If there’s one aspect of LabNBook that students dislike more than paper documents, it’s writing equations!

And with good reason: writing an equation is always faster on paper… even if you are the king of Latex.

3 years ago, we integrated a tool for writing equations, with a choice of a Latex editor or a graphical interface. This was a first step in the right direction, but unfortunately the tool remained rather buggy and didn’t always produce very comprehensible Latex.

Some time ago, a new, more robust open-source solution emerged: MathLive. We have adapted it to meet the needs of our students. It’s now available on the LabNBook server.

As well as making the tool more sophisticated, we’ve included two time-saving features for students:

• A “formulas” menu lets you write some of the classic formulas found in our training courses with a single click.
• A button displays the result of the calculation, so you don’t have to use the calculator. Please note, however, that the Latex must be well-formed for the calculation to take place…

Please don’t hesitate to give us any feedback you may have, especially if you notice any missing symbols or formulas, or if you find any of our choices questionable. We’ll do our best to ensure that writing equations on a digital tool takes as little time as possible.

Good equations!