Editor Basics

The editor is based on the idea of an equation template. There are templates for fractions, subscripts, superscripts, matrices, etc. To build an equation, you insert templates, and then fill in the blanks.

To fill in the blanks, enter letters and numbers from the keyboard, select symbols from a palette, or replace a blank with another template. If you select something before inserting a template from the toolbar, the symbol or expression you've selected will automatically be inserted into the first blank in the template. Some people describe this as "wrapping" a template around a selection.

By nesting equation templates inside one another, you can build up almost any equation. Navigate around an equation using the mouse and arrow keys. You can also cut and paste sub-expressions to build up more complex expressions.

The editor templates and symbols are directly based on MathML. MathML is the markup language for encoding math on the Web standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). You can certainly use the editor without knowing much about MathML.

Example: MathML source code for a very simple expression x + 4.

<math><mi>x</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>4</mn></math>

MathFlow Editor allows you to customize many typesetting and style properties to fine-tune visual appearances. You edit properties by selecting an expression and opening a property dialog box from the editor menu bar.

Typesetting and style properties mostly correspond directly to MathML concepts. That is, changing properties corresponds to setting MathML attributes. In most cases, MathFlow can process the full range of valid MathML attribute values.