Math Type for Linux?

[gatorbrit]

You are correct - but I people I collaborate with don't use latex - math type is used by them and so I need to use a common platform.

[Vivaldi Gloria]

You are correct - but I people I collaborate with don't use latex - math type is used by them and so I need to use a common platform.

OK. I see.

[gatorbrit]

Actually, this is the key issue. If I worked on my own I would never touch windows, but being able to share documents and spreadsheets with non-linux users is an essential part of my work. I am sure that this is a common issue. However, I think the way OO is moving, soon this will not be a problem.

[RVDowning]

Have you been able to get the integration and summation symbols to appear correctly when using Mathtype in Wine on Linux?

There seems to be something messed up with the fonts. If I create a MathType document with the messed up symbols using Wine in Linux and then transfer it to a Windows system they display correctly.

[gatorbrit]

I can get mathtype to work OK and I think the fonts are OK - but the issue is still that copying a mathtype equation into a document is a hassle.

In windows I can open mathtype, type and equation and then just copy it straight into word. But when I do this in linux using wine for both mathtype and word, word crashes.

I tried copy the equations from mathtype to OO writer, but they wouldn't copy - its as if you can't copy from a wine loaded app to a native linux app.

You can save the mathtype formulas as image files and then import them, but this adds at least a few extra steps.

I should say that I did get mathtype to work better by installing it in its own wine folder. I followed these instructions - this might help you with the fonts.

Cheers

Rich

[eldragon]

im not going to be of much help with this post, but, can i ask why?

i personally found it quite useful not having to use an equation editor in order to enter math formula into latex.

i just find doing $\left({ /frac{this}{that} }\right)_{some_under}^{some_above}$ quite faster than using an editor. thats the main reason i use latex

its quite tedious at first, when you are not used to it, but once it grows on you, its as fast as typing

[gatorbrit]

im not going to be of much help with this post, but, can i ask why?

i personally found it quite useful not having to use an equation editor in order to enter math formula into latex.

i just find doing $\left({ /frac{this}{that} }\right)_{some_under}^{some_above}$ quite faster than using an editor. thats the main reason i use latex

its quite tedious at first, when you are not used to it, but once it grows on you, its as fast as typing

You are correct - LaTex is the choice for equation typesetting. I don't use it but I am familiar with it. My problem is that I am in academia and my coauthors use word, and only word. I love linux and really want to adapt to it, but I am always constrained by having to have compatability with people I work with.

So for now, I have to figure out an alternative - and mathtype might be it.

[eldragon]

You are correct - LaTex is the choice for equation typesetting. I don't use it but I am familiar with it. My problem is that I am in academia and my coauthors use word, and only word. I love linux and really want to adapt to it, but I am always constrained by having to have compatability with people I work with.

So for now, I have to figure out an alternative - and mathtype might be it.

there was a plugin for pidgin that would paste small images with latex formulas. you could adapt that

[lad.kocb]

"texmacs" might be an answer to your needs.

I have installed texmacs on everything, even on windows. Texmacs
is a very good tool for many purposes, but I have used it mostly
as - indeed - replacement of MathType. The only extra step is
that you need to save the equations by "exporting to latex",
and as in using MathType, you need to edit or copy also a little
set of macros.

My students most often use "kile" and "texmacs" in parallel.
"kile" provides a fast way to insert macros for equations,
sections, chapters, even the codes of symbols, while
"texmacs" is most useful when designing more
complex mathematical structures.

It takes a little practice to get accustomed to texmacs, it is
a sort of "emacs", so it is not only GUI. For example, you can
enter the subscript mode by typing underline, the same for superscripts.

I have not yet upgraded, but a little search on the web shows
that "texmacs" is easily installed on 8.04.

[lad.kocb]

Vivaldi Gloria has written in Reply 10
QUOTE START
Am I understanding this correctly?
Mathtype has some menus of symbols etc. and then you drag the ones
you want with mouse to form a formula and then mathtype converts
them to latex code and you copy that latex code and paste it in
a latex document?
This must be the the worst and slowest way of writing latex. The whole
point of latex is to get rid of making formulas by hand and you make
formulas by hand in order to use them in latex?

What am I missing here?
QUOTE END

The short answer is "You are missing a lot".
Now to the longer answer. The whole point of latex is definitely not
to get rid of making formulas by hand. When D. Knuth started TEX, there
even was not much GUI around. The whole point of TEX is typesetting
of mathematics represented by rather simple commands and macros in
plain text files, editable in any text editor. TEX then produces DVI files
and there is a whole set of different additional programs to take advantage
of the DeVice Independent binary representations. PDFTEX and PDFLATEX produce
directly PDF, avoiding the DVI step.

You are right, the simple math can easily be entered straight into the text,
but try entering a continuous fraction with terms containing fractions and
braces etc. In such situations the graphical interface is very helpful.
I have been using tex and latex for nearly 20 years, and for longer math
I still prefer using texmacs (LYX is a bit too "independent"), on MSwindows
(fortunately less and less often) I still use an ancient version of
Scientific Word written for windows 3.1, for more complex structures.
(expensive, but very good MSwindows scientific workplaces still available
at http://www.mackichan.com/ )

On texmacs I wrote another comment in this thread.

One more note for those who still need to use MSwindows: an alternative to
"paid for" MathType is TexAide which Design Science gives away for free.
TexAide is a stripped down version of MathType, only the TEX representation
is contained. ( http://www.dessci.com/en/products/texaide/ )