MathType Tip: Drawing attention to your equations with comments and
||MathType 4 and later (Windows)
MathType 5 and later (Macintosh)
Suppose you're writing a PowerPoint presentation to introduce function rules
to your 6th grade math class. You'd like to be able to annotate an example
equation with labels, but don't know how to do that.
The subject of annotating MathType equations is a broad one. There are many
ways to annotate equations, and we cannot cover them all here. This tip will
suggest a few ways, but we encourage you to seek out additional ways you can
accomplish this. This tip will discuss:
Using MathType to annotate equations
MathType has braces, brackets, arrows, and other templates that are perfect
for this type of situation. Let's say this is the example you want to use:
You should explore each of MathType's template palettes on your own to see
what templates you can use for annotating equations, but there are four that are
particularly useful for this purpose. Notice the templates at the bottom of
MathType's Fences palette (see screen shot to the right). To create the
expression above, just choose one of the templates from the palette, and begin
creating the equation. Be sure to switch to Text Style to type the annotation.
You can change the color either before you create a particular section, or you
can change colors after the entire equation is completed.
Here are some additional suggestions for using MathType's templates for
annotating equations. Each of these examples was created totally within MathType:
Creating the annotations in your office suite
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, as well as similar programs in other office
suites such as OpenOffice, have drawing tools that you can use to annotate
equations. In general, make sure your drawing tools or drawing toolbars are
turned on. If you don't see them, check the View menu for a listing of
toolbars you can choose from. In Office 2007, they're turned on by default.
Here's an example of annotating an equation in a Microsoft Word document (click
the image for a larger version):
Using a paint or drawing program for the annotations
Most paint programs (such as Corel Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Photoshop
Elements) and drawing programs (such as CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator) allow
you to annotate photos, drawings, and other graphic objects. If you choose to
use such software to annotate equations, it's best to first save the equation as
a high-resolution GIF (300dpi minimum) if you're using a paint program or as a
WMF (Windows) or EPS (Windows or Macintosh) if you're using a draw program. Once
you open or import your equation, use whatever text and drawing tools are
available in the software to achieve your annotation. Suggestion: If your
software has the capability of using layers, it's a good idea to keep the
equation in a layer of its own. If you later notice an error, or otherwise want
to make a change, you can change the equation layer without affecting the rest
of the equation + annotation system.
Annotating equations in business graphics software
Business graphics software such as Microsoft Visio or SmartDraw offers a
pretty impressive array of options for annotating your equations. Not only can
you use MathType equations to annotate drawings, flowcharts, and diagrams
created with this software, but once you insert the equation, you can use
available tools to annotate the equation, as shown in this screen shot:
Which method of annotating equations is best?
It really depends on what type of annotations you need to make and what
software you're using. These are our recommendations:
- If annotations can be limited to above and below the equation, to
the left or right, or for "boxing" in an answer (as in the first set of
examples above), it's best to do it all in MathType.
This has the advantage of letting you use the same equation + annotations in
more than one document type. You could use the same equation, for example,
in a handout you create with SmartDraw, the lesson presentation you create
in PowerPoint, and the unit quiz you create in Word. For simple
annotations, this is the best solution.
- If you're working within Word or PowerPoint, or similar programs
in other office suites, it's best to use the drawing tools in those
programs. There is a wide range of shapes, arrows, and callouts available,
and when you're finished, you can group the annotations with the equation so
that they move and animate as one object. Except for some of the simple
annotations you can make directly within MathType, this is the fastest
method of annotating equations.
- If you're using a business graphics program such as Visio or
SmartDraw, you might like the drag & drop simplicity of building handouts or
creating charts and diagrams with this type of software. Annotating
equations is just as easy in these programs as it is to create any other
type of output with them. We recommend doing your annotations directly in
these programs if you're already using them for your project, but don't
choose them because of their ability to annotate equations.
- For total control over the entire annotation process, use a paint
program such as PaintShopPro or a draw program such as Illustrator. These
products let you totally tweak the equation and annotations to achieve the
precise look you want. Of course, with such control usually comes an
increased investment of time on your part, so that may be the case here.
We hope this tip has been useful to you. We publish MathType Tips on a
regular basis, so if you'd like to be among the first to know when there's a new
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