In our next tutorial, we illustrate MathType’s powerful capabilities for laying out matrices. We will construct the following matrix equation:
GHW D D
S D D
λ λ λ
λ
− −
= − =
− −
, $
The matrix is a fairly simple one, and we’ll be able to create it very easily by using a matrix template. If you need more flexible formatting capabilities for matrices and tabular layouts, you should use tabs, as illustrated in Tutorial 11.
Selecting a Slot You can double-click in a slot to select its contents, or type CTRL+SHIFT+S.
function, and will automatically set it in plain roman type, so you don’t have to fiddle with it. The quick way to get a λis to press CTRL+G followed by a letter l (ell). Also, note that the I and the A represent matrices, so we have assigned them the Vector-Matrix style, which causes them to appear in bold type. The CTRL+B shortcut will assign the Vector-Matrix style to the next character, so you can press CTRL+B followed by SHIFT+I to get the I, and CTRL+B followed by SHIFT+A for the A. Alternatively, you can just type all the characters first, and then select them and change their styles using the commands on the Style menu. Either way, your equation should end up looking like this:
Type the second = sign and insert a vertical bar template by choosing the icon. It’s located in the palette.
Insert a 2×2 matrix template inside the vertical bars by choosing the icon from the palette. Your equation should now look like this:
The insertion point will be in the top left slot of the 2×2 matrix, so enter the expressionλ – a11there.
We’re feeling lazy, so we’re going to create the other entries in the matrix by cutting and pasting. Select the λ – a11by double-clicking on it, copy it to the Clipboard, and paste it into the other three slots in the matrix. The result should be as shown below; it’s not right, of course, but we’re going to fix it up in a few moments.
Drag and Drop You can also drag the term and drop it in the other slots. Remember to hold down the CTRL key to copy the term.
Next, we’re going to put a little extra space between the vertical bars and the elements of the matrix. This is purely a matter of taste, so you can skip this part if you’d prefer to keep your matrix looking the way it does at present. Before we enter the spaces, we need to position the insertion point so that it’s inside the vertical bars but to the left of and outside the matrix. You can do this by clicking somewhere near the position indicated by the arrow pointer in the preceding picture. Then just enter one or two thin spaces by pressing CTRL+SPACEBAR. Do the same on the right-hand side of the matrix. If you choose the Show All command from the View menu, you’ll be able to see your spaces. They should look like this:
After the brief digression in Step 6, it’s now time to correct the entries in our matrix. First, delete the λ from the upper right slot. The quickest way to do this is to place the insertion point to the right of it and press BACKSPACE (or Backspace).
Do the same with the λ in the lower left slot. Notice that MathType adjusts the spacing after the minus signs to reflect the fact that they are now unary operators rather than binary operators (negation rather than subtraction).
Change all the subscripts in the matrix to their desired values. The “11” in the upper left slot is correct already, but we should have “12” in the upper right slot, “21” in the lower left, and “22” in the lower right. You can double-click on the existing subscripts to select them, and then type the correct values over them, just as you would in a word processor. Your equation should now look like this:
The equation is now essentially complete, although there are a few more formatting options that you may want to try out. First, you might want to shift the entire matrix down so that its top row is aligned with the rest of the equation.
To do this, place the insertion point anywhere in the matrix and choose Align at Top from the Format menu. Also, it might be nice to right justify the entries in each column. To do this, place the insertion point somewhere in the matrix, choose the Change Matrix command from the Format menu, and click on the button labeled “Right” in the dialog box.
Finally, if you object to the fact that MathType tightened the spacing after the unary minus signs, you can put the spaces back in again, though this would
of the palette. If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can insert a thick space by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+SPACE. Alternatively, since a thick space is the same width as two thin spaces, you can get the same results by pressing CTRL+SPACE twice.
If you elected to make all of the modifications suggested in this step, your equation should look something like the picture below.
If you’re going on to the next tutorial, press CTRL+A to select all, then press BACKSPACE to clear your screen.