LyteByte

I deal with math formulas and equations and also chemical equations on day to day life in my school and we have previously looked at how to write mathematical equations, physics derivation, chemistry formula using Word 2007 (applicable to Word 2010 also) and how to convert linear form of equation to hand-written or text book style equation. If you liked that then you are also going to totally love this new feature from Windows 7, the Math Input Panel.

You can use this Math Input Panel to enter any mathematical equations on any physics or chemical formulas etc with ease using digital or tablet pen or with a simple mouse. You can copy these equations and formulas and insert into any application which supports MathML (Mathematical Markup Language) like Office Word, Open Office etc.

How to open Math Input Pane?

You can find Math Input Panel under Accessories. Or you can simply search for Math under start and click Math Input Panel under Programs.

How to input data (Math Formulas and Equations)?

Just write as if you are writing on your notebook paper. Don’t be alarmed what it shows in between in the preview section when you are writing the formulas. In most cases, it corrects and makes a good judgment after you complete the whole formula.

How to use the data?

Click on Insert at the bottom of the Math Input Panel and use Paste (Ctrl+V) in the application that you want to insert. Once you press Insert, they are also stored in the History so that you can retrieve it later.

What can you input?

I tried a few in each of mathematical functions and you can input fractions, scripts, radicals, integrals, large operators, brackets, functions, accents, limits, log, operators, matrix etc.

As you can see below, I am impressed with the way it could recognize my handwriting (This was written using the tiny little mouse pad in my laptop!!!)

How to correct if it shows wrong data?

Using the Select and Correct tool, just draw and select the data and it will show the menu with all possible resemblances and you can choose from the list to correct it. You can also use other tools like Erase, Undo, Redo, and Clear.

If you are planning to use this quite often, then touch screen tablets would be the ideal one otherwise I would recommend buying a writing pad to help you.