Brackets
You can choose among various bracket types to structure a Office Math formula. Bracket types are displayed in the lower part of the Elements pane. These brackets are also listed in the context menu of the Commands window. All brackets that are not contained in the Elements pane or in the context menu can be typed manually in the Commands window.
To access this command...
Open the context menu in the Commands window - choose Brackets
Choose View - Elements; then on the Elements pane select Brackets from the list box.
The following is a complete list of all available bracket types. The icon next to the bracket type indicates that it can be accessed through the Elements pane (menu View - Elements) or through the context menu of the Commands window.
Bracket types
Round brackets (parentheses)
Inserts a placeholder within normal round brackets (parentheses). You can also type () in the Commands window.
Square brackets
Inserts a placeholder within square brackets. You can also type [] in the Commands window.
Double square brackets
Inserts a placeholder within double square brackets. You can also type ldbracket rdbracket in the Commands window.
Braces (curly brackets)
Inserts a placeholder within braces (curly brackets). You can also type lbracerbrace directly in the Commands window.
Single vertical bars
Inserts a placeholder within vertical bars. You can also type lline rline directly in the Commands window.
Double vertical bars
Inserts a placeholder within double vertical bars. You can also type ldline rdline directly in the Commands window.
Angle brackets
Inserts a placeholder within angle brackets. You can also type langle rangle in the Commands window.
Operator brackets
Inserts two placeholders within operator brackets. You can also type langle mline rangle in the Commands window.
Group brackets
Inserts group brackets. You can also type {} in the Commands window.
Round brackets (scalable)
Inserts scalable rounded brackets with one placeholder. You can also type left( right) in the Commands window.
Square brackets (scalable)
Inserts scalable square brackets with placeholders. You can also type left[ right] in the Commands window. The size of the brackets is adjusted automatically.
Double square brackets (scalable)
Inserts scalable double square brackets with placeholders. You can also type left ldbracket right rdbracket directly in the Commands window. The bracket size is adjusted automatically.
Braces (scalable)
Inserts scalable braces with a placeholder. You can also type left lbrace right rbrace in the Commands window. The size of the braces is automatically adjusted.
Single vertical bars (scalable)
Inserts scalable single vertical bars with a placeholder. You can also type left lline right rline in the Commands window. The size of the brackets is automatically adjusted.
Double vertical bars (scalable)
Inserts scalable double vertical bars with a placeholder. You can also type left ldline right rdline in the Commands window. The size of the brackets is automatically adjusted.
Angle brackets (scalable)
Inserts scalable angle brackets with a placeholder. You can also type left langle right rangle in the Commands window. The size of the brackets is automatically adjusted.
Operator brackets (scalable)
Inserts scalable operator brackets with placeholders. You can also type left langle mline right rangle in the Commands window. The bracket size is adjusted automatically.
Brace top (scalable)
Inserts a scalable horizontal upper brace with placeholders. You can also enter overbrace directly in the Commands window. The bracket size is adjusted automatically.
Brace bottom (scalable)
Inserts a scalable horizontal lower brace with placeholders. You can also type underbrace directly in the Commands window. The bracket size is adjusted automatically.
To insert floor brackets, type lfloorrfloor directly in the Commands window.
To insert ceiling brackets, type lceilrceil directly in the Commands window.
To insert scalable floor brackets, type left lfloorright rfloor directly in the Commands window.
To insert scalable ceiling brackets, type left lceilright rceil directly in the Commands window.
Brackets are automatically sized when you type left and right in front of the bracket command, for example, left(a over b right). You can also set the size and spacing of brackets by choosing Format - Spacing - Category - Brackets and setting the desired percentages. Mark the Scale all brackets check box to apply the changes to all brackets in the formula.
You can also use single brackets. To do this, type a backslash \ in front of the command. For example, when you type \[, the left square bracket appears without its counterpart. This is useful for creating reverse brackets or for constructing intervals. Note that only non-scalable brackets can be used individually. To change the size, use the size command.
Examples of single brackets
For non-scaled brackets:
a = \{ \( \[ b newline
{} + c \] \) \ }
For scaled brackets use none as the bracket name
a = left ( a over b right none newline
left none phantom {a over b} + c right )
The phantom statement ensures that the last bracket is the correct size.
Be sure to put spaces (gaps) between elements when entering them directly in the Commands window. This ensures that the correct structure is recognised.
Useful information about indices and exponents as well as scaling helps you structure formulae effectively. For more information about brackets, see Brackets and Grouping.