On Tue, Mar 28, 2006 at 01:24:35PM -0500, Matthew Corner wrote:
> 1. While I like how the math editor has a symbol for the cosine and sine
> (cos and sin respectively), it seems like it ought to be easy to allow the
> user to define an arbitrary series of characters as a mathematical
> symbol--that is you couldn't edit it just like the symbols for cosine and
> sine. Right now I don't know of a way to give the math a different font
> style like the cosine and sin have, so when my teacher started using "cis"
> as an abbreviation for cos x + isinx I was at a bit of a loss. (Maybe this
> is a problem related to using the windows version, but when I make a new
> "box" for text within the math formula box, I find that whatever I type in
> there wether formula or not generates errors during teX conversion).
You can enter this as \textrm{cis}. It is also possible to define a
math-macro so you only need to enter \cis, though this seems a little
buggy at the moment.
> 2. Along this lines something that let you make arbitary symbols or at
> least input arbitary symbols (perhaps from a bmp or something else) in a
> math equation would be great. It would allow a lot more flexibility..I'm
> not proposing anything complicated like a square root, more like "letters"
> and such; things that are treated as characters.
Perhaps you should have a look at the comprehensive list of LaTeX
symbols:
http://ctan.org/tex-archive/info/symbols/comprehensive/
Although it would be nice to be able to add symbols more easily,
your document would probably look more professional if you use the
existing professionally designed symbols.
> 3. I am not sure, but I can't seem to have any spaces in my math
> box...sometimes this would be nice, such as when I am listed variables that
> are within a set or listing coordinates; anything where variables are
> separated by commas really.
LyX intentionally stops you adding spaces as it attempts to handle
spacing in math mode automatically and thus consistently. If you really
want to add a space, you can type "\," and press the spacebar until you
get the right sized space.
> I hope I am not so silly and ignorant as to have missed this features if
> they are already in the current version--maybe some are in 1.4? Anyhow,
No more so than 1.3.7
> those are my thoughts as someone that uses LyX to right out and do math
> almost every day.
I understand that the primary userbase of LaTeX are mathematicians.
--
John C. McCabe-Dansted
Masters Student
