Math Guide 25.2

Chapter 3,
Formulas In Calc, Draw, and Impress

Introduction

When a formula is inserted into a Calc, Draw, or Impress document, the formula is inserted as an OLE object without any background (area fill) or borders. For more information on creating and editing formulas, please refer to Chapter 1, Creating and Editing Formulas. Each formula is inserted into a spreadsheet, drawing, or slide as follows:

• In Calc, formulas are inserted into a selected cell in a spreadsheet with no style assigned to the formula. For more information, see the Calc Guide.

• In Draw and Impress, formulas are inserted in a central position on a drawing or slide. By default, formulas are assigned the drawing object style Object with no fill and no line. For more information on how to modify or assign drawing object styles, see the Draw Guide or Impress Guide.

Anchoring formulas

Calc

By default, a formula is anchored into a Calc spreadsheet using the option To Page. Change the default formula anchoring in a Calc spreadsheet as follows:

1. Select the formula in the spreadsheet.

2. Right-click on the formula and select Anchor from the context menu. The anchoring options available in the context menu are To Cell, To Cell (resize with cell), and To Page.

3. Alternatively, go to Format > Anchor on the Menu bar and select an anchoring option from To Cell, To Cell (resize with cell), and To Page.

• Tip

If a formula is inserted into a Calc spreadsheet and appears out of scale, right click the formula and select Original Size from the context menu.

Draw and Impress

When a formula is inserted into a drawing or slide, it is inserted as a floating OLE object in the center of a drawing or slide. The inserted formula is not anchored and can be moved to any particular position in a drawing or slide. See the Draw Guide or Impress Guide for information on moving objects in a drawing or slide.

Formula properties

Formulas in Calc, Draw, and Impress can be modified just like any other object that has been placed in a spreadsheet, drawing, or presentation. However, formula size and changing text format in a formula cannot be carried out. For more information on how to change properties, see the Calc Guide, Draw Guide, or Impress Guide. For more information on formula size and formatting formula text, see Chapter 1, Creating and Editing Formulas.

• For formula backgrounds, use the options in the Area dialog pages.

• For formula borders, use the options in the Line dialog.

• Note

Formula borders are separate from cell borders in a Calc spreadsheet.

• To accurately re-position a formula, use the options in the Position and Size dialog.

• In Draw and Impress, arrange, align, group, flip, convert, break, combine, and edit points can be used for formula objects.

• Text attributes of a formula cannot be changed. The formula text is set when a formula is created using the Formula Editor.

• Formula size is set by the formula font size when a formula is created. Formula size is protected in the Position and Size dialog, but this can be deselected if required. However, it is not recommended as resizing a formula using the Position and Size dialog. This may distort a formula making it difficult to read.

Formulas in charts

A Calc chart is an OLE object created from a Calc spreadsheet. However, the Formula Editor cannot be used to create and insert a formula directly into a chart. A formula has to be created, then copied and pasted into a chart:

1. Create the chart using a Calc spreadsheet. For more information, see the Calc Guide.

2. Click in a spreadsheet cell to deselect a chart.

3. Insert a formula by clicking on Insert > OLE Object > Formula Object on the Menu bar to open the Formula Editor in Calc.

4. Create the required formula in the Formula Editor.

5. Select the formula and copy the formula.

6. Double-click the chart object to open editing mode, then paste the formula into the chart.

7. Move the formula to the required position inside the chart.

• Note

To edit a formula, the above procedure has to be repeated to create a new formula, or edit an existing formula. The new or edited formula is then pasted into the chart.

Chemical formulas

The primary purpose of Math is to create mathematical formulas. However, Math can create chemical formulas. However, chemical symbols are normally written in uppercase using non-italic characters. The following table shows examples of chemical formulas.

Construction	Example	Markup Language
Molecules	$$H_2{\mathit{SO}}_4$$	H_2 SO_4
Isotopes	$${}_{92}{}^{238}U$$	U lsub 92 lsup 238
Ions	${\mathit{SO}}_4^{2-}$ or ${\mathit{SO}}_4^{2\text{-}}$	SO_4^{2-{}} or SO_4^{2"-"}

Creating chemical formulas using Math, the font used for variables is changed to a non-italic font. For more information on changing fonts in a formula, see Chapter 1, Creating and Editing Formulas.

For reversible reactions in chemical formulas, there is no symbol for a double arrow in Math. If there is a font available with symbols for use in chemical formulas, then add these symbols to the Catalog. See Chapter 4, Customization for more information on how to add symbols.

Contents

• Copyright

• Contributors

• Feedback

• Publication date and software version

• Using LibreOffice on macOS

• Introduction

• Anchoring formulas

• Calc

• Draw and Impress

• Formula properties

• Formulas in charts

• Chemical formulas