8 Replies Latest reply: Oct 30, 2012 12:45 PM by Mr.MathType
Level 1 (0 points)

I just tried copying and pasting some sample expressions above with alignment but it did not work.

How can I work on aligned expression in the command box?

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)
• ###### 1. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (10 points)

Earlier today this question was answered. I too tried to cut and paste. An example that works is:

\begin{aligned}

\prod\big(\frac{t}{\tau}\big)&=u(t+\tau/2)-u(t-\tau/2)\\

&=\begin{cases}

1,          & |t|\leq \tau \\

0,          & \text{otherwise}

\end{cases}\\

\end{aligned}

I also embedded a cases block within this equation.

• ###### 2. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (0 points)

Thanks much Mark!

This perfectly answers my question.

• ###### 3. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (0 points)

\aligned seems to convert \int \sum and \prod to their \textstyle versions.

\displaystyle is not doing the trick.

Any ideas on how to get aligned equations in \displaystyle?

• ###### 4. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (10 points)

I noticed the textstyle issue shortly after making my last post, and in fact tried to resolve it with \displaystyle. I could not.

I tried a quick MathML experiment with my earlier LaTeX code (using MathType to convert). When pasted into iBooks Author the equation renders as a proper display equation.

Maybe someone else will have an idea of how to do this natively in LaTeX.

• ###### 5. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (130 points)

Mark Wickert wrote:

Maybe someone else will have an idea of how to do this natively in LaTeX.

You copied MathML from MathType -- did you try copying LaTeX from MathType?

For that matter, in iBooks Author 2.0, all equations are represented internally as MathML, no matter how they begin! If you start with LaTeX, it'll still be MathML in the end. The LaTeX is only retained in the .iba file. Once you publish to an .ibooks file, the LaTeX goes away, and all that remains is MathML.

• ###### 6. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (0 points)

In case you're wondering, I also tried \limits \nolimits \displaylimits to no avail.

• ###### 7. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (10 points)

I at first did try MathType to write the LaTeXcode , but found this does not work. The standard LaTeX conversion in MathType uses \begin{array} \end{array} and the another export method uses \begin{align} \end{align}, which we know does not work.

As a very very long time LaTeX user, do people natively type MathML? LaTeX math typesetting seems much more compact than the MathML code produced by MathType. Should I be learning this or is the answer to make tools like iBooks Author smarter at interpreting legacy languages like LaTeX?

• ###### 8. Re: equation with alignment
Level 1 (130 points)

Mark Wickert wrote:

As a very very long time LaTeX user, do people natively type MathML?

I'd be surprised if very many people do. In fact the MathML spec makes it clear that MathML was never intended to be authored manually.

LaTeX math typesetting seems much more compact than the MathML code produced by MathType. Should I be learning this or is the answer to make tools like iBooks Author smarter at interpreting legacy languages like LaTeX?

LaTeX and MathML were created for different purposes. MathML is an XML application, so follows XML rules WRT structure & use. I think MathType is a reasonable middleman between LaTeX and MathML, but as I mentioned earlier, iBA will do its own conversion to MathML anyway. What may help in iBA is understanding which attributes iBA's MathML implementation can accept (they're listed here), as well as how properties are inherited hierarchically (really no different than other structured languages, which you may already be comfortable with).

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is where in its structure iBA sets the font for MathML. Probably isn't hard to find; I just haven't had time to devote to it yet.