learn much of the syntax.
I've been using it so long I'm actually faster entering the text raw, but it took a while.
One thing you can do is use TeXShop to click up an equation you like, select the equation input, and set Equation Service not to replace the text, but place the PDF on the clipboard, so you can then paste it anywhere else.
TeXShop for palette input, Equation Service for PDF on clipboard, and then it can go *anywhere*.
Do I have to type in code like that for to get decent looking equations?! I mean I guess I can get used to it and it won't be bad, but it seems like a big hassle for just wanted to type up math notes sometimes.
No, you don't. TeX is required of certain professions--particularly those in high-energy physics--because it greatly simplifies flowing scientific papers into professional journals. For your occasional research paper in school or for composing a exams or lecture notes for your students, you have several WYSIWYG options. Unfortunately there is only one major-league wordprocessor on MacOS X. That is M$ Word v.X. It is bundled with Design Science's Equation Editor. I prefer Prescience Interactive's MathEQ (formerly Expressionist). Unfortunately, MatEQ is now copy protected requiring activation. There is also a really lovely equation editor out of Korea called MathMagic.
Actually, the question about math editors gets asked a lot on forums like this one. One or more of the responders will chime in with iTeXMac or TeXShop. These are GUI front ends to teTeX. If you want to use TeX, your choice of these is really a matter of personal taste. The quality of output is the same.
TeX can format text in really interesting ways, like having sinusoidal margins, for example. However, doing highly formatted documents in TeX is not a particularly efficient use of the system or of your time. The scientific papers and books that are typeset in TeX usually have really simple formating. I see people on forums like this one asking about doing really complicated formatting. If that is what you want to do, you are much better off doing it in a WYSIWYG application.
Finally, very few professionals submit their papers for publication in TeX if their journals don't require it. They use M$ Word.
I'll counter that - the *ONLY* submission I've ever seen in computer science that wanted Word was for an eBusiness conference. Every other single one has been PDF, and provides both Word and LaTeX templates.
And believe me, the LaTeX is easier than wrestling with Word in the vast majority of cases, in my experience.
If you're submitting text, and maybe a picture or two, Word will suffice. If you have even moderately complex equations, cross-references, and such, I've yet to find anything to match LaTeX.
After the nightmares I've had with Word in the past, I just simply refuse to use it any more if at all possible... and thankfully, it's been more than possible.
Each field has it's own quirks. CS almost universally uses PDF for submission format, so on the Mac you can basically use any tool you wish.
I just use it to type homework when the TAs start complaining about small handwriting, so I won't argue its merits for submitting articles for publication.
You can download a trial copy at
At first glance, it probably seems like the Equation Editor in Word (or AppleWorks), but you can set up a custom palette so that the symbols or templates you use most often can be accessed with keyboard macros.
Comments
I've never used them before myself, but my math professors use them and I've heard fantastic things about the capabilities of writing in TeX/LaTeX. Very professional stuff.
Here's a guide for writing mathematical equations in LaTeX:
http://www.ams.org/tex/short-math-guide.html
By the way, for simple use in text documents, the square-root symbol on your Mac keyboard is option-v.
TeXShop is probably the best-received LaTeX editor for Mac OS X... and it's free!
Originally posted by Brad
By the way, for simple use in text documents, the square-root symbol on your Mac keyboard is option-v.
TeXShop is probably the best-received LaTeX editor for Mac OS X... and it's free!
So it is. I've always thought of it as a check mark, but upon further inspection it has a little serif on the beginning of it.
Originally posted by ast3r3x
Is there any good software for entering information so that it looks like you'd see math in a textbook? I mean I'd prefer a good clean look over something then something just linear...plus who knows how you'd do a square root symbol or anything.
What is your final output, use? Is it just personal, school, or do you have a professional need to typeset math? If anything other than the last one I would suggest a TeX/LaTeX solution, or baring that I think that Microsoft word has an equation editor built in (at least they used to, I haven't looked lately).
If you need to produce press ready output then there are plug-ins for Quark that handle this, or if there aren't that many you can do them in Illustrator/Freehand. Adobe has a font set, Math Pi, that is used to build most Elementary and High School text books. The division and square root symbols is made up of multiple characters, including the equation, kerned back on each other. As far as I know there are no plug-ins for InDesign that do this so far, though they were being worked on/
InDesign et al can incorporate PDF files, right?
Go grab the TeTeX LaTeX distribution from the TeXShop page, and then snag Equation Service from http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/EquationService/
Now, you can enter in text snippets of LaTeX code, punch a keystroke, and it's replaced by a typeset PDF from LaTeX. Voila. Best of all worlds.
I've been using it so long I'm actually faster entering the text raw, but it took a while.
One thing you can do is use TeXShop to click up an equation you like, select the equation input, and set Equation Service not to replace the text, but place the PDF on the clipboard, so you can then paste it anywhere else.
TeXShop for palette input, Equation Service for PDF on clipboard, and then it can go *anywhere*.
Originally posted by ast3r3x
Do I have to type in code like that for to get decent looking equations?! I mean I guess I can get used to it and it won't be bad, but it seems like a big hassle for just wanted to type up math notes sometimes.
No, you don't. TeX is required of certain professions--particularly those in high-energy physics--because it greatly simplifies flowing scientific papers into professional journals. For your occasional research paper in school or for composing a exams or lecture notes for your students, you have several WYSIWYG options. Unfortunately there is only one major-league wordprocessor on MacOS X. That is M$ Word v.X. It is bundled with Design Science's Equation Editor. I prefer Prescience Interactive's MathEQ (formerly Expressionist). Unfortunately, MatEQ is now copy protected requiring activation. There is also a really lovely equation editor out of Korea called MathMagic.
Actually, the question about math editors gets asked a lot on forums like this one. One or more of the responders will chime in with iTeXMac or TeXShop. These are GUI front ends to teTeX. If you want to use TeX, your choice of these is really a matter of personal taste. The quality of output is the same.
TeX can format text in really interesting ways, like having sinusoidal margins, for example. However, doing highly formatted documents in TeX is not a particularly efficient use of the system or of your time. The scientific papers and books that are typeset in TeX usually have really simple formating. I see people on forums like this one asking about doing really complicated formatting. If that is what you want to do, you are much better off doing it in a WYSIWYG application.
Finally, very few professionals submit their papers for publication in TeX if their journals don't require it. They use M$ Word.
And believe me, the LaTeX is easier than wrestling with Word in the vast majority of cases, in my experience.
If you're submitting text, and maybe a picture or two, Word will suffice. If you have even moderately complex equations, cross-references, and such, I've yet to find anything to match LaTeX.
After the nightmares I've had with Word in the past, I just simply refuse to use it any more if at all possible... and thankfully, it's been more than possible.
Each field has it's own quirks. CS almost universally uses PDF for submission format, so on the Mac you can basically use any tool you wish.
I just use it to type homework when the TAs start complaining about small handwriting, so I won't argue its merits for submitting articles for publication.
You can download a trial copy at
At first glance, it probably seems like the Equation Editor in Word (or AppleWorks), but you can set up a custom palette so that the symbols or templates you use most often can be accessed with keyboard macros.