WinWord: Using EQ, or Formula, Fields Application Note

 Last reviewed: February 26, 1998
Article ID: Q83861

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c

SUMMARY

The text below is from the "Using EQ, or Formula, Fields to Produce Mathematical Formulas" (WD0522) application note, which is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library: 

 ~ Wd0522.exe (size: 29078 bytes)
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
NOTE: Wd0522 was archived using the Pkware file-compression utility.

MORE INFORMATION

Introduction

You can create mathematical formulas in a Word for Windows document by using the EQ field, also referred to as a Formula field. However, these formulas can only be printed on printers that have the Symbol font. If the Symbol font is not available on the installed printer, the field codes can be entered in the document, but they will not display or print properly.

The EQ field can be created in two ways:

  1. Enter the field code manually by holding down the CTRL key and pressing the F9 key once (CTRL+F9). This will place field code characters, which look like opening and closing braces, around the insertion point. To produce the formula, type "eq" (without the quotation marks) followed by a space, and then type the switches and arguments necessary to achieve the desired results. Use this method for formulas that will become very complicated or that use switch nesting to obtain the desired result.

  2. From the Insert menu, choose Field and then select Formulas from the Insert Field Type box. This will place "eq" (without the quotation marks) in the Field Code box. From the Instructions box, select one of the options. Then choose the Add button to place the appropriate switch, along with the appropriate parentheses and commas, in the Field Code box. This method does not allow nesting of switches or selecting of arguments to use with the switches, and as a result, is somewhat limited in complexity.

The EQ field can contain any number of switches and arguments, as well as text. Text can be entered in the EQ field before or after a switch and its associated arguments. The text will not be affected by the switch or its arguments but will be a part of the result of the field code. The result of the field code will always be treated as one element and cannot wrap around to another line. Therefore, the only limitation of the EQ field code is that the result of the code must not exceed one line. The code used to produce the result can be as long as necessary.

Switches

The EQ field has 10 switches that control the formatting of the result of the formula. Many of these switches have associated arguments that control the formatting determined by the switches.

The complete application note contains explanations of each of the switches and each argument associated with that particular switch, as well as some examples of the use of the switches and their arguments.

Additional query words: 2.00 2.00a 1.00 1.10a 1.10 2.00b 2.00c 2.00a-CD
Keywords : kbfield kbfile kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:1.x,2.x
Issue type : kbinfo

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Last reviewed: February 26, 1998
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