How to Use the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor is a tool that is available when

composing a message in Discussions or Mail
creating a document in Student Homepages or Presentations
responding to a Quiz question where the answer must be entered in an answer box

The Equation Editor enables you to enter equations or other mathematical expressions, using templates and symbols that are available in the editor.

To use the Equation Editor, you must have Java installed on the computer your are using. To make sure you do, go to the WebCT Browser Tuneup page and follow the instructions. Then reboot your computer.

A. Creating an Equation

Before opening the Equation Editor, position the cursor at the place where you want to enter an equation. (This may be in a message or HTML document you are creating or in a quiz.)
Then click on Equation editor to open the Equation Editor window. If you've already created one equation, make sure that Create equation is selected in the Equation pull-down menu.

Note that it may take a minute or so for the Equation Editor to load completely.

To begin the process of entering a mathematical equation or expression, you can either:
1. click on the red insertion marker in the Equation Editor window and begin entering characters, or
2. click on a template icon along the top of the Equation Editor window to insert the corresponding template into the editor.
  
  These templates for the format of different mathematical expressions contain one or more empty boxes for you to fill in with numbers or symbols.

Equation Editor with Exponent Template Inserted

Templates

Icon	Explanation
	division of fractions
	square root
	general root
	subscript
	superscript
	subscript and superscript
	underscript
	overscript
	underscript and overscript
	sum notation
	product notation

Icon	Explanation
	integral
	2x2 matrix
	parentheses
	cut
	copy
	paste
	undo last action
	zoom in
	zoom out
	insert special characters
	WebEQ help

Use the mouse to move the cursor to the place in the the template where you want to insert a number or symbol. You can use the Tab key to move from one box to another. Enter numbers and symbols from the computer keyboard. - Note that the icon for inserting special characters allows you to use many characters and symbols that are not on your computer keyboard.
You can also combine the templates by inserting one template into a box in another template. Square Root template in Fraction template If you want to modify the equation title or font size, you can change the information in the corresponding text fields above the equation-entry box. When finished entering the equation or expression, click on the Insert button at the lower left of the screen.
At the place where you inserted an equation in your document, you will find notation similar to the following: `{Equation:id=1, title=eqn_1}` This is the equation reference. In order to see how the equation will look in your message, document, or quiz, click on the Preview button.

Modifying an Equation

To modify the equation after you've inserted it, select the equation reference in the pull-down menu below the text-entry box and click on Equation editor.
When finished modifying the equation, click on the Insert button again.

Deleting an Equation

To delete an equation, select the equation reference (the title and id together with the curly brackets) in the text-entry box and press the Delete key.

Further Information

For more help with the Equation Editor, click on Help, which is located just to the right of Log Out along the top edge of any WebCT page. This will open a help page relevant to the page you are viewing.
Click on Help Index at the top of that page. When the Help Index opens, under Contents, click on Equation Editor for Macintosh or Equation Editor for Microsoft Windows.