Learn LibreOffice Math

Introduction

LibreOffice Math ('Math' hereafter) is a free and open-source formula editing application of the LibreOffice software package. Math can be invoked in your text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings, enabling you to insert well formatted mathematical and scientific formulas. Your formulas can include a wide range of elements, from fractions, terms with exponents and indices, integrals, and mathematical functions, to inequalities, systems of equations, and matrices.

You can start Math either as a stand-alone application directly from the LibreOffice Start Center or directly from within other LibreOffice applications such as Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw.

ICT Competency	ICT for creating Mathematical resources
Educational application and relevance	LibreOffice Math is a software used for creating (including writing, editing, formatting, type setting and printing) mathematical formulae.
Version	5.1.6.2 LibreOffice Writer is also available on the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. This tool has no specific configuration requirements but in this application you can use many extra features by installing extensions
Other similar applications	FxSolver, MathType,
The application on mobiles and tablets	You can download https://www.libreoffice.org/download/android-viewer. There are text editors on the mobile / tablet platform like ''"OpenDocumentReader" App and WPS Office App.
Development and community help	The Document Foundation Community help

Overview of features

LibreOffice Math lets you type and format mathematical formulae that can include signs and symbols. In this application you can save the documents in a variety of formats, including the standardized Open Document Format (ODF) or MathML Format (mml). Here you can easily export your document to the Portable Document Format(PDF). Math treats formulae as objects and does not perform any computation.

Installation

1. The application is part of the Ubuntu custom distribution.
2. In case you do not find it on your computer, you can install by choosing “LibreOffice” in Ubuntu Software Centre
3. If you would like to install through the terminal follow these steps below:
   1. Open terminal by clicking (Ctrl+Alt+T),
   2. Once Window page is open, in front of dollar($) symbol just type below command.
   3. sudo apt-get install libreOffice-math

Working with the application

Using the Formula Editor, you can insert formulas directly into a document using LibreOffice Writer, Calc, Impress, or Draw.

Formulas in LibreOffice documents

LibreOffice Writer includes insertion of mathematical expressions in documents. A special feature. LibreOffice Math is an application that assists in insertion of mathematic or scientific formulas of a wide range is a part of LibreOffice writer.

LibreOffice Writer treats formulae as objects. For insertion of an expression at any point in the document go to Insert (in menu bar) → Object → Formula.

The Formula Window appears on the left hand-side, it has a variety of operations, functions and attributes that can be included in the document. The top drop down menu helps us toggle between different operations. Selecting the operations  from the drop down box displays all the mathematical notations under each category. Clicking on the required mathematical notation inserts the notation in the document.

To edit this object or to insert numbers and variables in the expression double click on the object/ right click on the object to select edit from the options.  

1. A dialogue box on the bottom part of the screen allows us to edit the the formula structure and also enter data.
2. The text or numbers in the formula structure can also be inserted by clicking on the specific place holders in the expression.

*It is important to note that once we move the cursor away from the formula the formula window closes and to insert another formula we have to follow the steps to insert formula again.

Inserting Formulae in LibreOffice Writer

* The links to the formulae open the GIFs in your browser, to download the GIF save the page after opening the link.

Introduction

1) Navigating Menus

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2) Exemplar Formula

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Simple Arithmetic Operators

1) $a=\pm {5}$,$b\neq \pm 6$

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2) $a+0=a,a\times 0=a,a+(-a)=0,a\div a=1$

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3) ${a \over b},a/b,$, $a.{1 \over a}=1$

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Relational Operators

1) $v<u$,$x\geq y,p\gg q,|a+b|\leq |a|+|b|$

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2) $e\approx f,i\eqsim j,m\propto n,n!$

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Geometric Operators

1) $AB||PQ,\bigtriangleup ABC=\bigtriangleup EFG,AB\perp PQ,\angle \alpha =180^{0}$

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2) ${\bar {AB}},{\vec {AB}},{\bar {AB}},$

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Set Operators

1) $\emptyset \subset A$

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2) $(A\cup B)'=A'\cap B'$

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3) $A'=\{x|x\in A\ and\ x\in B\}$

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4) $A\times B=\{(x,y)|x\in A\ and\ x\not \in B\}$

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Permutation and Combination

1) ${}^{n}C_{4}={n! \over k!(n-k)!}$

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Exponents and Powers

1) ${a^{m} \over b^{n}}=a^{m-n}$

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2) $(a^{m})^{n}=a^{m}n$

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3) $a^{m \over n}={\sqrt[{n}]{a^{m}}}$

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4) ${{1} \over {\sqrt[{n}]{a}}}={{\sqrt[{n}]{a^{n-1}}} \over {a}};a\neq 0$

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5) ${\sqrt {a\pm {\sqrt {b}}}}={\sqrt {{a+{\sqrt {a^{2}-b}}} \over {2}}}\pm {\sqrt {{a-{\sqrt {a^{2}-b}}} \over {2}}}$

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Binomial Theorem

1) $(a-b)^{n}={}^{n}C_{0}a^{n}+{}^{n}C_{1}a^{n-1}b.......{}^{n}Cab^{n-1}+{}^{n}C_{n}b^{n}$

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Logarithms

1) $\log _{0}{a}=\{-\infty \ if\ a>1\ \ +\infty ifa<1\}$

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2) $\log(1000)=3$

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Trigonometry

1) $\sin {(\alpha +\beta )}=\sin {(\alpha )}\cos {(\beta )}+\cos {(\alpha )}\sin {(\beta )}$

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2) ${\sin }^{2}(\theta )+{\cos }^{2}(\theta )=1$

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Integer Series

1) $\sum _{1}^{N}n^{2}=1+2+3+......+N^{2}={N(N+1)(2N+1) \over 6}$

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Advanced Features :

Formulas as separate documents or files

To create a formula as a separate document or file, use one of the following methods to open an empty formula document in LibreOffice Math :

• On the menu bar, go to File > New > Formula

• From the Start Center, click Math Formula

•On the Standard toolbar, click the triangle to the right of the New icon and select Formula from the context menu.

•In Math, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N

•Use command Import MathML from the clipboard

As you enter the markup language in the Formula Editor, the formula will appear in the Preview window during and after input of the markup. The Elements window to the left of the Preview window may also appear, if it has been selected in View on the menu bar.

Inserting short cut for formula window in the main menu

Click on Tools  →  Customize, the customization window appears.

Here, in tool-bar select Standard.

In tool-bar content scroll down and click on the check box for formula.

Then press Enter , this provides a short cut for formula insertion in the standard menu bar  

Clicking on it opens the same formula window which we can use to insert and edit formulae.