The Equation Formatter is a powerful tool for both teachers and students to use; teachers can make use of the Equation Formatter when designing problem pages and reference units, and students can use it when writing responses to problems and reference questions.

The Formatter is designed to to handle both simple mathematical expressions and more complex expressions involving nested functions (fractions within radicals with summations, for example).  Anywhere you see a textbox with a toolbar of math icons directly below it, you can click the toolbar icons to add equation elements to your text, or you can type the equations directly.

The following is a list of functions handled by the Equation Formatter.

Exponents (^)
Fractions (FR)
Square Roots (SQR)
Higher Order Radicals (RAD)
Summations (SUM)
Integrals (INT)
Limits (LIM)
Determinants (DET)
Matrices (MAT)
Tables (TABLE)
Symbols (SYM)

Exponents

Inserting an exponent in your mathematical expression is as simple as using the carat (^) on your keyboard.  Whenever the Equation Formatter encounters a carat, it will superscript the next character.  If you need to have multiple characters displayed as an exponent, wrap them in parentheses.  The Formatter will parse through until it finds the closing parenthesis and superscript all the characters in between the two.  Note that the parentheses will not be displayed. They are only used internally to specify the limits of the exponent character range.

Fractions

To insert a fraction, enter the following text: FR{x,y}, where x represents the numerator, and y represents the denominator. More complex fractions can be created by nesting fractions, like this: FR{x + FR{1,2},FR{1,x}^2 - 3}.

Square Roots

To insert a square root, enter the following text: SQR{x}, where x represents the number or expression under the radical.

Radicals

Radicals take the form RAD{x,y}, where y represents the number or expression under the radical, and x represents the order of the radical. The value supplied for x will appear as a superscripted value in front of the radical symbol.

Summations

Sigma (summation) notation requires 3 parameters.  It looks like this: SUM{x = 5,10,(2x + 3)}.  This will appear with the first parameter below the sigma, the second parameter above it, and the third parameter to the right.

Integrals

Integrals work just like summations.  The only difference is that the Formatter displays an integral symbol instead of the Greek letter sigma.

Limits

Limits require two parameters: LIM{x -> 10,(2x + 5)}.  The first parameter will appear under the "lim" text, and the expression will appear to the right of the "lim." Also, the formatter will convert a dash and a greater than symbol into an arrow symbol.

Determinants

The number of parameters required by a determinant is dependent on the size of the determinant.  The first parameter represents the width of the determinant, and the parameters which follow will be displayed in rows.  For example, DET{2,1,5,FR{1,3},FR{1,4}} will display as a two by two determinant, with the two integer values in the first row, and the two fraction values in the second row.

Matrices

Matrices work exactly like determinants, with the exception that they are displayed with square brackets. MAT{2,1,3} would create a matrix with two columns and one row.

Tables

Tables work like determinants; the only difference is in how the output is formatted. The entire object is given a border, and the first row is visually set apart as a heading row. Example: TABLE{2,Velocity,Distance,5,20,3,15} would display as a two column table with headings "Velocity" and "Distance." The table would have two rows.

Symbols

Use the symbol button in the toolbar to add mathematical symbols to your expression.