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txhockey9404

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2008
548
1
I just got iWork 09, and while I am loving it, there is one feature that I greatly miss and use a good deal of the time. I NEED an equation editor. I really don't care if I have to export to an image, but I need something that will let me put equaitons in iWork. It also must be free, because I blew what money I had left on iWork, Airport Extreme, and an iPod case (yes I know, I went crazy at the Apple store). I only have about $20 left, and I am saving that to upgrade my RAM at some point. So, if you could please suggest something, I WILL try it. All help is greatly appreciated! For now I will be using the equation editor from Openoffice 3.0 to do my equations, but that is hopefully only temporary.
 
Try using Grapher.app, which comes with OS X.

It utilizes OS X's special characters, for instance option v gives you a square root, option w gives you a capital sigma, option p gives you pi (although you could just type p i).

I used it to take notes through all of my college math courses.
 
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8110/4.3.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Mathtype works with iWork. And being in school you should get the full version for free. Talk to a math or physics teacher about it
 
Doesn't MathType work with iWork?

http://publicious.net/2009/01/13/mathtype-ilife/

Why not download the free 30 day demo of MathType, and then let it revert to MathType Lite after the 30 days expire?

There is a lite version? What restrictions does it have?

To Chase--My high school doesn't give out discounts on software to students (only teachers).

To jw2002--I know it works, but I just don't have $50 for even the academic version (I blew it all on iWork because Office 04 was really angering me).

XnavxeMiyyep--Can you just copy and paste the equations out of Grapher? I have used it before when I forgot my graphing calculator and it was very easy.

miles01110--I am trying out LaTeXIT as we speak
 
XnavxeMiyyep--Can you just copy and paste the equations out of Grapher? I have used it before when I forgot my graphing calculator and it was very easy.

Yes. When you copy and paste, it'll be pasted as an image into Pages (or an equation into another part of Grapher).

Also, you can use command control shift 4 to highlight part of a graph (or anything on your screen I suppose, but this is the only thing I use it for) and copy it to your clipboard.
 
There is a lite version? What restrictions does it have?

To Chase--My high school doesn't give out discounts on software to students (only teachers).

To jw2002--I know it works, but I just don't have $50 for even the academic version (I blew it all on iWork because Office 04 was really angering me).

XnavxeMiyyep--Can you just copy and paste the equations out of Grapher? I have used it before when I forgot my graphing calculator and it was very easy.

miles01110--I am trying out LaTeXIT as we speak
I have been familiar with MathType for 20 years. I have never heard of MathType Lite. The cut-down version of MathType has always been named Equation Editor. Versions of EE have been bundled with Microsoft Word and other word-processors and works apps for decades. Apple has chosen [what appears to be] the full version of MathType 6 as the equation editor in iWork ’09.

As for Grapher, its equation editing functionality is limited to closed-form explicit equations that can be used to draw 2-D and 3-D graphs. These are mostly of the form y = f(x) and a limited selection of vector-matrix forms. As an equation editor, Grapher is not even a poor substitute for Equation Editor.

The OP wants a free equation editor. To the best of my knowledge, LaTeXiT is his only choice. However, it is an excellent choice for a standalone free editor. Because LaTeXiT requires a teTeX installation, he should download and install MacTeX. This will allow him to use the standalone LyX word processor. Owing to its TeX base, LyX includes equation typesetting.
 
After reading what MisterMe had to say, it is true that iWork 09 comes with an equation editor (Mathtype 6). I watched the video on Apple's website about this and it seems to work very good. I'm using MathType 5 and haven't had any problems with that so MathType 6 should be even better. Also what's nice about it being integrated in with Pages is that you don't have to export to an image. This way you can go back and edit the equation just by double clicking on it. I may have to give iWork 09 a try now.....
 
Some more free trial period

If your MathType trial expires, you may try MathMagic.

Although MathMagic trial also expires in a certain period, MathMagic reads MathType equaitons.

So, if you need to write equations or edit MathType equations a little longer, MathMagic will give you some more breathing.

Fully working trial versions here.
www.mathmagic.com/download/
 
I have been familiar with MathType for 20 years. I have never heard of MathType Lite. The cut-down version of MathType has always been named Equation Editor. Versions of EE have been bundled with Microsoft Word and other word-processors and works apps for decades. Apple has chosen [what appears to be] the full version of MathType 6 as the equation editor in iWork ’09.

From the Mathtype User manual.

"Once the evaluation period has expired, MathType starts running in MathType Lite mode. This provides a level of functionality similar to our Equation Editor product. An added bonus is that MathType Lite is better for collaboration with MathType users than Equation Editor. See Collaborating with Equation Editor Users for more information."
 
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