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My problem is simple. I'm working on a document which will display a few simple, mathematical formula's. I will just copy & paste those images inside my documents, presentations and whatever else but to do this, I first need to create those images first.

So, is there any good, simple to use software which can create these images?

Okay, there's the Wikipedia entry which lists quite a few applications. It contains MathCast, which is free. I just don't like it. There's OpenOffice but am already using Microsoft Office and don't need a complete second Office product just for it's math functionality. Office itself also has an equation builder but I need something outside Office which can generate bitmaps or metafiles so I can re-use the image. The Wiki contains even more applications but it's a bit of an information overload.

Since this is just an one-time use for about 15 different functions, none of them real complex, I don't really want to spend any $ on it. And also, it should be simple to use...

As an example, this image from Wikipedia:

alt Convert an interest rate from one compounding basis to another compounding basis

The formulas that I need to generate are reasonable similar to this one. And although I could just use Paint to draw it, I'd prefer something more complex that will remember the formula itself, not the image. But the documentation will need images since the document will be shared with others, possibly even exported to PDF and even used in presentations. (Or even added to the HTML of a web page.)

James Mertz
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Wim ten Brink
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10 Answers10

12

I've used this LaTeX parser and works ok for what you want yo do: Equation Editor.

This is simpler but also uses the LaTeX syntax: Texify

Manuel Ferreria
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10

Try using Wolfram|Alpha. If your input is, for instance ln(x)^2+x=10, it will give you the results and also display the function graph.

Wolfram|Alpha is a very good search engine based on Mathematica. I've been impressed by its results.

Edit: I thought the generated image was a bit small, but I found a workaround. If you save the search result to PDF, when you open it and zoom in, the graph maintains all its fidelity (it seems to be vector drawn, it's not an embedded jpg or gif).

Second edit: try this in Wolfram: i2=[(1+i1/n1)^(n1/n2)-1]*n2. The formula is given as an image, like this.

alt text

Is this something you're looking for? It's not identical to what Wikipedia creates, but it's not far from it. The only thing is, it took me a while to get this. I kept clicking on the equal sign until it gave me the result :).

Gareth
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alex
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4

gnuplot.

mouviciel
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3

MathMagic

MicTech
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2

Forget apps - use an HTML version, then do a capture.

Stef's HTML Equation Generator

caliban
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2

I think any of the suggestions posted here, including the Office Equation Editor, should be fine. It seems to me that the product doesn't have to produce images, since you can always take a snapshot of the screen image and crop it down. Better yet, use a PDF print driver (Office 2007 has one built in, or you can use a product like DoPDF). Use your program of choice to generate a screen image of the equation, highlight it, select Print->Print Selected (on most programs), and output to PDF.

CMPalmer
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OpenOffice.org has Math.

Richard Hoskins
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If you are versed in LaTeX, try it. I've been using TeknixCenter and MixTex on my Windows machine.

But the easiest way is really OpenOffice Math. Get the portable version and start within seconds..

Community
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Grumpy ol' Bear
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openoffice.org has math, or theres tablet pc tools for windows XP and vista that include stuff that might be of help

alpha1
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-1

MS Office also has a formula editor.

In 2007 -> Insert -> Equation (at the end of the bar)

Previous versions also have them, but i can not provide you with instructions to them.

Tiago Veloso
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