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Re: Using Mathgroup Effectively -- cutting and pasting expressions

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg34910] Re: Using Mathgroup Effectively -- cutting and pasting expressions
• From: dcollins at outbacksoftware.com (Dave Collins)
• Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 02:15:55 -0400 (EDT)
• References: <adv5tt$dc$1@smc.vnet.net>
• Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Richard  Palmer <dickp at bellatlantic.net> wrote in message news:<adv5tt$dc$1 at smc.vnet.net>...
> Thanks for your reply.  I know it isn't your problem as the mail group
> moderator, but I am personally annoyed at the difficulty of copying and
> pasting sections of Mathematica code as text.  When I cut and paste from a notebook
> using an ASCII text editor (TEXTEDIT on the MAC)  the result comes out like
> 
> Cell[BoxData[
> <goobledygook snipped> 
> 
> This is absolutely worthless for communication.  
>

If I understand the problem correctly, it seems that Mathematica already
has a facility for doing this, though perhaps not as convenient as one
would like. 

For example, I enter as input:

Integrate[x Log[x], x]

Hit Shift/Enter and Mathematica responds with its output. If I simply
copy the output cell and paste it in a text editor, it's goobledygook:

\!\(\(-\(x\^2\/4\)\) + 1\/2\ x\^2\ Log[x]\)

But if I select the output cell, pick "Cell|Convert to|Input form"
from the menu (Shift/Ctrl/I on Windows), then copy/paste, I get reasonable
ASCII text:

-(x^2/4) + (1/2)*x^2*Log[x]

Of course, if this were a carefully formatted notebook, I'd need to discard
the changes after conversion and copying. Given all the other options
under the "Edit|Copy as" menu, it would be nice if Wolfram would add
"Copy as input form", perhaps with the option of making it the default.

-- Dave Collins