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FAQ — Questions and Answers

General

Why is Firemath based on Firefox?

Firefox is a great browser, it can easily be extended using XUL and Javascript, and — most importantly — Firefox renders MathML.

Does Firemath support presentation markup and/or content markup?

Firmath generates presentation markup.

What is the difference between presentation markup and content markup?

Consider expression $x^n$. It can have different meanings like take the $n$th power of $x$, or consider the $n$th element of tensor $x$. In presentation markup you say that you want an $x$ with a superscript $n$. You don't give hints on the meaning of the expression. In content markup one rather specifies the content, i.e. the meaning, while the rendering associated with a particular content must be described somewhere else. See the MathML documentation for further details.

What is MathML?

MathML is the mathematical markup language. In the way HTML is used to specify textual and image content, MathML is used to describe equations.

Editing

What is the difference between function, identifier, operator, and text?

Use identifier for all numbers and variables and sometimes for functions. A function is an identifier followed by MathML operator ⁡ For example, you should use function for the $f$ in an expression like $f\left(x\right)$, where $f$ applies to what follows on the right.
Operators are elements like '+' or '=', but sometimes also expressions like 'NOT'.
Use text whenever the element consists of plain words.

Why do I use the identifier button for both, numbers and variables?

Firemath automatically recognizes numbers, at least decimal numbers.

What are fences?

Think of fences as brackets. You can individually specify the characters of the opening and closing fence. Moreover, you can specify characters used to separate the various elements contained within the fences. These separators default to commas ','. An example, in which the three attributes are set in a creative way is $\left)a:1\right]$ . Here the separator was set to ':', while the opening and closing fences are ')' and ']', respectively.
In Firemath the separators for ket and bra fences default to '|', while they default to commas otherwise.

How do I quickly clear the equation panel?

Just reload Firemath.

I need a special symbol/operator, which I can't find on one of the buttons.

If you believe that element is missing in the sense that it would also be helpful for other users, please make an entry in our discussion board. In the meantime you can help yourself if you know the unicode code of your symbol. For instance, entering € (yes, these eight characters) into the text field and clicking the text button displays the Euro currency symbol.
Be careful: In doubt, start a second Firemath session in another tab and try if that works.

Why do we need a Normal button in the attributes panel?

Commonly used rendering rules for identifiers (also applied by Firefox) are as follows. Identifiers are rendered italic if they consist of a single character, and non-italic otherwise. Sometimes you want identifiers (like $\mathrm{\alpha }$ ) to be non-italic, which can be enforced using the normal button.

After inserting a new element, one of the operators suddenly became huge.

Enclose elements, which logically belong together, by an <mrow>. Alternatively, specify the sizes of elements via the attributes button.

Menus

When copying/saving MathML code, what are the different options?

Choosing 'Complete XHTML', your equation will be embedded in the envelope necessary to get a valid xhtml document. In other word, you can directly open that file with your browser and see your equation rendered.
The difference between 'Stand alone equation' and 'Inline equation' is that an inline equation is inserted into the text flow, while a stand alone equation occupies its own row.

Third-party software

Can I use my equations in Microsoft Office 2007?

This is not that we recommend proprietary programs, but you can at least partly. MS Office supports a subset of MathML. As long as your equations are not too complex, you can import them as follows.
Within Firemath copy the MathML code to the clipboard as 'stand alone equation'. This can be pasted directly into your Word or Outlook documents. In Powerpoint one additional step is required. First select Insert→Object and choose 'Create new' 'Microsoft Office Word Document'. Finally, paste the MathML code into that object.

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