Equation Numbering

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 : blogs.microsoft.fr/.../50908.aspx

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?

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?

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.)

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.

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?

This is a great technique apart from one major flaw... When people want to number equation in this manner they will most likely also want to cross reference them in the form "The Nernst equation (3) can be...". However by following the method described above, cross referencing and auto updating of the cross referencing cannot be accomplished.

If you want to number your equations sequentially and with a professional look as well as have the ability to cross reference them follow the instructions below:

Instead of using a multi level list to number the equation (Step 3), you use:

References > Insert Caption

Click on New label and Type '('

Then >OK.

Copy and paste the caption into the right side of the table and format to your desire.

Continue following steps 5 & 6 from the instructions in the article above.

You can now cross reference the equation by going to the:

Insert Tab>Cross-Reference> Selecting Reference Type '(' >Insert Reference to: Entire Caption>Then select the correct equation number.

To auto update all the captions at once, 'Select All' (Ctrl+A) then press 'F9'

Obviously these are just guidelines and can be played around with to achieve the correct equation numbering format and cross referencing for your purposes.

There is a far better way to do this using the caption tool. Create a custom caption label, '(' for example (or just use the Equation label already included and delete the Equation text after you insert the caption), then you can easily include the Heading 1 number [to have the first eqn of chapter 2 labeled as (2.1)]. Modify the field to suit your needs and drag it into the table created through following the steps in this blog post.

I don't like the method presented here because the numbering is not fully automatic... you have to set the starting number for the first equation of each chapter. Using the caption tool similar to figure and table labeling is far superior in my opinion as it will save the user time and eliminate possibilities for erroneous numbering.

Just realized the post above mentions something similar... go figure!

Another tip I have is to not use a table at all and just use tabs to align the equation. Use a centre aligned table in the middle of the page for your equation and a right aligned tab at the right side of your page for the numbered caption. (or change all rights to lefts if that's your preference)

Just before finding the equation numbering topic in this blog I also found it in word.tips.net/.../T000273_Numbering_Equations.html .

The author suggested the table or tab solution and then, and this was new to me, he pointed me to using the 'Insert Field' and from the top level list, or the 'numbering' category, using the 'SEQ' numbering field . The interesting thing with this solution is that you can book mark the 'SEQ' field and therefore cross reference. You give the 'SEQ' field a name. I haven't implemented it yet but it sounds promising.

Apart from that I am using Mathtype and may well stay with that and a version of Word that will support it.

Hei, I was wondering, I have followed your instructions and things seemed to be going alright but then I noticed that if I start a new set of equations in my next chapter and change the number to say 3, instead of getting 3.1 I get 4 lines containing 1., 2., 3., and then 3.1. Do you have any idea why this is? I can't figure it out and i've tried numerous approaches. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have the same problem as JRMERTES. Plz help!

Maybe，what I use the following steps is a simple way to create math equation, numbering and aligning:

1. Insert one NBSP(non-breaking space) before inserting Word 2010 equation

2. Insert equation, and then press Enter

3. Navigate to Reference, insert caption for equation

4. Press Ctrl+Alt+Enter, equation and number will be at same line

5. Open Paragraph, and then click Tab

6. Set the positions of equation and number

7. Insert Tab behind and before the equation

I have tried many times, it works very well. I have recorded a macro for step 3~ 7.

If you understand Chinese and want to get detail pictures, please visit my Web page,

www.csai.tsinghua.edu.cn/.../index.htm.

After so many years of development, MS and Office staff - you have FAILED to provide the scientific community with a simplified method for numbering equations and then referring to these equations throughout the text.

The same goes for references.

Given the price we pay to have Office on our campuses and personal computers, it is not permissible to provide workarounds (as in the above) or refer to expensive add-ons to get the job done.

There is a way to get equations numbering to work perfectly. There is a subtle trick about how you set up the template I did not find anywhere else. See the you tube video under keywords: word equation numbering (guy with English accent). With a little further adjustment you can make it work perfectly including updatable equation number cross references.