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Frequently asked questions - Math

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< Faq | Math


When I enter one of the symbols #, & , |, ", %, ^ or _ I get an error message or an undesired result. How can I use these symbols?

These symbols have special meanings in Math:

  • The # symbol is used with stack and matrix.
  • The symbols & and | are used to indicate logical and and logical or, respectively.
  • The symbol " is used to indicate strings of characters.
  • The symbol % is used to indicate a predefined symbol name or a personal symbol as explained in this FAQ.
  • The symbols ^ and _ are used to indicate superscripts and subscripts, respectively.

To use one of these symbols in a formula, put it in quotation marks. For example: "#". There is one exception: double quotes can not put itself between quotes. To be displayed, you need to insert an escape character \ before:

"\""

There are two uses of the | symbol for which Math has specific markup:

  • a divides b will display a | b
  • abs a will display |a|

Another solution would be to add an additional personal symbol as explained in this FAQ.