4 ms·

LaTeX isn't that hard, Microsoft equation editor is slow, and don't even get me started on how much more time consuming it is to put in references, tables of co

LaTeX isn't that hard, Microsoft equation editor is slow, and don't even get me started on how much more time consuming it is to put in references, tables of content, etc. The first equation in the paper is $$\Delta P_t = \mu + \sum_{j=1}^J \lambda^j S^j_t + \sum_{p=1}^P \delta_p \Delta P_{t-p} + \varepsilon_t$$ Yes, it's a bit of a mouthful but clicking all of those symbols in equation editor is much slower once you know the syntax.

sp332 9y ago
Page 4 specifically refers to papers that don't have a lot of equations.
dmlorenzetti 9y ago
Not only is the MS eqn editor slow, it also doesn't work consistently across versions of Word. I have a work colleague whose equations never show properly on my machine when he sends over Word docs. By contrast, LaTeX works the same everywhere -- to the extent that SymPy can derive an equation, output it as LaTeX, and it goes right into a paper or presentation without issues.
GrayShade 9y ago
Pseudo-LaTeX syntax works in Word's new equation editor (introduced in Office 2007). I can't test, but I suspect your equation works as-is in Word.
- LeifCarrotson 9y ago
  I can test for the class. It's close, the curly brackets aren't used for grouping in MathType: https://i.imgur.com/T9JxuH5.png https://i.imgur.com/T9JxuH5.png Fixing that for the summation terms and t-p subscript produces: \Delta P_t = \mu + \sum_(j=1)^J \lambda^j S^j_t + \sum_(p=1)^P \delta_p \Delta P_(t-p) + \varepsilon_t https://i.imgur.com/Imix6GU.png https://i.imgur.com/Imix6GU.png where Word doesn't realize that the terms after the sum should be the content of the sum. Word Help and the equation editor are thoroughly unhelpful in deducing the appropriate syntax of \sum. What I eventually divined was that the syntax is state-based: If you type it out manually, it will put your cursor into the right position, and once you're done with _t you need to hit the right arrow key before typing the space and plus symbol. Copy-pasting the whole thing is different and does not work. I mean, it's great that it supports an entry mode that's faster than digging through menus and clicking on symbols with your mouse. But it's still fundamentally different and, dare I say, inferior when the appearance of the equation isn't defined by the sequence of characters you enter (or copy-paste) but by the sequence of arrow keys and escape keys you hit while you type it in. This is exactly the problem with Office vs. LaTeX.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
    If you type a space after P_t it will figure out it's a subscript. That is, after you copy-paste your text you can hit space a few times to wake it up to the fact that it needs to render it.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- madcaptenor 9y ago
  In my experience, pseudo-LaTeX syntax pseudo-works.
YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
Word can automatically manage your references and TOCs. There's even a Mendeley plugin to get your references from Mendeley into Word. It's actually as simple as a couple of shortcuts (Alt - S - Y1 on my machine, to "Add citation" from Mendeley). Also, like another poster has said, Word now recognises some LateX-like shorthand in equations so you don't have to click everywhere. Frex, adding a subscript is as simple as adding an underscore, the subscript and pressing space. I don't know how to quickly add superscripts, or both sub- and super-scripts though :) Not advocating for Word vs LaTeX, mind, but Word's actually pretty handy for writing a quick paper, like for a Master's thesis or putting together an early paper draft to get an idea of the outline etc. things that don't have stringent formatting requirements.

sp332 9y ago

Page 4 specifically refers to papers that don't have a lot of equations.

dmlorenzetti 9y ago

Not only is the MS eqn editor slow, it also doesn't work consistently across versions of Word. I have a work colleague whose equations never show properly on my machine when he sends over Word docs. By contrast, LaTeX works the same everywhere -- to the extent that SymPy can derive an equation, output it as LaTeX, and it goes right into a paper or presentation without issues.

GrayShade 9y ago

Pseudo-LaTeX syntax works in Word's new equation editor (introduced in Office 2007). I can't test, but I suspect your equation works as-is in Word.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago
I can test for the class. It's close, the curly brackets aren't used for grouping in MathType: https://i.imgur.com/T9JxuH5.png https://i.imgur.com/T9JxuH5.png Fixing that for the summation terms and t-p subscript produces: \Delta P_t = \mu + \sum_(j=1)^J \lambda^j S^j_t + \sum_(p=1)^P \delta_p \Delta P_(t-p) + \varepsilon_t https://i.imgur.com/Imix6GU.png https://i.imgur.com/Imix6GU.png where Word doesn't realize that the terms after the sum should be the content of the sum. Word Help and the equation editor are thoroughly unhelpful in deducing the appropriate syntax of \sum. What I eventually divined was that the syntax is state-based: If you type it out manually, it will put your cursor into the right position, and once you're done with _t you need to hit the right arrow key before typing the space and plus symbol. Copy-pasting the whole thing is different and does not work. I mean, it's great that it supports an entry mode that's faster than digging through menus and clicking on symbols with your mouse. But it's still fundamentally different and, dare I say, inferior when the appearance of the equation isn't defined by the sequence of characters you enter (or copy-paste) but by the sequence of arrow keys and escape keys you hit while you type it in. This is exactly the problem with Office vs. LaTeX.
- YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
  If you type a space after P_t it will figure out it's a subscript. That is, after you copy-paste your text you can hit space a few times to wake it up to the fact that it needs to render it.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
madcaptenor 9y ago
In my experience, pseudo-LaTeX syntax pseudo-works.

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago

Word can automatically manage your references and TOCs. There's even a Mendeley plugin to get your references from Mendeley into Word. It's actually as simple as a couple of shortcuts (Alt - S - Y1 on my machine, to "Add citation" from Mendeley). Also, like another poster has said, Word now recognises some LateX-like shorthand in equations so you don't have to click everywhere. Frex, adding a subscript is as simple as adding an underscore, the subscript and pressing space. I don't know how to quickly add superscripts, or both sub- and super-scripts though :) Not advocating for Word vs LaTeX, mind, but Word's actually pretty handy for writing a quick paper, like for a Master's thesis or putting together an early paper draft to get an idea of the outline etc. things that don't have stringent formatting requirements.