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Re: typesetting fractions

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg45861] Re: typesetting fractions
• From: Paul Abbott <paul at physics.uwa.edu.au>
• Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 04:51:26 -0500 (EST)
• Organization: The University of Western Australia
• References: <200401201008.FAA27408@smc.vnet.net> <200401220837.DAA17457@smc.vnet.net> <buqmch$raa$1@smc.vnet.net>
• Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

In article <buqmch$raa$1 at smc.vnet.net>, Garry Helzer <gah at math.umd.edu> 
wrote:

> For the last few years I have used Mathematica exclusively for
> technical writing, mostly because it gives me better control over
> figure placement and keeps everything in a single file. That said, it
> is nonetheless an aggravating experience in many ways. The
> subscript/quotient font size problem is a daily irritation. Here's my
> question. TeX does an excellent job in this regard. TeX has been around
> since the '60s and is open source. Why doesn't someone at WRI just look
> at how TeX does it and incorporate the rules? Why reinvent the
> wheel especially if the wheels you produce in house always seem to have
> corners on the rim?
> 
> A personal bugaboo of mine is the spelling checker. I don't have
> problems with the spelling checker in any other software, just
> Mathematica. Ever since 3.0 I have been trying to teach it that
> bivector is a word. No luck. It just keeps telling me to try bevatron
> instead. I tell it to learn the word, it puts it in some user defined
> dictionary, and then ignores it.
> 
> I keep a copy of the Summer-Fall 1999 issue of Mathematica in Education
> and Research in a file  cabinet just so I can look up how to change an
> unmatched bracket from pink to black whenever I want to define a
> multiline function (p. 87).

The best solution is to match unmatched brackets using 

  \[AutoLeftMatch] or \[AutoRightMatch]

> Indications are that someone at WRI wants to develop Mathematica into a
> first rate technical publishing tool. It should be explained to them
> that this is just a waste of time and talent if the use of the tool 
> is to be such a jealously guarded secret.
> 
> If Mathematica is to have more than marginal use as a technical
> publication system WRI needs to produce, in house or outhouse, a
> Mathematica equivalent of The Joy of TeX. Cursory documentation and
> scattered hints in journals will not do it.

Cheers,
Paul

-- 
Paul Abbott                                   Phone: +61 8 9380 2734
School of Physics, M013                         Fax: +61 8 9380 1014
The University of Western Australia      (CRICOS Provider No 00126G)         
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley WA 6009                      mailto:paul at physics.uwa.edu.au 
AUSTRALIA                            http://physics.uwa.edu.au/~paul

• References:
  • Re: Re: Re: typesetting fractions
    • From: John Fultz <jfultz@wolfram.com>
  • Re: Re: Re: Re: typesetting fractions
    • From: Selwyn Hollis <sh2.7183@misspelled.erthlink.net>