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Introduction To The Microsoft Equation Editor

This document provides a comprehensive guide on using the Microsoft Office Equation Editor, including step-by-step instructions for inserting preset equations and creating unique equations. It emphasizes the importance of accessibility in math documents, offering guidelines for ensuring equations are readable by screen readers. Additionally, it addresses common issues with screen reader interpretation of equations and suggests alternatives for better accessibility.

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Aslamismail Aslam
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59 views3 pages

Introduction To The Microsoft Equation Editor

This document provides a comprehensive guide on using the Microsoft Office Equation Editor, including step-by-step instructions for inserting preset equations and creating unique equations. It emphasizes the importance of accessibility in math documents, offering guidelines for ensuring equations are readable by screen readers. Additionally, it addresses common issues with screen reader interpretation of equations and suggests alternatives for better accessibility.

Uploaded by

Aslamismail Aslam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to the Microsoft Equation

Editor

Step by Step Instructions for adding equations with


the Microsoft Office Equation Editor

Guidelines for Accessible Math Documents:


1. Use the equation editor to write all equations in Microsoft Word.

2. Be sure all your equations are presented as ‘professional’ (This should


be the default option.)

3. Be sure to distribute the whole document as you will not be able to


properly cut and paste the equations.

4. Be sure to check that special characters are being read properly by


screen reader.

Inserting Preset Equations:


Microsoft has several standard equations that you can insert and edit
to fit your needs.
1. Select Insert; Equation will be at the far right of the screen.

2. Select the arrow directly below Equation; this will open a drop-down
menu.

3. Choose a preset equation; a box with your equation will appear on the
screen.

4. Select the box to open the editor.

5. Select elements in the equation to edit/replace them.

Creating Unique Equations:


If Microsoft does not have the equation you need, you can create your
own.
1. Select Insert; Equation will be at the far right of the screen, or use
the keyboard shortcut Alt+= (Alt key and equals key).
2. Select Equation; this will add a blank equation box.

3. Select the box.

1. Use the tools at the top of your screen to create your equation

1. Open the context menu of the equation box (along the right side of the
box)

2. Select Save as New Equation to save this equation for further use.

1. Note: If you have an equation you use frequently, write it with


variables and save it to use as a template

2. The equation editor can also interpret a lot, but not all, LaTeX syntax.
Frequently, the use of curly brackets are replaced with parentheses in
the MS Word Equation Editor. For example, to write a capital Sigma
with subscript “n=1” to superscript infinity, the MS Word Equation
Editor syntax would be: \Sigma_(n=1)^\infty

Checking for Accessibility:


When you are finished adding your equations, you can check your
equations’ accessibility.
1. Select View

2. Select Learning Tools

3. Highlight the equation you would like to check.

4. Select Read Aloud and listen to the equation.

Alternatives when Screen Readers read equations


incorrectly

Sometimes the screen readers simply cannot interpret the equations


correctly, For example, binomial coefficients are frequently misread

o Word Read Aloud reads ‘n atop k’ instead of ‘n choose k’

o JAWS reads ‘left paren n over k right paren.’


o NVDA needs additional plug-ins to read math (such as MathCat), and
even then it does not always seem to work with Microsoft Word.

For situations like these, you will need to either provide students with
how their screen reader reads the equation and how they should
interpret it, or you must provide an alternative format such as HTML.

Another way to distribute documents with math is to put the Word


document through the Central Access Reader (CAR) program to create
an HTML output. CAR can read math in different ways depending on
your discipline; open “Speech Settings” and select the discipline from
the drop

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