LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

LibreOffice 4.0

Math Guide

The LibreOffice Equation Editor

and/or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General Public License

(http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution

License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), version 3.0 or later.

All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

Jean Hollis Weber Hazel Russman Laurent Balland-Poirier

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:

[email protected]fice.org

Acknowledgments

This guide is adapted and updated from the OpenOffice.org 3.3 Math Guide. The contributors to

that book are:

Daniel Carrera Agnes Belzunce TJ Frazier

Peter Kupfer Ian Laurenson Janet M. Swisher

Jean Hollis Weber Michele Zarri

Additional material has been added from the German Math Handbuch for LibreOffice 3.4

(translated to English by Hazel Russman). Contributors to that book are:

Regina Henschel Christian Kühl Florian Reisinger

Gisbert Friege (Dmaths) Jochen Schiffers

Additional material has been added from the French How-To Math for LibreOffice (translated to

English by Laurent Balland-Poirier). Contributors to that book are:

Bernard Siaud Frédéric Parrenin

Publication date and software version

Published 3 July 2013. Based on LibreOffice 4.0.4.

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation

Contents
Copyright.............................................................................................................................. 2
Contributors................................................................................................................................. 2
Feedback..................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ 2
Publication date and software version......................................................................................... 2
Preface.................................................................................................................................. 6
Who is this book for?................................................................................................................... 6
Where to get more help............................................................................................................... 6
What you see may be different.................................................................................................... 7
What are all these things called?................................................................................................. 8
Using LibreOffice on a Mac.......................................................................................................... 9
Who wrote this book?.................................................................................................................. 9
Frequently asked questions......................................................................................................... 9
What is Math?..................................................................................................................... 11
Getting started....................................................................................................................11
Creating an equation as a separate document........................................................................... 11
Inserting a formula into a Writer document................................................................................ 12
Entering a formula............................................................................................................. 13
The Elements window................................................................................................................ 13
Right-click (context) menu......................................................................................................... 15
Markup....................................................................................................................................... 15
Greek characters....................................................................................................................... 16
Changing a formula........................................................................................................... 18
Choosing the region to alter....................................................................................................... 18
Carrying out changes................................................................................................................. 18
Formula layout................................................................................................................... 19
Brackets are your friends........................................................................................................... 19
Brackets with matrices look ugly!............................................................................................... 19
Isolated and unpaired brackets.................................................................................................. 20
Recognizing functions in Math................................................................................................... 20
Equations over more than one line............................................................................................ 21
How do I add limits to my sum/integral?.....................................................................................21
How do I write a derivative?....................................................................................................... 22
Markup characters as regular characters................................................................................... 22
Text in a formula........................................................................................................................ 23
How do I align my equations at the equals sign?....................................................................... 23
Changing the appearance of formulas............................................................................ 24
Changing the font size............................................................................................................... 24
Changing the font...................................................................................................................... 25
Adjusting spacing in formulas.................................................................................................... 26
Changing the alignment............................................................................................................. 28
LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide 3

Changing the color..................................................................................................................... 29
Formulas in Writer documents......................................................................................... 29
Numbering equations................................................................................................................. 29
Position...................................................................................................................................... 31
Margins...................................................................................................................................... 31
Text mode.................................................................................................................................. 31
Background, borders, and size.................................................................................................. 31
Creating a formula library........................................................................................................... 32
Fast insertion of formulas........................................................................................................... 32
Formulas in Calc, Impress, and Draw..............................................................................32
Graphical properties.................................................................................................................. 32
Combining formulas with text..................................................................................................... 33
Formulas in charts..................................................................................................................... 34
Customizations.................................................................................................................. 34
Formula editor as a floating window........................................................................................... 34
Add button to toolbar................................................................................................................. 35
Add keyboard shortcut............................................................................................................... 35
Customizing the catalog............................................................................................................. 36
Customizing operators............................................................................................................... 38
Space at the end of a formula.................................................................................................... 38
Default layout with style............................................................................................................. 39
Application to chemical formulas................................................................................................40
Export and import.............................................................................................................. 40
Export as MathML...................................................................................................................... 40
Microsoft file formats.................................................................................................................. 42
XHTML...................................................................................................................................... 43
Flat XML.................................................................................................................................... 43
Extensions.......................................................................................................................... 43
Dmaths – an extension for more than just faster formula input.................................................. 43
Symbolic computation with CmathOOo and CmathOOoCAS....................................................45
Technical details................................................................................................................ 45
OASIS Open Document Format for Office applications..............................................................45
Handling of formulas in Basic.................................................................................................... 45
Math commands - Reference............................................................................................ 48
Unary / binary operators............................................................................................................ 48
Relations.................................................................................................................................... 49
Set operations............................................................................................................................ 50
Functions................................................................................................................................... 51
Operators................................................................................................................................... 52
Attributes................................................................................................................................... 53
Brackets..................................................................................................................................... 54
Formats..................................................................................................................................... 56
Others........................................................................................................................................ 57
4 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Characters – Greek................................................................................................................... 58

Characters – Special..................................................................................................................58

Reserved words in alphabetic order........................................................................................... 59

Index.................................................................................................................................... 62

LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide 5

Preface
Who is this book for?
LibreOffice Math is an equation (formula) editor. Anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly with 
Math will find this book valuable.
If you have never used LibreOffice Math before, or you want an introduction to all of its 
components, you might like to read Getting Started with LibreOffice 4.0 first.
Where to get more help
This book, the other LibreOffice user guides, the built-in Help system, and user support systems 
assume that you are familiar with your computer and basic functions such as starting a program, 
opening and saving files.
Help system
LibreOffice comes with an extensive Help system. This is your first line of support for using 
LibreOffice.
To display the full Help system, press F1 or go to Help > LibreOffice Help on the main menu bar. 
In addition, you can choose whether to activate Tips, Extended tips, and the Help Agent by going 
to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > General on the main menu bar.
If Tips are enabled, hover the mouse pointer over any of the icons to see a small box (tooltip) with 
a brief explanation of the icon’s function. For a more detailed explanation, select Help > What's 
This? on the main menu bar and hover the pointer over the icon.
Free online support
The LibreOffice community not only develops software, but provides free, volunteer-based support. 
See Table 1 and this web page: http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/ 
Table 1: Free support for LibreOffice users
Free LibreOffice support
Ask LibreOffice
Questions and answers from the LibreOffice community
http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questions/ 
Documentation
User guides, how-tos, and other documentation. 
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation/
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications 
Mailing lists
Free community support is provided by a network of experienced users
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/
FAQs
Answers to frequently asked questions
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Faq
International support
The LibreOffice website in your language.
http://www.libreoffice.org/international-sites/
International mailing lists
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Local_Mailing_Lists
Accessibility options
Information about available accessibility options. 
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/accessibility/
6 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

You can get comprehensive online support from the community through mailing lists and the Ask

LibreOffice website, http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questions/. Other websites run by users also offer

free tips and tutorials. This forum provides community support for LibreOffice:

http://en.libreofficeforum.org/

This site provides support for LibreOffice, among other programs:

http://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/

Paid support and training

Alternatively, you can pay for support services. Service contracts can be purchased from a vendor

or consulting firm specializing in LibreOffice.

What you see may be different

LibreOffice runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems, each of which has several

versions and can be customized by users (fonts, colors, themes, window managers).

Illustrations

The illustrations in this guide were taken from a variety of computers and operating systems.

Therefore, some illustrations will not look exactly like what you see on your computer display.

Also, some of the dialogs may be different because of the settings selected in LibreOffice. You can

either use dialogs from your computer system or dialogs provided by LibreOffice (default). To

change to using LibreOffice dialogs if settings have been altered:

1) On Linux and Windows operating systems, go to Tools > Options >LibreOffice > General

on the main menu bar to open the dialog for general options.

2) On a Mac operating system, go to LibreOffice > Preferences > General on the main

menu bar to open the dialog for general options.

3) Select Use LibreOffice dialogs in Open/Save dialogs and/or, in Linux or Mac OSX

operating systems only, Print dialogs to display the LibreOffice dialogs on your computer

display.

4) Click OK to save your settings and close the dialog.

Icons

The icons used to illustrate some of the many tools available in LibreOffice may differ from the

ones used in this guide. The icons in this guide have been taken from a LibreOffice installation that

has been set to display the Galaxy set of icons.

If you wish, you can change your LibreOffice software package to display Galaxy icons as follows:

1) On Linux and Windows operating systems, go to Tools > Options >LibreOffice > View on

the main menu bar to open the dialog for view options.

2) On a Mac operating system, go to LibreOffice > Preferences > View on the main menu

bar to open the dialog for view options.

3) In User interface > Icon size and style select Galaxy (default) from the options available in

the drop-down list.

4) Click OK to save your settings and close the dialog.

Note

Some Linux operating systems, for example Ubuntu, include LibreOffice as part of

the installation and may not include the Galaxy icon set. You should be able to

download the Galaxy icon set from the software repository for your Linux operating

system.

Preface 7

What are all these things called?

The terms used in LibreOffice for most parts of the user interface (the parts of the program you see

and use, in contrast to the behind-the-scenes code that actually makes it work) are the same as for

most other programs.

A dialog is a special type of window. Its purpose is to inform you of something, or request input

from you, or both. It provides controls for you to use to specify how to carry out an action. The

technical names for common controls are shown in Figure 1. In most cases we do not use the

technical terms in this book, but it is useful to know them because the Help and other sources of

information often use them.

Figure 1: Dialog (from Calc) showing common controls

1) Tabbed page (not strictly speaking a control).

2) Radio buttons (only one can be selected at a time).

3) Checkbox (more than one can be selected at a time).

4) Spin box (click the up and down arrows to change the number shown in the text box next to

it, or type in the text box).

5) Thumbnail or preview.

6) Drop-down list from which to select an item.

7) Push buttons.

In most cases, you can interact only with the dialog (not the document itself) as long as the dialog

remains open. When you close the dialog after use (usually, clicking OK or another button saves

your changes and closes the dialog), then you can again work with your document.

Some dialogs can be left open as you work, so you can switch back and forth between the dialog

and your document. An example of this type is the Find & Replace dialog.

8 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Using LibreOffice on a Mac

Some keystrokes and menu items are different on a Mac from those used in Windows and Linux.

The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this chapter. For a more

detailed list, see the application Help.

Windows or Linux Mac equivalent Effect

Tools > Options menu

selection

LibreOffice > Preferences Access setup options

Right-click Control+click Opens a context menu

Ctrl (Control)

⌘ (Command)

Used with other keys

Shift+⌘+F5

Opens the Navigator

F11

⌘+T

Opens the Styles and Formatting window

Who wrote this book?

This book was written by volunteers from the LibreOffice community, as listed on the Copyright

page. Profits from sales of the printed edition will be used to benefit the community.

Frequently asked questions

How is LibreOffice licensed?

LibreOffice is distributed under the Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved Lesser General

Public License (LGPL). The LGPL license is available from the LibreOffice website:

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/license/

May I distribute LibreOffice to anyone?

Yes.

How many computers may I install it on?

As many as you like.

May I sell it?

Yes.

May I use LibreOffice in my business?

Yes.

Is LibreOffice available in my language?

LibreOffice has been translated (localized) into over 40 languages, so your language probably

is supported. Additionally, there are over 70 spelling, hyphenation, and thesaurus dictionaries

available for languages, and dialects that do not have a localized program interface. The

dictionaries are available from the LibreOffice website at: www.libreoffice.org.

How can you make it for free?

LibreOffice is developed and maintained by volunteers and has the backing of several

organizations.

How can I contribute to LibreOffice?

You can help with the development and user support of LibreOffice in many ways, and you do

not need to be a programmer. To start, check out this webpage:

http://www.documentfoundation.org/contribution/

Preface 9

May I distribute the PDF of this book, or print and sell copies?

Yes, as long as you meet the requirements of one of the licenses in the copyright statement at

the beginning of this book. You do not have to request special permission. In addition, we

request that you share with the project some of the profits you make from sales of books, in

consideration of all the work we have put into producing them.

10 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

What is Math?

Math is LibreOffice’s component for writing mathematical and chemical equations. It is most

commonly used as an equation editor for text documents, but it can also be used with other types

of documents or stand-alone. When used inside Writer, the equation is treated as an object inside

the text document.

Note

The equation editor is for writing equations in symbolic form, as in equation 1. If you

want to evaluate a numeric value, see the Calc Guide.

df (x )

=ln(x)+tan

−1

)

(1)

O⇌NH

+OH

−

Getting started

You can create an equation (formula) as a separate document or insert it into a document in Writer

or another component of LibreOffice.

Creating an equation as a separate document

To create an equation as a separate document, open the Math component of LibreOffice using one

of these methods:

• On the menu bar, choose File > New > Formula.

• On the standard toolbar, click the triangle to the left of the New icon and choose Formula.

• From the Start Center, click Formula.

An empty formula document opens (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: An empty formula document

Getting started 11

The upper area is the preview window, where the equation will appear during and after input. The

lower area is the equation editor, where the markup code for the equation is entered. The floating

Elements window will also appear.

Inserting a formula into a Writer document

To insert a formula into a Writer document, open the document and then choose Insert > Object >

Formula from the menu bar.

The formula editor opens at the bottom of the Writer window, and the floating Elements window

appears. You will also see a small box with a gray border in your document, where the formula will

be displayed, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Equation Editor, Elements window, and location of resulting equation in Writer

Tip

If the Elements window is missing, show it with View > Elements.

When you are done entering the formula, you can close the editor by pressing the Esc key or by

clicking an area outside the formula in the main document. A double-click will open the editor

again, so you can edit the formula.

Formulas are inserted as OLE objects. In a Writer document, the formula is anchored as a

character, so it is embedded in the continuous text. You can, as with any other OLE object, change

the anchor and make the formula floating. In Calc, Impress, and Draw documents, formulas are

embedded as floating OLE objects.

If you frequently need to insert formulas, it is advisable to add the Formula button to the Standard

toolbar or create a keyboard shortcut. See “Add button to toolbar” or “Add keyboard shortcut” on

page 35.

12 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Entering a formula

The equation editor uses a markup language to represent formulas. For example, %beta creates

the Greek character beta (

). This markup is designed to read similar to English whenever

possible. For example, a over b produces a fraction:

You can enter a formula in three ways:

• Select a symbol from the Elements window.

• Right-click on the equation editor and select the symbol from the context menu.

• Type markup in the equation editor.

The context menu and the Elements window insert the markup corresponding to a symbol. This

provides a convenient way to learn the LibreOffice Math markup.

Note

Click on the document body to exit the formula editor.

Double-click on a formula to enter the formula editor again.

The Elements window

The simplest method for entering a formula is the Elements window.

Figure 4: Symbols are divided into categories

The Elements window is divided into two main parts.

• The top shows the symbol categories. Click on these to change the list of symbols.

• The bottom shows the symbols available in the current category.

Tip

You can hide or show the Elements window with View > Elements.

Example 1:

5×4

For this example we will enter a simple formula:

5×4

. On the Elements window:

1) Select the top-left button of the categories (top) section.

2) Click on the multiplication symbol.

Entering a formula 13

Figure 5: Selecting the multiplication symbol

When you select the multiplication symbol on the Elements window, two things happen:

• The equation editor shows the markup:

<?> times <?>

• The body of the document shows a gray box like this:

❑×❑

Figure 6: Result of selecting the multiplication symbol

The <?> symbols shown in Figure 6 are placeholders that you can replace by other text, for

example 5 and 4. The equation will update automatically, and the result should resemble Figure 7.

Tip

During edition of a formula, reserved placeholders are indicated by squares in the

formula and <?> in the command window. You can navigate through these

placeholders thanks to F4 and Shift+F4.

Tip

To keep the equation from updating automatically, select View >AutoUpdate display.

To update a formula manually, press F9 or select View > Update.

14 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Figure 7: Result of entering 5 and 4 next to the times operator

Right-click (context) menu

Another way to access mathematical symbols is to right-click on the equation editor. This pops up

the menu shown in Figure 8. The items in this menu correspond to those in the Elements window,

with some extra commands.

Figure 8: Right-click (context) menu

Note

Neither the window elements, nor the context menu contains a complete list of

commands. For some seldom-used commands, you must always enter the markup.

A complete list of commands can be found in Appendix A to this manual, page 48.

Markup

You can type the markup directly in the equation editor. For example, you can type 5 times 4 to

obtain

5×4

. If you know the markup, this can be the fastest way to enter a formula.

Tip

The formula markup resembles the way the formula reads in English.

Entering a formula 15

Below is a short list of common equations and their corresponding markup.

Display Command Display Command

a=b

a = b

√

sqrt {a}

a^2

a_n

∫

f (x)dx

int f(x) dx

∑

sum a_n

a≤b

a <= b

∞

infinity

a×b

a times b

x⋅y

x cdot y

Greek characters

Greek characters (

α, β,γ ,θ

, etc) are common in mathematical formulas. These characters are

not available in the Elements window or the right-click menu. Fortunately, the markup for Greek

characters is simple: Type a % sign followed by the name of the character, in English.

• To write a lowercase character, type the name of the character in lowercase.

• To write an uppercase character, type the name of the character in uppercase.

• To write in italic, add an i between % sign and the name of the character.

A complete table of Greek characters is provided on page 58. See the table below for some

examples.

Lowercase Uppercase Italic lowercase Italic uppercase

%alpha

→ α

%ALPHA

→ Α

%ialpha

→

%iALPHA

→

%beta

→ β

%BETA

→ Β

%ibeta

→

%iBETA

→

%gamma

→ γ

%GAMMA

→ Γ

%igamma

→

%iGAMMA

→

%psi

→ ψ

%PSI

→ Ψ

%ipsi

→

%iPSI

→

%phi

→ ϕ

%PHI

→ Φ

%iphi

→

%iPHI

→

%theta

→ θ

%THETA

→ Θ

%itheta

→

%iTHETA

→

Another way to enter Greek characters is by using the Symbols catalog window. Choose Tools >

Catalog. This window is shown in Figure 9. Under Symbol set, select Greek and double-click on a

Greek letter from the list. The markup name of the character is shown below the list window.

16 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Figure 9: Symbols catalog, used for entering Greek characters and some special symbols

Example 2:

π ≃ 3.14159

For this example we will suppose that:

• We want to enter the above formula (the value of pi rounded to 5 decimal places).

• We know the name of the Greek character (pi).

• But we do not know the markup associated with the

≃

symbol.

Step 1: Type % followed by the text pi. This displays the Greek character

Step 2: Open the Elements window (View > Elements).

Step 3: The

≃

symbol is a relation, so we click on the Relations button. If you hover the mouse

over this button you see the tooltip Relations (Figure 10).

Figure 11 shows the Elements window after clicking the Relations button. The symbol we want is

circled.

Figure 10: Tooltip indicates the

Relations button

Figure 11: After selecting Relations

Step 4: Click on the a

≃

b symbol. The equation editor now shows the markup %pi<?> simeq

<?>.

Entering a formula 17

Step 5: Delete the <?> text, press the F4 key and type 3.14159 at the end of the equation. We

end up with the markup %pi simeq 3.14159. The result is shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Final result

Changing a formula

You can change a formula at any time. To switch into edit mode, double-click on the formula.

Choosing the region to alter

To get to the appropriate section in the markup code, do any one of the following:

• In the equation editor, click on the location.

• Select an area of the markup code that you wish to change.

• Click on an element in the preview area; the cursor will automatically move to the

corresponding point in the equation editor.

• Double-click on an element in the preview area; the corresponding section in the equation

editor will be selected.

To be able to work in the upper (preview) area in the stand-alone Math window (Figure 2), the

formula cursor must be activated. Use the Formula Cursor button on the Tools toolbar.

Carrying out changes

You can change an equation by overwriting selected text or by inserting new markup code at the

cursor position.

Tip

LibreOffice also provides a means of carrying out alterations directly in the preview

area. This is still under development and therefore counts as “experimental”. In

order to make use of it, you must first carry out the following configuration change:

go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > General and check the box for Enable

experimental (unstable) features.

The activation of this option makes it impossible, by clicking on a formula element, to

gain access to the corresponding position in the markup code.

18 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Caution

The use of experimental features can lead to program crashes and/or loss of data.

Only make the above change if you can accept this risk.

Formula layout

The most difficult part of using LibreOffice Math comes when writing complicated formulas. This

section provides some advice.

Brackets are your friends

LibreOffice Math knows nothing about order of operation. You must use brackets to state the order

of operations explicitly. Consider the following examples.

Markup Result Markup Result

2 over x + 1

2 over {x + 1}

x +1

– 1 over 2

−1

– {1 over 2}

−

In the first example, Math has recognized that the 2 before and the x after the over belong to the

fraction, and has represented them accordingly. If you want x+1 rather than x to be the

denominator, you must bracket them together so that both will be placed there.

In the second example, Math has recognized the minus sign as a prefix for the 1 and has therefore

placed it in the numerator of the fraction. If you wish to show that the whole thing is negative, with

the minus sign in front of the fraction, you must put the fraction in brackets in order to signify to

Math that the characters belong together.

The braces belong solely to the layout of the markup code and are not printed. If you wish to use

braces in the formula, use the commands lbrace and rbrace.

Compare the following examples:

Markup Result Markup Result

x over {–x + 1}

−x +1

x over lbrace –x + 1

rbrace

{−x +1}

Brackets with matrices look ugly!

For background, we start with an overview of the matrix command.

Markup Result

matrix { a # b ## c # d }

a b

c d

Note

Rows are separated by two #’s and entries within each row are separated by one #.

Formula layout 19

The first problem people have with matrices is that brackets do not scale with the matrix:

Markup Result

( matrix { a # b ## c # d } )

(

a b

c d

)

LibreOffice Math provides scalable brackets. That is, the brackets grow in size to match the size of

their contents. Use the commands left( and right) to make scalable brackets.

Markup Result

left( matrix { a # b ## c # d } right)

(

a b

c d

)

Tip

Use left[ and right] to obtain square brackets. The list of all available brackets is on

page 54.

Tip

If you want all brackets to be scalable, go to Format > Spacing. Then in the Spacing

dialog, choose the category Brackets and check the option Scale all brackets.

These scalable brackets may also be used with any element, such as fraction, square root, and so

on.

Isolated and unpaired brackets

Math expects that for every opening bracket there will be a closing one. If you forget a bracket,

Math places an inverted question mark by the corresponding bracket. The inverted question mark

disappears when all the brackets are matched. Sometimes forgetting a bracket causes the whole

structure of the formula to fall apart. However, an unpaired bracket is sometimes necessary. In

such cases, you have two options.

With non-scalable brackets, use a preceding backslash \ to indicate that the following character

should not be regarded as a bracket but as a literal character. So the half-open interval [a;b[ is

represented by \[a;b\[ — try comparing this with [a;b[

Scalable brackets can also be unpaired. The same half-open interval is represented by

left [ a; b right [

For scalable brackets, you can also use the command none to replace a non-existent paired

bracket.

∣

{

x for x≥0

−x for x <0

can be represented by

abs x = left lbrace stack {x "for" x >= 0 # -x "for" x < 0} right none

Recognizing functions in Math

In the basic installation, Math outputs variables in italics. If you enter a function, Math usually

recognizes it and outputs it normally. If Math fails to recognize a function (a list of recognized

functions begins on page 48), you can inform Math about it. Enter the markup code func before

the function, and the following text will be recognized as a function.

20 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Some functions recognized by Math need to be followed by numbers or variables. If these are

missing, Math puts an inverted red question mark ¿ in their place, which you can only remove by

correcting the formula: enter a variable or a number, or a pair of empty braces { } as a placeholder.

Tip

You can navigate through errors using F3 and Shift+F3.

Equations over more than one line

Suppose you want to make an equation covering more than one line; for example:

x=3

y=1

Your first reaction would be to simply press the Enter key. However, if you press the Enter key,

although the markup goes to a new line, the resulting equation does not. You must type the

newline command explicitly. This is illustrated in the table below.

Markup Result

x = 3

y = 1

x=3 y=1

x = 3 newline

y = 1

x=3

y=1

If you want to continue the calculation on a new line without writing a complete new equation, this

is not directly possible, because Math expects a term on the left hand side of an equals sign. You

can substitute:

• Empty quotes "". This will automatically cause the line to be left-justified.

• Empty braces { }. The line will then be centered.

• Spaces characters ` or ~. The line will be centered with the spaces.

The alignment of equals signs under each other is described on page 23.

As well, spacing between elements in formulas is not set by space characters in the code. You

need to use special markup to add spaces: ` (grave) for a small space, ~ for a large space.

Another solution would be to add space characters between quotes, to be considered as text.

Space markup at the end of a formula are ignored by default (see “Space at the end of a formula”

on page 38).

How do I add limits to my sum/integral?

The sum and int commands (see complete list on page 52) can (optionally) take the parameters

from and to. These are used for lower and upper limits respectively. These parameters can be

used singly or together.

Markup Result

sum from k = 1 to n a_k

∑

k =1

int from 0 to x f(t) dt

int_0^x f(t) dt

∫

f (t )dt

∫

f (t ) dt

Formula layout 21

Markup Result

int from Re f

∫

ℜ

sum to infinity 2^{-n}

∑

∞

−n

Note

For more details on integrals and sums, see page 52.

How do I write a derivative?

Writing derivatives essentially comes down to one trick: Tell LibreOffice it is a fraction.

In other words, you have to use the over command. Combine this with either the letter d (for a total

derivative) or the partial command (for a partial derivative) to achieve the effect of a derivative.

Note

Notice that we have to use braces (squiggly brackets) to make the derivative.

Markup Result

{df} over {dx}

{partial f} over {partial y}

∂ f

∂ y

{partial^2 f} over {partial t^2}

∂

∂t

To write function names with primes, as is usual in school notation, you must first add the signs to

the catalog. Using single and double quotes is typographically ugly. See “Customizing the catalog”

on page 36.

Markup characters as regular characters

Characters that are used for controlling markup cannot be entered directly as normal characters.

The characters concerned are: %, {, }, &, |, _, ^ and ". So, for example, you cannot write 2% =

0.02 or 1" = 2.56cm. Two methods are available to overcome this limitation:

• Use double quotes to mark the character as text, for example 2"%"= 0.02. Obviously this is

not possible for the double-quote character itself.

• Add the character to the catalog. See “Customizing the catalog” on page 36.

In some cases you can use commands:

• lbrace and rbrace give you literal braces

{}

• mline gives you the vertical line, for example 2 mline 3 for

∣

Conversion into a character entity as in html or the use of an escape character is not possible in

Math.

22 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Text in a formula

To include text in a formula, enclose it in straight double-quotes:

abs x = left lbrace matrix {x # "for " x >= 0 ## -x # "for " x < 0} right none

∣

{

x for x ≥0

−x for x <0

All characters except double quotes are permissible in text. Unfortunately the Special characters

dialog is not available. If necessary, you can write the text in a text document and copy it into the

equation editor via the clipboard. In this way smart quotes can be inserted, as shown below.

Figure 13: Smart quotes included by copy and paste from Writer.

Text is shown in the font that was selected from the Text list in the Fonts dialog (compare with the

section “Changing the font” on page 25). To use a font from the lower window of the equation

editor, set the attribute Serif, Sans or Fixed before the text.

By default, text is left-justified. You can change the justification with alignc or alignr (see

“Changing the alignment” on page 28).

Commands are not interpreted within text. Use quotes to break up the text if you wish to use

special formatting commands.

"In " color blue bold "isosceles" "triangles, the base angles are equal"

In isosceles triangles, the base angles are equal

How do I align my equations at the equals sign?

LibreOffice Math does not have a command for aligning equations on a particular character, but

you can use a matrix to do this, as shown below.

Markup Result

matrix{

alignr x+y # {}={} # alignl 2 ##

alignr x # {}={} # alignl 2-y

}

x+ y = 2

x = 2− y

The empty braces around = are necessary because = is a binary operator and thus needs an

expression on each side. You may replace them with space characters (` or ~).

Formula layout 23

You can reduce the spacing around = if you change the inter-column spacing of the matrix:

1) With the equation editor open, choose Format > Spacing from the menu bar.

2) In the Spacing dialog (Figure 14), click the Category button and select Matrices in the

drop-down menu.

3) Enter 0% for Column spacing and click OK.

Figure 14: Changing spacing in a matrix formula

Changing the appearance of formulas

Changing the font size

This is one of the most common questions people ask about LibreOffice Math. The answer is

simple, but not intuitive:

1) Start the formula editor and choose Format > Font size.

2) Select a larger font size under Base size (top-most entry).

Figure 15. Edit Base size (top) to make a formula bigger

The result of this change is illustrated in Figure 16.

24 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Figure 16. Result of changing the base font size

Note

The change in font size applies only to the current formula. To change the font size

generally, click on the Default button and then OK. A general change in the font size

might, for example, make your work easier when you are preparing a big

presentation and want all the formulas in it to have a base size of 28pt—but do not

forget to set the font size back to its original value when the work is finished.

Warning: this modifies only the current formula and future formulas you will write. To

modify all formulas already existing in the document, you need to use a macro (see

page 45).

The size of a subset of characters in a formula may be modified using the size command. For

instance: b size 5{a} :

b a

. In Elements window, last but one icon of Attributes tab

gives the size command. The value just after size may be absolute (numeric value) or relative to

the context (base size by default): +6, -3, /2, or *2 for instance.

Changing the font

The fonts used in formulas can be changed using Format > Fonts.

The Formula fonts section of the Fonts dialog (Figure 17) refers to the four specified formula

elements. The font for operators, relationships and brackets is not affected, as these elements

normally come from the OpenSymbol font. Similarly elements from the catalog (see “Customizing

the catalog” on page 36) continue to be displayed in the font specified there.

Figure 17: Fonts dialog

The Custom fonts section determines which font will be used when the attribute font serif, font

sans or font fixed is specified.

Changing the appearance of formulas 25

To change a font, first click on the Modify listbox.

Choose the type of entry you wish to modify. The Fonts dialog opens, showing all the fonts

available on your system.

Figure 18: Font dialog

If you enter an initial character in the upper text box, the list will jump to that place. By entering a

few additional characters, you can specify the exact font that you want. If you do not know its

name, use the scrollbar to scroll through them. Click on any name and the box below will show a

preview.

Variables should be written in italics, so make sure that the Italic option is selected. For all other

elements, use the basic (Roman) form. The style can be easily altered in the formula itself by using

the commands italic or bold to set these characteristics and nitalic or nbold to unset them.

When you have chosen a new font for a formula, the old font remains in the list alongside the new

one and can be selected again. This applies only to the current session; the old font is not stored

permanently.

You can choose whatever fonts you like, but if you are exchanging documents with someone else,

you should choose fonts that are present on your colleague’s computer.

Adjusting spacing in formulas

To increase or decrease spacing in formulas, do the following:

1) Go to Format > Spacing.

2) In the Spacing dialog, click the triangle next to Category, and choose an entry from the list.

26 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

3) Choose appropriate spacing values (the types of spacing that can be set depend on the

category) and click OK.

Figure 19: Spacing dialog

Note

Changes in spacing apply only to the current formula. To change spacing generally,

click on the Default button and then OK.

Spacing changes are possible for the categories shown in the following table.

Category Possible adjustment

Spacing

Character spacing Line spacing Root spacing

Indexes

Superscript Subscript

Fractions

Numerator Denominator

Fraction bars

Excesslength Line thickness

Limits

Upper limit Lower limit

Brackets

Excess size Spacing

Changing the appearance of formulas 27

Matrices

Line spacing Column spacing

Symbols

Primary height Minimum spacing

Operators

Excess size Spacing

Borders

Left Right Top Bottom

Changing the alignment

The alignment settings determine how formula elements located above one another are aligned

horizontally relative to each other. Use Format > Alignment to choose between Left, Centered or

Right on a global basis.

Figure 20: Alignment dialog

Here again you can use the Default button to make the change apply to all formulas and not just

the current one. The following example shows the effect in different situations.

Alignment Examples

left

−9

(

100

)

−2 a b cos γ

cos γ=

−a

−b

−2 a b

centered (Default)

−9

(

100

)

−2 a b cos γ

cos γ=

−a

−b

−2 a b

28 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Alignment Examples

right

−9

(

100

)

−2 a b cos γ

cos γ=

−a

−b

−2 a b

It is not possible to align formulas on a particular character.

Default settings of alignment do not apply to text elements; they are always aligned left. In the

following examples, the default alignment is right but the first example begins the second line with

text (albeit empty text) and is therefore aligned left.

Markup Code Result

{1+2+3+4} over 5 + 2 over {60+70+80+90}

newline

""=2+1 over 150

1+2+3+4

60+70+80 +90

=2+

150

{1+2+3+4} over 5 + 2 over {60+70+80+90}

newline

{}=2+1 over 150

1+2+3+4

60+70+80 +90

=2+

150

Independent of the default alignment, it is possible to align formulas explicitly using the commands

alignl, alignc and alignr. This attribute also works for text elements.

Changing the color

Use the command color to change the color of a subset of a formula: color red ABC gives

ABC

. There are eight colors to choose between: white, black, cyan, magenta, red, blue,

green, yellow.

You may give a color to a subset of a formula if it is gathered between { } or other parentheses.

For instance: A B color green {C D} E gives

A BC D E

If several colors are used, the one the more inside the formula is applied, as in this example :

color blue {A B color yellow C D} gives

A BC D

It is not possible to select background color: it is always transparent in Math. The background color

of the whole formula is then the same as the one of the document or frame (in a text document for

instance). In Writer, you can use object properties (right-click > Object) choose a background color

for the whole formula (see “Background, borders, and size” on page 31).

Formulas in Writer documents

Numbering equations

Equation numbering is one of Writer’s best hidden features. The steps are simple, but obscure:

1) Start a new line.

2) Type fn and then press F3.

The fn is replaced by a numbered formula:

E=mc

(2)

Formulas in Writer documents 29

Now you can double-click on the formula to edit it. For example, here is the Riemann Zeta function:

ζ( z)=

∑

n=1

∞

(3)

You can reference an equation (“as shown in Equation (2)”) with these steps:

1) Choose Insert > Cross-reference from the menu bar.

2) On the Cross-references tab (Figure 21), under Type, select Text.

3) Under Selection, select the equation number.

4) Under Insert reference to, select Reference.

5) Click Insert.

Done! If you later add more equations to the paper before the referenced equation, all the

equations will automatically renumber and the cross-references will update.

Tip

To insert the equation number without parentheses around it, choose Numbering

instead of Reference under Insert reference to.

Figure 21. Inserting a cross-reference to an equation number

The AutoText inserted as a result of the above procedure consists of a 1x2 table. The left cell

contains the formula and the right one the number. The number is an automatic counter named

Text. You can edit the AutoText if, for example, you prefer square rather than round brackets, or if

you want formula and number to be separated by tabs rather than formatted as a table. Read the

section on “Using AutoText” in Chapter 3 in the Writer Guide (Working with Text).

30 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Position

Normally a formula is anchored As character in a Writer document. But as with any other OLE

object, you can change the anchoring mode to position the formula where you want it. For more

information, see Chapter 11 of the Getting Started guide (Graphics, the Gallery, and Fontwork).

By default, formula objects anchored As character are automatically aligned vertically to the

baseline of the surrounding text. To align the formula manually, go to Tools > Options >

LibreOffice Writer > Formatting Aids and uncheck the option Math baseline alignment. This

setting is stored with the document and applies to all formulas within it. New documents use the

current setting from this dialog.

Margins

An inserted Math object has margins to left and right of it, separating it from surrounding text. If you

do not want this, it is best to alter the frame style for formulas, as this will apply simultaneously to

all existing formulas and those still to be inserted in the document. Proceed as follows:

1) Press F11. The Styles and Formatting dialog opens.

2) Click on the Frame Styles tab.

3) Find the Formula frame style and right-click on it.

4) Choose Modify from the context menu. The Frame Style dialog opens.

5) Switch to the Wrap tab of the dialog. Change the values for Left and Right in the Spacing

section to 0.00.

6) Click OK to close the dialog.

This changes the spacing for all formulas that have not had their spacing adjusted manually. You

can find more information on using styles in “Default layout with style” on page 39 and in Chapter 3

of the Getting Started guide (Using Styles and Templates).

Text mode

Larger formulas should always be in a paragraph of their own, separated from the text. When you

use formula elements in running text, they can often be higher than the letter height.

However, if it is necessary to place a formula within running text, switch into the equation editor

and go to Format > Text mode. Math will try to shrink the formula to fit the letter height. The

numerators and denominators of fractions are shrunk, and the limits of integrals and sums are

placed beside the integral/sum sign.

Example:

A formula in a separate paragraph:

∑

i =2

and the same formula embedded in text mode:

∑

i=2

Background, borders, and size

With regard to formatting, formulas are treated as objects of the Frame Style type with the Formula

frame style. Background color and borders can be set using this style or directly with Format >

Frame/Object, or by right-clicking the formula and choosing Object from the context menu. In the

basic installation, formulas have a transparent background and no borders. The size of a formula

cannot be adjusted; in a Writer document it depends directly on the way the formula is constructed

(see “Changing the font size” on page 24).

Formulas in Writer documents 31

Creating a formula library

When you use the Math component of LibreOffice directly with File > New > Formula, you create

documents with the file suffix .odf, each containing a single formula. You can use these to build up

a library of frequently-used formulas. Embedded formulas can also be stored as separate Math

documents by right-clicking on the formula and choosing Save copy as from the context menu. To

insert such a Math document into a Writer document, use Insert > Object > OLE Object. Select

the option Create from file and enter the pathname of the file or browse for it using your system’s

file manager by pressing the Search button.

Note

You cannot insert the document by dragging and dropping with the mouse, nor by

using Insert > File.

Formulas cannot be stored in the gallery because they are not in graphical format. You can,

however, store a formula as AutoText. Write the formula in a separate paragraph, select it, and go

to Edit > AutoText. For further information see “Using AutoText” in Chapter 3 in the Writer Guide

(Working with Text).

Fast insertion of formulas

If you already know the markup of your formula, there is a faster method to build your formula:

1) Write the formula markup in Writer.

2) Select this markup.

3) Insert the formula using the toolbar button, the menu, or a keyboard shortcut (see “Add

keyboard shortcut” on page 35).

This method avoids opening and closing the Math window and saves a reasonable amount of time.

Formulas in Calc, Impress, and Draw

Graphical properties

Formula objects have similar properties in Calc, Impress, and Draw. They are always inserted with

a transparent background and without borders. In Draw and Impress, they are assigned the

Default graphical style; there is no assigned style for them in Calc and properties must be specified

directly. The properties shown in the Styles and Formatting window, the context menu, and the

Format > Graphic menu are limited, when not available at all.

Line, Area, Shadow

You can set values but the settings are completely ignored.

Text attributes

All text attributes, such as font and alignment, refer not to the formula text but to the text element

present in all graphical objects. For a selected object, this can be accessed via the F2 key. For

further information, read the “Working with text in Draw” in Chapter 10 (Advanced Draw

Techniques) of the Draw Guide.

Position

A formula can be positioned anywhere you like. Use the mouse, the arrow keys, or the Position

and Size dialog available from Format > Position and Size.

32 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Size

In documents a formula is not represented directly but replaced by a graphic. The size of this

graphic is initially protected. To change the size, open the Position and Size dialog and, on the first

page, in the Protect section, uncheck the Size checkbox. This activates the Size section directly

above. Enter your modifications. When the dialog is closed, the size will immediately be protected

again.

Changing the size does not affect the formula itself but only its graphical representation. In

particular the basic font size of the formula (see “Changing the font size” on page 24) does not

change. To revert to the size determined by the formula content, use the Original Size option in the

context menu. This allows sizing errors that are sometimes caused by inserting a formula from a

different module to be corrected.

Rotation, shear, and flipping

Rotation, shearing, and flipping (creating mirror images) are not possible; the corresponding dialog

options are inactivated. If you need to do this, convert the formula to a GDI metafile graphic. Once

you have done this, it is not a formula any more but an image. Copy the formula onto the clipboard.

Choose Edit > Paste Special or, on the Standard Toolbar, use the Paste menu (available from the

small triangle to the right of the Paste icon) and choose the option GDI Metafile.

Combining formulas with text

Since a formula is an OLE object, you cannot insert it into the content of a spreadsheet cell,

graphic or presentation object. Thus, unlike in Writer, you cannot integrate formulas with running

text. Here are some alternatives:

Text elements within the formula

You can write the text directly into the formula. For example:

The illustration of a parallelogram suggests the

relationship

⃗

AB=

⃗

CD⇔

⃗

AC=

⃗

BC .

But this does not constitute a proof.

The corresponding markup text is:

"The illustration of a parallelogram suggests the" newline

"relationship " widevec AB = widevec CD dlrarrow widevec AC = widevec BC "." newline

"But this does not constitute a proof."

Lines are not wrapped automatically; you must use the newline command.

You can use Format > Fonts to match the text to its surroundings. See “Changing the font“ on

page 25.

Grouping formulas with graphic objects

Formulas can easily be combined with other objects into a group, which is not possible in text

documents. In the following example, text boxes are combined with formulas and rectangles are

used to highlight parts of the formula.

Formulas in Calc, Impress, and Draw 33

Now, the quadratic complement is introduced

= x

−6x +3

−3

−7

and then elements are gathered

= x

−6x +3

−3

−7

(

x−3

)

−16

Formulas in Writer OLE objects

To be able to use all the facilities possible in text documents, create the formula and its text in

Writer. Choose a page size that roughly matches your eventual objective. Do not write more than

one page because page selection causes problems later. Save the document.

In Impress (or Draw or Calc), use Insert > Object > OLE Object and then choose the option

Create from file. The formula is embedded as an OLE object in a document that is itself an OLE

object. As a result, the formula cannot be modified in Impress. For that reason, you should always

activate the option Link to file. Then if you need to make a change, open the text document and

edit text and formula there. In Impress, use Edit > Links and then the Update button to display the

stored version of the text document. Do not try to modify the formula in Impress; it causes the

representation to become faulty.

Formulas in charts

A chart is itself an OLE object. Therefore you cannot call up the equation editor within it. There is

no freestanding module of LibreOffice that creates charts, so you cannot use anything similar to

the above method using Writer either. However you can create a formula outside the charts editor,

copy it to the clipboard, activate the chart for editing, and paste in the formula from the clipboard.

This automatically converts the formula into a metafile graphic. If you wish to make further

modifications, you must discard it and repeat the procedure.

Customizations

Here are a few ways to customize your use of Math.

Formula editor as a floating window

The formula editor can cover a large part of the Writer window. To turn the formula editor into a

floating window, do this:

1) Hover the mouse over the editor frame, as shown in Figure 22.

2) Hold down the Control key and double-click.

Figure 22: Turning the formula editor into a floating window

34 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Figure 23 shows the result. You can dock the floating window again by using the same steps. Hold

down the Control key and double-click the window frame.

Figure 23: Formula editor as a floating window

Add button to toolbar

A Formula button is by default present on the Insert toolbar in Writer and Impress. You can add it

to other toolbars:

1) View > Toolbars > Customize or right-click at the beginning of a toolbarand choose

Customize toolbar. Choose the Toolbars tab and the toolbar you wish to modify.

2) Select the position where you want to insert the button.

3) Click on Add.

4) Select the Insert category, then the Formula command corresponding to icon (the

command corresponds to an equivalent of a spreadsheet formula).

Figure 24: Add a button to insert a formula

5) Click on Add. You can continue to add buttons or click on Close.

6) On the Customize dialog, use the arrows to move buttons up or down the list before

validating with OK.

Add keyboard shortcut

You can add a keyboard shortcut to insert a formula:

1) Menu Tools > Customize, Keyboard tab.

Customizations 35

2) Select the level of the shortcut: LibreOffice to benefit from it in all components (if the

shortcut is not used in this component) or only in the current component.

3) Select the Insert category, then the Formula command (the one not corresponding to F2

shortcut; that command corresponds to the equivalent of a spreadsheet formula).

4) Select the keys to apply, then click on Modify.

5) Proceed the same way for other shortcut with the same level, then validate with OK.

If using your shortcut causes a formula bar to appear (as in Calc), that means you chose the wrong

Formula command.

Figure 25: Add a keyboard shortcut

Customizing the catalog

If you need to use a symbol that is not available in Math, you can add it to the catalog. The

following example shows the procedure for symbols that are used in marking school work.

1) Go to Tools > Catalog or click on the catalog button to open the Symbols catalog

(Figure 9).

2) Click the Edit button. The Edit symbols window (Figure 26) opens.

3) The symbols are arranged in so-called symbol sets. In the lower part of the window, choose

an available set for your new symbol from the Symbol set list, for example the Special set.

Or you can type the name of a new symbol set directly into the box.

36 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

4) From the Font list, choose a font that contains the desired symbol.

When you have selected a font, its characters appear in the font summary window. You can

scroll through it using the scrollbar at the side, or use the Subset list to go straight to the

place you need.

To follow this example, choose the font DejaVu Sans and the subset General punctuation.

5) Click on the desired symbol (here Ux2032). It appears enlarged in the right-hand preview

box (see Figure 27). Make sure that the symbol set is set to Special.

6) In the Symbol field, enter a name for the symbol, for example prime.

7) If the name is not already in use, the Add button becomes active. Click on it.

8) You can immediately add more symbols. In the example, the “U+2033” symbol, named

dblprime, and the “U+2034” symbol, named triprime, are added. (See Figure 28.)

9) Click OK to close the dialog.

Figure 26: Edit Symbols dialog

Figure 27: Edit Symbols dialog: characters selected

Now the Symbol set view area shows the new symbol. It can be selected just like the other

symbols, either from here, or by writing them directly into the equation editor in the form %prime.

Caution

Symbols (Greek or Special), in contrast to commands, are case sensitive (lowercase

– uppercase).

Customizations 37

There are numerous free fonts containing a great number of mathematical symbols. The “STIX

”

font is worthy of special mention here. It was developed specially for writing mathematical/technical

texts. The DejaVu

and Lucida

fonts also have a wide range of symbols.

Figure 28: Catalog with new symbol

Note

Many symbols occur in more than one font. If you want to exchange documents with

others, take care to use a font that is installed on their machine.

In the basic LibreOffice installation, only those user-defined symbols that actually occur in the

document are stored with it. Sometimes it is useful to embed all the user-defined symbols, for

example when the document is going to be further edited by another person. Go to Tools >

Options > LibreOffice Math and on the Settings page, uncheck the option Embed only used

symbols (smaller file size).This setting is only available when you are working on a Math

document.

Customizing operators

A name, to be recognized as a function to be written with regular font not italic, must be preceded

by markup code func.

An operator, to be enlarged and to accept limits as integral or sum, must be preceded by markup

code oper. It is possible to use a letter, a name or a personal symbol (see “Customizing the

catalog” on page 36).

i ∈I

is written oper F from {i in I} A_i.

You can modify the behavior of an operator or change one of your personal symbols in an

operator, using markup codes boper, to create a binary operator, and uoper, to create a unary

operator.

Space at the end of a formula

The grave accent ` inserts a small additional space into the formula; the tilde ~ inserts a larger one.

In the basic installation, these symbols are ignored when they occur at the end of a formula.

However, when working with running text, it may be necessary to include spacing at the end of

formulas as well. This customization is only available when you are working with a Math document,

and not when you are embedding a Math object.

1 Font files for STIX are available from http://www.stixfonts.org

2 Font files for DejaVu Sans are available from http://www.dejavu-fonts.org

3 Lucida Sans belongs to the JRE package, which is probably already on your computer.

38 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Open a Math document with File > New > Formula. Open the customization dialog with Tools >

Options and choose LibreOffice Math. On the Settings page, uncheck the option Ignore ~ and `

at the end of the line.

Default layout with style

In Writer, formulas are formatted according to the frame style

Formula. In the Style and Formatting window (displayed with

F11), click on the third button, Frame Styles. Right-click on

Formula and select Modify. By this means, you can directly

modify all formulas in your document, regarding spacing

(page 31) or background (page 31), except if you manually

modify formula formatting.

To apply this style in all your new Writer documents, you must include the Formula style in your

default template. To do so:

1) Create a new Writer document and modify the Formula frame style as you wish.

2) Save the document with File > Save as Template.

3) To define this template as your default template, select File > New > Templates. In the

Template Manager dialog, open the folder containing the template that you want to set as

the default, then select the template. Choose the Set As Default button above the list of

templates (Figure 30.)

New text documents will be based on this template.

Figure 30: Setting a default template using the Template Manager dialog

To return to the default template supplied when LibreOffice was installed, go to the Template

Manager dialog (Figure 31), click the Action Menu icon on the right, point to Reset Default

Template on the drop-down menu, and click Text Document.

Customizations 39

Figure 29 : Modify Frame Style

Formula

Figure 31: Resetting the default template

Application to chemical formulas

Math was designed to build mathematical formulas, but it can also be used to write chemical

formulas. In chemistry, formulas look like H

O: names are usually non-italic uppercase. To write

chemical formulas with Math, begin with setting non-italic for variables (see “Changing the font” on

page 25).

Below are some examples of chemical formulas.

Construction Example Entry

Molecules

H_2 SO_4 (please note the space!)

Isotopes

238

U lsub 92 lsup 238

Ions

2−

SO_4^{2-{}} or SO_4^{2"-"}

Notes : lsub or lsup are abreviations for left subscript and left superscript. Empty braces after 2-

are necessary to avoid errors as there is no right member after the minus sign.

For reversible reactions, there is no satisfactory double arrow in Math. If you have a font with a

correct symbol, use the method described in “Customizing the catalog” on page 36. For example,

DejaVu fonts have these double arrows ⇄ ⇆ ⇋ ⇌.

Otherwise, you can find a special character in a document and copy it, for instance in this formula:

C+O ⇌CO

"⇌". You will find other double arrows here:

http://dev.w3.org/html5/html-author/charref from character x021C4.

Export and import

Export as MathML

In addition to exporting documents as PDFs, as described in Chapter 10, Printing, Exporting, and

Emailing, of the Getting Started guide, Math offers the possibility of exporting formulas as MathML.

Unfortunately browsers do not follow this standard perfectly. If there are subsequent faults in

display, the fault lies with your browser!

40 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

As an example, take this formula:

Markup Result

%zeta (z) = sum from {n = 1} to infinity {1 over

{n^z}} newline left(matrix {a # b ## c # d}right)

newline "Text" newline int_0^x f(t) dt newline x = 3

y = 1

ζ( z)=

∑

n=1

∞

(

a b

c d

)

Text

∫

f (t )dt

x=3 y=1

This formula combines various possibilities that Math offers, which makes it useful for testing.

If you are working in a separate Math document, go to File > Save as to open the Save as dialog.

Choose MathML from the list of available file formats, to save your formula as MathML.

For an embedded formula, choose Save copy as from the context menu.

Result

This formula was subsequently tested in several browsers.

Firefox 14.0.1 Opera 12.00

Internet Explorer 9

Export and import 41

Chromium 13 and Google Chrome 20.0

Safari 5.1 only opens the file manager to save the data.

Microsoft file formats

The options in Tools > Options > Load/Save > Microsoft Office control how the import and

export of Microsoft Office file formats is carried out in regard to formulas.

If [L] is checked, LibreOffice converts Microsoft formulas into native format when a document is

loaded. This is possible if the formulas were created with MathType

(up to version 3.1) or with the

Microsoft Equation Editor. The latter is a reduced, older version of MathType licensed by Microsoft

and included in the Microsoft Office package.

Formulas created by newer versions of MathType or by the new Microsoft formula editor “OMML

Equation Editor” (Microsoft Office Suite 2010 and to some extent 2007) cannot be converted.

If a document created in Microsoft Office 2010 and containing an OMML formula is saved into a

.doc file format, Microsoft Office converts the formula into a graphic. Only this graphic is then

accessible to LibreOffice.

If you load a .docx document that contains OMML formulas, these fail in conversion whether [L] is

checked or not.

Inside Microsoft Office, formulas created with MathType or Microsoft Equation Editor are treated as

OLE objects. If [L] is not checked, LibreOffice maintains this. Double-clicking on the object

launches MathType and new formulas can be inserted using Insert > Object > OLE Object. This

setup is to be recommended if you have MathType installed and wish to use it to create and edit

formulas.

Saving

If [S] is checked, LibreOffice converts the formula into a form that can be read and modified by

Microsoft Equation Editor and MathType. When [S] is not checked, the formula is treated as an

OLE object on conversion into a .doc format, and remains linked to LibreOffice. A double-click on

the object in Word will therefore attempt to launch LibreOffice.

If you save in the .docx format, formulas are not converted, whether [S] is checked or not.

Opening OpenDocument texts in Microsoft Word 2010

When you use Microsoft Office 2010, it is possible to open LibreOffice files in .odt format.

Microsoft Office 2010 reports an error but nevertheless displays a “repaired” document. In this

document, any original formulas are converted to OMML. If you save it again in .odt format,

Microsoft Office 2010 converts the formulas into MathML, and these formulas can then be edited in

4 http://www.dessci.com/en/

5 Office Math Markup Language

42 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

LibreOffice. Take care that symbols that belong together are enclosed in grouping brackets, even if 
these are not necessary for display in LibreOffice itself. This enables LibreOffice to correctly 
translate the formula into MathML. For example, use  sum from {i=1} to n {i^2} rather 
than sum from i=1 to n i^2.
In this procedure, the annotation element is lost. As a result, LibreOffice no longer shows the 
original Math markup code in the equation editor, but instead generates a new markup code from 
the internal MathML notation.
XHTML
The XHTML file format is available only as an export format. For this reason you will find the option 
under File > Export rather than File > Save as. If this option is missing in your setup, you can 
install the necessary filter (run LibreOffice Setup, select Modify, and then select Optional 
Components > XSLT Sample Filters). The replacement graphic for the formula is embedded in 
the file, but the original Math markup code, included as an annotation element in MathML, is 
absent in this case (compare with the section on “Export as MathML” on page 40).
Whether the document is correctly displayed depends on the browser. Firefox shows the document 
correctly including the formulas. Opera and Internet Explorer have some problems with the 
embedded graphic.
The older filter “HTML Document (OpenOffice.org Writer)(.html)“ does not save formulas at all but 
uses only a poorly resolved graphic in .gif file format.
Flat XML
This format can be both read and saved by LibreOffice. If the option is not present under File > 
Save or File > Save as, you can install the necessary filter. In this format, the whole content of the 
document, including the template, is saved within an XML document. In other words, it is not a 
compressed folder, as is usually the case for saved OpenDocument files. Any formulas are 
included as MathML elements, similar to the results of exporting as MathML. However individual 
formulas are not saved, only the whole document including the formulas. This format is suitable for 
direct entry into an external version control system.
Extensions
If you use Math frequently, it may be interesting to install one of these two extensions, which ease 
formula editing. Both programmers do not compete, but help one each other when it is possible. 
However, Dmaths are CmathOOo cannot be simultaneously installed. They are both 
complementary; you may install them on separate logins to test them before choosing.
Dmaths – an extension for more than just faster formula input
Dmaths is a mathematical macro package for LibreOffice Writer, which can be installed as an 
extension. It can be downloaded from http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/dmaths.
After installing Dmaths, close and reopen LibreOffice. Writer now shows a new menu (Figure 32), a 
new (customizable) toolbar with 36 buttons (Figure 33), a new toolbar with 26 buttons for use with 
Gdmath (Figure 34), a new toolbar with 10 buttons for use with AHmath3D (Figure 35), and two 
short toolbars to switch the longer ones on and off and to access a few further functions (Figure 
36).
Extensions 43

Figure 32: Dmaths menu

Figure 33: Customizable Dmaths toolbar

Figure 34: Gdmath toolbar

Figure 35: AHmath3D toolbar

Figure 36: Toolbars for switching on and off further functions

Dmaths offers numerous tools for creating mathematical documents:

• Single-click creation of Math formulas from text input (orange symbols)

• Creation of Math formulas using an input dialog (violet symbols)

• Tagging text (blue symbols)

• Changing the properties of existing formulas (green symbols)

• Drawing graphics, grids, statistical diagrams and geometrical figures (cyan symbols)

• Drawing and modification of geometric objects (gray Gdmath toolbar, also available in

LibreOffice Draw)

• Drawing 3D objects (AHmath 3D toolbar with wire models)

The menu provides access to further add-ons, configuration, and a detailed Dmaths Help Guide.

Dmaths was initially created by the French mathematician, Didier Dorange, but is now available in

German, English, and Spanish as well as French. The original website is www.dmaths.org.

44 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Symbolic computation with CmathOOo and CmathOOoCAS

CmathOOo is a program that, thanks to word processing, allows you to enter mathematical

expressions using same syntax as with a high school calculator. CmathOOoCAS extension

enables symbolic computation as with Xcas

directly from word processing; formating and layout

of the result is built with CmathOOo. This extension can be downloaded from the Apache

OpenOffice extension website, http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/fr/project/CmathOOo or

from Christophe Devalland’s website http://cdeval.free.fr. Direct link to the page is

http://cdeval.free.fr/spip.php?article85.

Technical details

OASIS Open Document Format for Office applications

The ODF specification does not lay down a completely new standard for Math formulas but takes

over the Standard Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) developed by the World Wide Web

Consortium (W3C) for representing formulas on websites (compare

http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/REC-MathML2-20031021). Of the two types provided, Presentation

markup and Content markup, ODF uses the former. It therefore describes the representation of a

formula rather than its mathematical meaning.

The MathML markup language differs from the one used in the equation editor. So, for example, in

the formula int from {i=1} to 3 {f(t) {nitalic d}t}, the parts from... to… are not

translated but converted into MathML similarly to int_{i=1}^3. The original formula in the

equation editor is a StarMath

5.0 encoding. To prevent it from being lost, it is stored as an

annotation element. Other applications do not need either to evaluate nor to save this element, nor

do they themselves create it.

In LibreOffice a formula is always associated with a replacement graphic. In the container formats

– .odf, .odt, and so on – these graphics are stored in a separate folder and are internally linked to

their document. However if you use the file format Open Document (Flat XML) or export to XHTML,

these graphics must be embedded. For this purpose they are encoded in BASE64.

Handling of formulas in Basic

This section is not an introduction to Basic but simply describes some specific aspects of formulas.

You can get more specific information about types and services at

http://api.libreoffice.org/common/ref/com/sun/star/module-ix.html. If you look up the notations

shown here in the index, you will quickly get to the relevant descriptions.

Formulas in a Writer document

In a Writer document, all OLE objects, including formulas, belong to a collection of type

SwXTextEmbeddedObjects:

oCurrentController = ThisComponent.getCurrentController()

oTextDocument = oCurrentController.Model

oEmbeddedObjects = oTextDocument.EmbeddedObjects

This collection is numbered continuously from 0. You can find a given object by:

nEndIndex = oEmbeddedObjects.Count-1

for nIndex=0 to nEndIndex

oMathObject = oEmbeddedObjects.getByIndex(nIndex)

6 http://www-fourier.ujf-grenoble.fr/~parisse/giac.html

7 LibreOffice is based on the StarOffice suite, developed by StarDivision.

Technical details 45

To determine if this object is actually a formula, test whether it supports a service that is supported

by formulas:

oModel = oMathObject.Model

if oModel.supportsService("com.sun.star.formula.FormulaProperties") then

Alternatively test if the CLSID, which every OLE object possesses, is that belonging to a Math

object:

if oMathObject.CLSID = "078B7ABA-54FC-457F-8551-6147e776a997" then

Using the model, you can then alter the properties of the formula, for example the basic font size:

oModel.BaseFontHeight = 12

To make this change visible, the formula must be redrawn. The

ExtendedControlOverEmbeddedObject property provides some methods that specifically

apply to OLE objects:

oXCOEO = oMathObject.ExtendedControlOverEmbeddedObject

oXCOEO.update()

As an illustration, here is a macro modifying all formatting of all formulas already written in a

document:

Sub ChangeFormatFormule

oCurrentController = ThisComponent.getCurrentController()

oTextDocument = oCurrentController.Model

oEmbeddedObjects = oTextDocument.EmbeddedObjects

nEndIndex = oEmbeddedObjects.Count-1

for nIndex=0 to nEndIndex

oMathObject = oEmbeddedObjects.getByIndex(nIndex)

oModel = oMathObject.Model

if (not isNull(oModel)) then

if(not isEmpty(oModel)) then

if oModel.supportsService("com.sun.star.formula.FormulaProperties") then

' or if oMathObject.CLSID = "078B7ABA-54FC-457F-8551-6147e776a997" then

oModel.BaseFontHeight = 11

policeCommune= "Liberation Serif"

' Variables

oModel.FontNameVariables= policeCommune

oModel.FontVariablesIsItalic=true

oModel.FontVariablesIsBold=false

' Functions

oModel.FontNameFunctions = policeCommune

oModel.FontFunctionsIsItalic=false

oModel.FontFunctionsIsBold=false

' Numbers

oModel.FontNameNumbers= policeCommune

oModel.FontNumbersIsItalic=false

oModel.FontNumbersIsBold=false

' Text

oModel.FontNameText= policeCommune

oModel.FontTextIsItalic=false

oModel.FontTextIsBold=false

' Update

oXCOEO = oMathObject.ExtendedControlOverEmbeddedObject

oXCOEO.update()

endif ' if formula

endif ' if not empty

endif ' if not null

next nIndex

ThisComponent.reformat() ' Met à jour tous les éléments du document

End Sub

46 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Check help page

on FormulaProperties to know all other properties you can modify.

Formulas in a Draw/Impress/Calc document

In a Draw, Impress or Calc document, OLE objects are similarly treated as graphics. After you have

accessed a particular object, test if it is an OLE object, and then if it is a formula. The core of your

macro is then something like:

if oShape.supportsService("com.sun.star.drawing.OLE2Shape") then

if oShape.CLSID = "078B7ABA-54FC-457F-8551-6147e776a997" then

oModelFormula = oShape.Model

oModelFormula.BaseFontHeight = 12

In this case an explicit update is not necessary.

8 http://api.libreoffice.org/common/ref/com/sun/star/formula/FormulaProperties.html

Technical details 47

Math commands - Reference

Unary / binary operators

Operation Command Display

+sign

–sign

–1

−1

+/– sign

+–1 or plusminus 1

±1

–/+ sign

–+1 or minusplus 1

∓1

Addition +

a + b

a+b

Subtraction (–)

a – b

a−b

Dot product

a cdot b

a⋅b

Multiplication (X)

a times b

a×b

Multiplication (asterisk)

a * b

a∗b

Division (as a fraction)

a over b

Division (as an operator)

a div b

a÷b

Division (with a slash)

a / b

a /b

Concatenation

a circ b

a °b

Division (with a wide slash)

a wideslash b

Wide backslash

a widebslash b

Boolean not

neg a

¬a

Boolean and

a and b or a & b

a∧b

Boolean or

a or b or a | b

a∨b

Backslash

a bslash b

a ∖ b

Direct sum

a oplus b

a⊕b

a ominus b

a⊖b

Tensorial product

a otimes b

a⊗b

a odot b

a⊙b

a odivide b

a⊘b

Customizable unary operator

uoper monOp b

monOp b

Customizable binary operator

a boper monOp b

a monOp b

48 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Relations

Operation Command Display

Is equal

a = b

a=b

Is not equal

a <> b or a neq b

a≠b

Less than

a < b or a lt b

a<b

Less than or equal to

a <= b

a leslant b

a≤b

a⩽b

Very small

a ll b or a << b

a≪b

Greater than

a > b or a gt b

a>b

Greater than or equal to

a >= b

a geslant b

a≥b

a⩾b

Very big

a gg b or a >> b

a≫b

Approximately

a approx b

a≈b

Similar to

a sim b

a∼b

Similar to or equal

a simeq b

a≃b

Congruent

a equiv b

a≡b

Proportional

a prop b

a ∝b

Parallel

a parallel b

a∥b

Orthogonal to

a ortho b

a ⊥ b

Divides

a divides b

a∣b

Does not divide

a ndivides b

a∤ b

Toward

a toward b

a→b

Arrow left

a dlarrow b

a ⇐ b

Double arrow left and right

a dlrarrow b

a ⇔b

Arrow right

a drarrow b

a ⇒ b

Precedes

a prec b

a≺b

Succeeds

a succ b

a≻b

Precedes or equal to

a preccurlyeq b

a≼b

Succeeds or equal to

a succcurlyeq b

a≽b

Precedes or equal to

a precsim b

a≾b

Succeeds or equal to

a succsim b

a≿b

Does not precede

a nprec b

a⊀b

Does not succeed

a nsucc b

a⊁b

Definition

a def b

a≝b

Image from

a transl b

a⊷b

Origin from

a transr b

a⊶b

Math commands - Reference 49

Set operations

Operation Command Display

Is in

a in B

a∈B

Is not in

a notin B

a∉B

Owns

A owns b or A ni b

A∋b

Intersection

A intersection B

A∩B

Union

A union B

A∪B

Difference

A setminus B

A∖ B

Quotient

A slash B

A/B

Subset

A subset B

A⊂B

Subset or equal to

A subseteq B

A⊆B

Superset

A supset B

A⊃B

Superset or equal to

A supseteq B

A⊇B

Not subset

A nsubset B

A⊄B

Not subset or equal

A nsubseteq B

A⊈B

Not superset

A nsupset B

A⊅B

Not superset or equal

A nsupseteq B

A⊉B

Empty set

emptyset

∅

Aleph

aleph

ℵ

Set of natural numbers

setN

ℕ

Set of integers

setZ

ℤ

Set of rational numbers

setQ

ℚ

Set of real numbers

setR

ℝ

Set of complex numbers

setC

ℂ

50 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Functions

Operation Command Display

Absolute value

abs{a}

∣

Factorial

fact{a}

Square root

sqrt{a}

√

root

nroot{n}{a}

√

Power

a^{b}

Exponential

func e^{a}

Natural logarithm

ln(a)

Exponential function

exp(a)

Logarithm

log(a)

Sine

sin(a)

Cosine

cos(a)

Tangent

tan(a)

Cotangent

cot(a)

Hyperbolic sine

sinh(a)

Hyperbolic cosine

cosh(a)

Hyperbolic tangent

tanh(a)

Hyperbolic cotangent

coth(a)

Arcsine

arcsin(a)

Arccosine

arccos(a)

Arctangent

arctan(a)

Arccotangent

arccot(a)

Area hyperbolic sine

arsinh(a)

Area hyperbolic cosine

arcosh(a)

Area hyperbolic tangent

artanh(a)

Area hyperbolic cotangent

arcoth(a)

Math commands - Reference 51

Operators

All operators can be used with the limit functions (“from” and “to”).

Operation Command Display

Limit

lim{a}

lim a

Lower limit

liminf{a}

lim inf a

Upper limit

limsup{a}

lim sup a

Sum

sum{a}

∑

Product

prod{a}

∏

Coproduc

coprod{a}

∐

Integral

int{a}

∫

Double integral

iint{a}

∬

Triple integral

iiint{a}

∭

Contour integral

lint a

∮

Double curved integral

llint a

∯

Triple curved integral

lllint a

∰

Lower bound shown with summation

symbol

sum from {3} b

∑

Upper bound shown with product

symbol

prod to {3} r

∏

Upper and lower bounds shown with

integral

int from {r_0} to {r_t}

∫

Customized operator

oper Op from 0 to 1 a

52 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Attributes

Operation Command Display

Acute accent

acute a

Grave accent

grave a

Reverse circumflex

check a

Breve

breve a

Circle

circle a

Dot

dot a

˙a

Double dot

ddot a

¨a

Triple dot

dddot a

⃛a

Line above

bar a

̄a

Vector arrow

vec a

⃗

Tilde

tilde a

̃a

Circumflex

hat a

Wide vector arrow

widevec abc

⃗

abc

Wide tilde

widetilde abc

abc

Wide circumflex

widehat abc

abc

Line over

overline abc

abc

Line under

underline abc

abc

Line through

overstrike abc

acb

Transparent (useful to get a placeholder of a

given size)

phantom a

Bold font

bold a

Not bold font

nbold a

Italic font

ital "a" or italic "a"

Not italic font

nitalic a

Font size

size 16 qv

Font size

size +12 qv

Font size

size *1.5 qv

Following item in sans serif font

font sans qv

Following item in serif font

font serif qv

9 Unquoted text that is not a command is considered to be a variable. Variables are, by default, italicized.

10 There are three custom fonts: sans serif (without kicks), serifs (with kicks), and fixed (non-proportional).

To change the actual fonts used for custom fonts and the fonts used for variables (unquoted text),

numbers and functions, use Format > Fonts (see page 25).

Math commands - Reference 53

Operation Command Display

Following item in fixed font

font fixed qv

Make color of following text cyan

color cyan qv

Make color of following text yellow

color yellow qv

Make color of following text white

color white qv

Make color of following text green

color green qv

Make color of following text blue

color blue qv

Make color of following text red

color red qv

Make color of following text black

color black qv

Make color of following text magenta

color magenta qv

Make color green returns to default color

black

color green X qv

X qv

Brace items to change color of more than one

item

color green {X qv}

X qv

Brackets

Operation Command Display

Group brackets (used for program

control)

{a}

Round Brackets

(a)

Square Brackets

[b]

[b ]

Double Square Brackets

ldbracket c rdbracket

⟦c⟧

Braces

lbrace w rbrace

{w }

Angle Brackets

langle d rangle

〈d 〉

Operator Brackets

langle a mline b rangle

〈a

∣

b〉

Upper half square brackets

lceil a rceil

⌈a ⌉

Lower half square brackets

lfloor a rfloor

⌊a ⌋

Single line

lline a rline

∣a∣

Double line

ldline a rdline

∥a∥

Scalable round brackets

(add the word “left” before a left

bracket and “right” before a right

bracket)

left ( stack{a # b # z}

right )

(

)

Square brackets scalable

(as above)

left [ a over b right ]

[

]

11 For all coloring, the color will apply only to the text immediately following the command until the next

space is encountered. In order to have the color apply to more characters, place the text you want in color

in curly brackets.

54 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Operation Command Display

Double square brackets scalable

left ldbracket a over b

right rdbracket

⟦

⟧

Brace scalable

left lbrace a over b

right rbrace

{

}

Angle bracket scalable

left langle a over b

right rangle

〈

〉

Operator brackets scalable

left langle a over b

mline c right rangle

〈

∣

〉

Upper half square brackets scalable

left lceil a over b

right rceil

⌈

⌉

Lower half square brackets scalable

left lfloor a over b

right rfloor

⌊

⌋

Line scalable

left lline a over b

right rline

∣

Double line scalable

left ldline a over b

right rdline

∥

Unpaired brackets

(add left before left bracket and

right before right bracket)

left langle a over b

right rfloor

〈

⌋

Isolated bracket

left lbrace stack

{a=2#b=3} right none

{

a=2

b=3

Over brace scalable

{the brace is above}

overbrace a

the brace is above

⏞

Under brace scalable

{the brace is below}

underbrace {f}

thebrace is below

⏟

Math commands - Reference 55

Formats

Operation Command Display

Right superscript

a^{b}

Right subscript

a_{b}

Left superscript

a lsup{b}

Left subscript

a lsub{b}

Center superscript

a csup{b}

Center subscript

a csub{b}

New line

asldkfjo newline sadkfj

asldkfjo

sadkfj

Small gap (grave)

stuff `stuff

stuff stuff

Large gap (tilde)

stuff~stuff

stuff stuff

No gap

nospace { x + y }

x+ y

Normal

x+y

x+ y

Vertical stack of 2

binom{a}{b}

Vertical stack, more than 2

stack{a # b # z}

Matrix

matrix{

a # b ##

c # d

}

a b

c d

Align character to left (text is aligned

center by default)

stack{Hello world #

alignl(a)}

Hello world

(a)

Align character to center

stack{ Hello world #

alignc(a)}

Helloworld

(a)

Align character to right

stack{ Hello world #

alignr(a)}

Hello world

(a)

Equations aligned at '=' (using

'matrix')

matrix{

a # "=" # alignl{b} ##

{} # "=" # alignl{c+1}

}

a =b

=c +1

Equations aligned at '=' (using

'phantom')

stack{

alignl{a} = b #

alignl{phantom{a} = c+1}

}

a =b

=c +1

56 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Others

Operation Command Display

Infinity

infinity or infty

∞

Partial

partial

∂

Nabla

nabla

∇

There exists

exists

∃

There does not exist

notexists

∄

For all

forall

∀

H bar

hbar

ℏ

Lambda bar

lambdabar

Real part

ℜ

Imaginary part

ℑ

Weierstrass p

℘

Reversed epsilon backepsilon

∍

Left arrow

leftarrow

←

Right arrow

rightarrow

→

Up arrow

uparrow

↑

Down arrow

downarrow

↓

Dots at bottom

dotslow

…

Dots at middle

dotsaxis

⋯

Dots vertical

dotsvert

⋮

Dots diagonal upward

dotsup or dotsdiag

⋰

Dots diagonal downward

dotsdown

⋱

Math commands - Reference 57

Caution

In localized versions of Writer, the markup names of Greek and special characters

are localized. If this document is not localized to the same language, then the names

below may not work for input. You may still use the Symbol catalog (Figure 9) to

select the desired character by its glyph. This will also display the character's

localized markup name.

Once entered, the characters will display properly in any language.

Contrary to commands, special characters are case sensitive.

Characters – Greek

Italic characters can be obtained by adding an i after the per cent character. For instance, %iPI

instead of %PI

%ALPHA

%BETA

%GAMMA

%DELTA

%EPSILON

%ZETA

%ETA

%THETA

%IOTA

%KAPPA

%LAMBDA

%MU

%NU

%XI

%OMICRON

%PI

%RHO

%SIGMA

%TAU

%UPSILON

%PHI

%CHI

%PSI

%OMEGA

%alpha

%beta

%gamma

%delta

%epsilon

%varepsilon

%zeta

%eta

%theta

%vartheta

%iota

%kappa

%lambda

%mu

%nu

%xi

%omicron

%pi

%varpi

%rho

%varrho

%sigma

%varsigma

%tau

%upsilon

%phi

%varphi

%chi

%psi

%omega

Characters – Special

Some special characters correspond to the same symbol as an operator but there is no syntax

verification (presence of left or right elements).

%perthousand

‰

%tendto

→

%element

∈

%noelement

∉

%infinite

∞

%angle

∢

%and

∧

%or

∨

%notequal

≠

%identical

≡

%strictlygreaterthan

≫

%strictlylessthan

≪

58 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

Reserved words in alphabetic order

A reserved word is an expression with a particular use and is controlled by LibreOffice. You cannot

use it as a variable name. To be able to use these words without interference from Math, you need

to place them between ". The commented list follows.

` : small space. See ‘grave’ operator.

^ : superscript. See ‘hat’ and ‘widehat’ operators.

_ : subscript

- : subtraction

-+ : '-+' sign with '-' over '+'

. : point; need a character before

( : opening parenthesis

) : closing parenthesis

[ : opening square bracket

] : closing square bracket

{ : opening bracket for grouping characters

} : closing bracket for grouping characters

* : product

/ : division on one line

\ : before a bracket (square bracket, parenthesis or

brace), treat it as a normal character. See ‘bslash’

and ‘setminus’ operators.

& : Boolean operator 'and'

# : separation between elements in a table

## : separation between lines in a matrix

% : indicate special name (displayed if name not

recognized)

%% : comment

+ : addition

+- : '+-' sign with '+' over '-'

< : operator less than

<?> : indicate placeholder around operators built with

models. Displayed as a small square in the formula.

F4 and Maj+F4 keys to navigate through them.

<< : operator much less than

<= : operator less or equal

<> : operator different

= : operator equality

> : operator greater than

>= : operator greater or equal

>> : operator much greater than

| : logical operator or

~ : large space. See operator ‘tilde’.

abs : function absolute value

acute : acute accent for one character

aleph : 1

letter of Hebrew alphabet (cardinal number).

alignb : (bottom vertical alignment)

alignc : centered horizontal alignment

12 These obsolete shortcuts are for align-

bottom, align-mid and align-top, (vertical

alignments). Math recognizes them, but nothing

is changed.

alignl : left alignment

alignm : (centered vertical alignment)

alignr : right alignment

alignt : (top vertical alignment)

and : logical operator and

approx : sign approximately, two ~ one over each

arccos : function arc cosine

arccot : function arc cotangent

arcosh : area hyperbolic cosine

arcoth : area hyperbolic cotangent

arcsin : function arc sine

arctan : function arc tangent

arsinh : function area hyperbolic sinus

artanh : function area hyperbolic tangent

backepsilon : upside down epsilon.

bar : add bar to next character.

binom : put 2 elements one over each

black : black color for 'color'

blue : blue color for 'color'

bold : bold font

boper : next character is treated as a binary operator

(unchanged size)

breve : half circle turned up

bslash : operator \, as difference

cdot : operator '.' for multiplication

check : upside down circumflex accent

circ : 'round' operator for composition of functions

circle : add a circle over next character

color : set color: black, blue, cyan, green, magenta,

red, white, yellow

coprod : coproduct (upside down Π) or direct sum

cos : function cosine

cosh : hyperbolic cosine

cot : cotangent

coth : hyperbolic cotangent

csub : centered subscript

csup : centered superscript

cyan : cyan color for 'color'

dddot : add three points over: triple derivative in physics

ddot : add two points over: double derivative in physics

def : equal sign with DEF overwritten

div : divide sign ':' with '-' in the middle

divides : operator | (Sheffer bar), same as logical sign

‘or’

dlarrow : left double arrow

dlrarrow : left and right double arrow (equivalent)

Math commands - Reference 59

dot : add a point over: derivative in physics

dotsaxis : align ... horizontally in the middle

dotsdiag : align three points with a +45° slop

dotsdown : align three points with a -45° slop

dotslow : align ... on the bottom

dotsup : align three points with a +45° slop

dotsvert : align vertically 3 points

downarrow : down arrow

drarrow : right double arrow (imply)

emptyset : empty set

equiv : equivalent (equal sign with three strikes)

exists : there exist (reversed E)

exp : exponential function

fact : factorial function (add '!' after)

fixed : font attribute

font : select a font

forall : whatever (upside down A)

from : goes with 'to' for limits of integrals, sums, etc.

func : transforms a variable in function

ge : greater or equal, horizontal ‘=’ sign

geslant : greater or equal, oblique ‘=’ sign

gg : much greater then '>>'

grave : add a grave accent

green : green color for 'color'

gt : operator plus grand que

hat : add a circumflex accent

hbar : strik h (h), reduced Planck’s constant (divided by

π)

iiint : triple integral, three times integral sign

iint : double integral, twice integral sign

im : function imaginary part

in : is element of

infinity : infinity symbol

infty : infinity symbol

int : simple integral

intersection : intersection operator

ital : italicized font

italic : italicized font

lambdabar : strike lambda

langle : < to open '<...>' (angular bracket operator:

langle ... mline ... rangle)

lbrace : visible left brace '{'

lceil : left square bracket without bottom

ldbracket : double left square bracket

ldline : left double line (norm) '||'

le : less or equal, horizontal ‘=’ sign

left : next character is treated as an opening bracket

leftarrow : left arrow

leslant : less or equal, oblique ‘=’ sign

lfloor : left square bracket without top

lim : limit operator

liminf : inferior limit operator

limsup : superior limit operator

lint : line integral (with a circle)

ll : much lower than operator

lline : left bar to open absolute value '|'

llint : double line integral (with a circle)

lllint : triple line integral (with a circle)

ln : function natural logarithm

log : function decimal logarithm

lsub : left subscript

lsup : left superscript

lt : operator less than '<'

magenta : magenta color for 'color'

matrix : defines a matrix

minusplus : '–+' sign, plus under '-'

mline : vertical line '|' (angular bracket operator:

langle ... mline ... rangle)

nabla : nabla operator, upside down Δ.

nbold : not bold font.

ndivides : does not divide operator, / vertically stroked

neg : operator no

neq : operator different

newline : new line

ni : inverted sign is element of

nitalic : not italic font

none : combined with 'left' or 'right' to indicate invisible

left or right bracket

notin : is not element of operator

nroot : n

root

nsubset : is not strictly include in operator

nsubseteq : is not include or equal in operator

nsupset : reversed is not strictly include in operator

nsupseteq : reversed is not include or equal in operator

odivide : operator / in a circle

odot : operator '.' in a circle

ominus : operator '–' in a circle

oper : transforms next variable in a large operator with

limits (like Σ)

oplus : direct sum operator, + in a circle

or : logical operator or, upside down ^

ortho : orthogonal operator, perpendicular symbol

otimes : tensor product operator, x in a circle

over : division operator, to write division with horizontal

fraction bar

overbrace : put next element over previous one with

an horizontal brace

overline : add an horizontal bar over next element

overstrike : strike-through characters

owns : reversed is element of

parallel : parallel operator '||'

partial : round d for partial derivative

phantom : invisible element, to let empty space

60 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide

plusminus : operator '+-' with '+' over

prod : product operator, Π

prop : proportional operator

rangle : '>' to close '<...>' (angular bracket operator:

langle ... mline ... rangle)

rbrace : visible right brace

rceil : right square bracket without bottom

rdbracket : double right square bracket

rdline : right double line (norm) '||'

re : real part function

red : red color for 'color'

rfloor : right square bracket without top

right : next character is treated as a closing bracket

rightarrow : right arrow

rline : right bar to close absolute value '|'

rsub : subscript

rsup : superscript

sans : font option

serif : font option

setC : set of complex numbers

setminus : operator \, subtraction of sets

setN : set of natural numbers

setQ : set of rational numbers

setR : set of real numbers

setZ : set of integers

sim : operator equivalent, write one ~

simeq : operator similarly equal, write a double ~

sin : function sine

sinh : function hyperbolic sine

size : change font size

slash : operator slash '/'

sqrt : operator square root

stack : define a stack of elements separated with '#'

sub : subscript

subset : strictly include operator

subseteq : include or equal operator

sum : sum operator, Σ

sup : superscript

supset : reversed strictly include operator

supseteq : reversed include or equal operator

tan : tangent function

tanh : hyperbolic tangent function

tilde : add a tilde '~' over next character

times : multiplication operator, 'X'

to : goes with 'from' for limits of integrals, sums, etc.

toward : arrow to the right

transl : 2 small joined circles, the one of the left is filled

(sign of correspondence Image from)

transr : 2 small joined circles, the one of the right is

filled (sign of correspondence Origin of)

underbrace : put next element under previous one with

an horizontal brace

underline : add an horizontal bar under next element

union : union operator, U

uoper : next character is treated as a unary operator

(unchanged size)

uparrow : up arrow

vec : add a small arrow over next character

white : white color for 'color'

widebslash : operator with a big '\'

widehat : add an hat over next element

wideslash : division operator with a big '/'

widetilde : add a tilde on next element

widevec : add an arrow over next element

wp : Weierstrass p function

yellow : yellow color for 'color'

Math commands - Reference 61

Index

brackets (Math) 19

brackets commands (Math) 54

characters – special (Math) 58

characters – Greek (Math) 58

chemical formulas 40

derivative markup (Math) 22

Documentation 6

equation

numbering 29

equation editor 11

brackets 19

derivative markup 22

Elements window 13

equations over more than one line 21

floating window 34

font size 24

formula layout 19

limits to sum/integral 21

markup 15

matrix markup 19

right-click menu 15

formats commands (Math) 56

formula editor

See: equation editor 34

formula layout 19

function commands (Math) 51

Help system 6

International Support 6

licensing of LibreOffice 9

limits to sum/integral 21

mathematical and chemical equations 11

mathematical markup 15

mathematical symbols 13

matrix markup (Math) 19

miscellaneous commands (Math) 57

numbering equations 29

Open Source Initiative (OSI) 9

relational operator commands (Math) 49

support 7

unary / binary operator commands (Math) 48

User guides 6

62 LibreOffice 4.0 Math Guide