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Equation Maker Help

Basic LaTeX

Equation Maker supports a subset of LaTeX commands, including the most commonly used commands.

Common Commands

Whitespace \space
Normal text \text { content }
Bold text \textbf { content }
Italic text \textit { content }
Underline \underline { content }
Superscripts base^{ super } superscripts
Subscripts base_{ sub } subscripts
Square Root \sqrt[ root ]{ expression } square root
Fractions \frac{ numerator }{ denominator } fractions
Summation \sum_{ start }^{ end } summation
Product \prod_{ start }^{ end } product
Integration \int_{ start }^{ end } integration
Limits \lim_{ x \to number }

Math sizing and formatting

To change the math text size, use the following commands: Group the math to be sized inside braces, for example {\tiny i=0} will produce a tiny sized i=0. To format math as bold use \bf: {\bf \vec{B}}. Similary, use \it for italic.

Matrices

Matrices start with the command \begin{matrix} and end with the command \end{matrix}. Columns are delimited with the & symbol, rows are delimited with two backslashes: \\.

Example of a 2x2 matrix:
\begin{matrix}
1 & 2 \\
8 & 1
\end{matrix}

This renders as matrix example

Align

To show multiple lines of equations use the command \begin{align} and end with the command \end{align}. Like matrices, rows are delimited with two backslashes: \\.

Example of an equation with two lines:

\begin{align}
y = (x-1)(x+1) \\
=x^2-1
\end{align}

This renders as align example

Parentheses, Brackets, and Brace

To place parenthesis, brackets, or braces around an expression use the \left and \right commands, each followed by the appropriate symbol. For example, to place brackets around a matrix:

\left[
\begin{matrix}
1 & 2 \\
8 & 1
\end{matrix}
\right]

To show a brace, you must escape it by placing a backslash immediately before it: \{ and \}. There are also shortcut commands to place parentheses/braces around a matrix: use \begin{pmatrix} ... \end{pmatrix} to place a parenthesis around a matrix, and use \begin{bmatrix} ... \end{bmatrix} to place a brace around a matrix.

Greek letters

Greek letters are show by a backslash plus the name of the Greek letter. For example, Greek pi is shown with \pi. Uppercase Greek letters are shown with capitalized names.