This article is dedicated to “simple” formulas that don't contain any calculations. If you're looking for information about calculations in TechEditor, see here.

LaTeX equations

TechEditor uses the LaTeX formulaic layout language. With LaTeX, you can:

  • add “simple” formulas that are not related to the program's mathematical engine;
  • add formulas that contain calculations (see Math Latex Object).

Add equation to the report

The formula is typed in the report in plain text.

To create a formula, click the Equation... button on the Report : Insert tab:

The Equation Editor opens, allowing you to type mathematical expressions in LaTeX. It has a preview function, as well as a wide range of templates to speed up manual typing.

Overview of the equation editor

Expression

The Expression tab is responsible for the mathematical output:

Items on this tab:

  • Expression — contains script of the formula;
  • Sections/Sample — LaTeX templates;
  • Preview — to preview the formula;
  • Clear — delete script;
  • Check — check the script for correctness.

Font

The Font tab allows you to assign a customized font to a formula. If you change the settings on this tab, they will be applied to the current (This equation) or all subsequent (Default values) formulas.

Items on this tab:

  • This equation — font, size, color of the current formula;
  • Default values — the same for all other formulas;
  • Inline style — determines whether the formula is inline.

Mathematical fonts

Special mathematical fonts are used for formulas in LaTeX.

The TechEditor installer already contains a number of such fonts, but you can download and install them separately.

Basic settings

You can change the font, color, etc. for all formulas in the report that are created using the default settings. To do this, use the Default values section of the Font tab (see above), or select the desired values directly on the ribbon:

Note. If a formula has customized settings (font, color, etc.), changing the default settings won't affect it. To return it to the default settings, select the formula and set the corresponding parameter to an empty value; the easiest way to do this is from the Ribbon.

Inline equations

Inline formulas are smaller than regular formulas:

inline equation

Appearance

The Appearance tab allows you to assign customized formatting to a formula. When you change settings on this tab, they are applied only to the current formula:

Items on this tab:

  • Inside the border — sets the background color and padding;
  • Border — color and width of the border;
  • Outside the border — horizontal and vertical spacing from the formula.

Work with the equation editor

To create a formula in LaTeX, type its script in the Expression box. To speed up typing, use templates: double-click the button with the desired template and edit the script that appears on the screen.

Click OK to add the formula to the report, or Cancel to cancel.

LaTeX and artificial intelligence

Since LaTeX is an open standard, almost all modern artificial intelligence systems use it. An example of a promt for generating a LaTeX script in the ChatGPT language model:

Hello, could you please generate a LaTeX script for the following formula? d=5*q*l^4/(384*E*J)

An AI answer that can be copied directly into the TechEditor equation editor:

d = \frac{5 \cdot q \cdot l^4}{384 \cdot E \cdot J}

ChatGPT & LaTeX | Dystlab TechEditor