Users of Microsoft Word 2013 who want to write up their lab discoveries don’t have to use only the letters and numbers on their keyboards. Scientists may use complicated chemical formulas to talk about systematic studies, but it takes the same number of clicks on the keyboard to write a chemical formula as it does to write a regular character. To find formulas, you have to turn on Word’s Equations Editor, which is one of its more hidden features, and use its features.
Write a formula from scratch
Step 1
Click the “Insert” tab in a new or existing Word document.
Step 2
Click the “Equation” button on the tab’s right side.
Step 3
Click “Insert New Equation” to add a new equation. A simple example formula is already in the “Type equation here” box when it opens.” Notice that the purple Equation Tools tab also opens. If you click on the Word page instead of the formula, this tab goes away. To turn the formula back on, click it again.
Step 4
Click in the box that says “Type equation here,” and then type the equation. You can also copy and paste the formula from another Word file, Notepad file, or program.
Built-in Formulas
Step 1
Click the “Insert” tab in a new or existing Word document.
Step 2
Click the “Equation” button on the tab’s right side.
Step 3
Choose a formula from the drop-down menu or click “More equations from Office.com” and choose one from the list. The chosen formula is put on the page by Word.
Change the formula
Step 1
When you click on the formula, the Equation Tools tab and its Design ribbon become visible. Keep in mind that you won’t see these options if you haven’t turned on formulas on the Word page.
Step 2
To make a change, select a symbol in the formula and click a symbol in the Symbols section of the ribbon.
Step 3
Click on the “Radical” or “Fraction” buttons on the ribbon to make changes to the formula. Keep in mind that if Word doesn’t think this change is possible, you won’t see any difference on the Word page.