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Equation Numbering

In this post, I'm going to talk about equation numbering, one of our most highly-requested features. Setting up your equation numbering for easy one-click entry takes a few steps, so bear with me. You have to go through this process only once, and after that, you'll be able to insert equation numbers with just one click. Feel free to read the steps below, watch the video demos instead, or do both!

Step 1: Insert a 3x1 table. Your equation numbers can go in the leftmost or rightmost column, and your equation should be placed in the middle column.

Step 2: Next, you'll want to make sure your table is laid out properly, to ensure that your equation is centered horizontally on the page, and your equation numbers are centered vertically with respect to the equation. This step has a few sub-steps:

  1. With your IP in the table, click on the Layout contextual tab, and then click on the dialog launcher for Cell Size.

  2. On the "Table" tab, set the Preferred Width to 100%. This ensures your table takes up the whole width of the page.

  3. On the "Column" tab, set your columns to have the following widths:
      Column1 = 15%
      Column2 = 70%
      Column3 = 15%

  4. Determine if you want your equation numbers to the left or right of the equation. For the cell (left or right) you've designated for your equation numbers, on the "Cell" tab, select Center under Vertical Alignment.

 

  5. Don't forget to hide the table borders. If you want to see the table boundaries, choose "Show Gridlines" on the Borders dropdown.

Step 3: Place your IP in the cell where you'd like to type your equation numbers, and start a Multi-level list. You may want to change list level, so that your equations are of the level 1.1. instead of 1. You may also choose to define a new Multi-Level list, so that you can add parentheses and remove punctuation.

Step 4: Adjust the spacing after the table, to match the spacing after setting in the previous paragraph. If the previous paragraph has 10 pts as its "After" setting, you'll want to make sure your new paragraph also has 10 pts after. Otherwise, your equation will not be vertically centered between the preceding and following paragraphs.

Step 5: Insert a Placeholder equation. You can do this by clicking in the middle cell and choosing Insert | Equation, or by using the Alt+= shortcut key.

Step 6: Now you are ready to save your equation for easy reuse! Select the entire table, and on the Equation dropdown menu, choose "Save Selection to Equation Gallery." Give your equation a name, such as Numbered Equation. From this point forward, you will be able to insert numbered equations from the equation gallery.

In this video, I'll demonstrate how to customize equation numbers to match your chapter headings.

Jennifer Michelstein

Posted: Friday, October 20, 2006 3:53 PM by wrdblog

Comments

XaMaLa said:

Very good!

We share the same point of view on the Equation Editor in Office Word 2007.

If you want to have examples in French, please visit : http://blogs.microsoft.fr/franckha/archive/2006/10/21/50908.aspx

# October 21, 2006 12:36 PM

Rodolfo Oviedo said:

I think this is not good enough. I think that Mathtype works better for equation numbering. In Word 2007, if you insert an equation before the first equation of a second chapter, you have to re-set the number of equation to 1.

Will I be able to cross reference to equation numbers? The demo does not say anything about this.

Will I be able to open a documents where equation where typed with the equation editor and/or Mathtype's profesional editor. Will the equations be translated to the new format? Will the numbering and cross references be kept?

It should be easy to number or unnumber an equation. Is it?

# October 24, 2006 3:23 PM

Rodolfo Oviedo said:

It should be easy to change the numbers format (e.g. (3) to (2.3) where 2 is the chapter for a whole document. Is it? In Mathtype you can do this.

If you change the font type (e.g. from Times New Roman to Arial) and size in the whole document or the normal style, does this change alter the type and size of the fonts of equations. If not, can you change the font type and size for all equations in a single step as you can do in Mathtype?

Instead of giving a percent to each column wouldn't if be better to give a fixed with to the first and last columns so as to use me minimum space and leave the maximum space to the second column, where a big equation may lie?

# October 24, 2006 3:53 PM

Rodolfo Oviedo said:

Is a dispayed equation a paragraph on it own? Would it help to have a style for equations?

Thinking about the spaces before and after a displayed equation, if I have a style for displayed equations, I can change them all at once. I usually have to do so when I swich from a book-like paragraph format (where a new paragraph is noticed by the firt-line indent) to a the format I use for presentations where paragraphs are separated by a space between paragraphs. (I do not use powerpoint for presentations. I just set up custom-sized pages of small dimensions and, when I have to print to Adobe, I scale to the paper size of my choice from the Print window of Word. This way everything gets bigger.)

# October 24, 2006 4:20 PM

wrdblog said:

Hi Rodolfo,

You can in fact cross-reference equation numbers. You will also be able to open documents whose equations were written with Equation Editor and/or MathType. However, there are currently no tools to convert from one format to the other.

You can set the default math font to be used for an entire document, but once you have inserted equations throughout the document, we don't have a UI to change the font for equations only. It can be done through Word's object model.

Settings for spacing before, after, and between equations is something we've spent a lot of time researching, and something we might consider for future versions.

# October 26, 2006 5:15 PM

Rodolfo Oviedo said:

Thank you for your response.

The efficient use of equations and their numbering is the reason I was planning to upgrade to Office 2007 (and Vista, and computer). If I am better off by using MathType, I will not upgrade. That is why I am very interested in this topic.

I guess there should be an easy way to replicate the features of MathType and posting an add-in or add-on (I do not know the difference between both.) in the web to download.

The features of Mathtype to replicate would be:

1) There should be an easy way to number an equation you originally created as unnumbered and vice versa. Many times you realize you have to reffer to an equation only after you wrote it.

2)There should be no problems when you increase or decrease margins. I do not know if the tables proposed in this blog will accommodate automatically. In Mathtype, you do not use tables. You use an Equation Style that includes tabs: a Center Tab to center the equation and a Right Tab to align the number of the equation to the end of the line. If you change the margins the solution is the following: You place the pointer in a line with the Equation Style. You open the Equation Style dialogue box. You select the Automatically Update check box. Click OK. After that, modify the placement of the tabs as needed. Then, all other lines including Equation Style will be modified automatically.

3) One should be able to change the numbers format (e.g. (3) to (2.3), where 2 is the chapter, for a whole document.

Other questions:

a) Are displayed equations a different paragraph in Word 2007 (to which I can apply a Style different from that of the text)?

b) You say that one cannot change the font for equations ONLY using the UI but that you can do it through Word's object model.

b1) Can you change the font of the equations with the UI by changing the font of the entire document (text and equations)?

b2) What is Word's object model?

# October 27, 2006 2:40 PM
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