MoboMath includes an extensive set of tools for editing mathematical expressions. This section provides an overview of what you can do and describes the easiest and most common approach to each editing task. The links to related topics provide full details and cover any limitations, special cases, alternative approaches, and other useful information.
The most important thing to remember is that editing operations apply to text, not ink. When you have a formatted text expression in a region, you can make all sorts of changes to it. If you have a partially written ink expression, you can only use undo to erase strokes, or finish writing the expression, recognize it, and then edit the result.
If you enter an expression and the recognized result is not correct, you can often fix it with one or two easy editing steps. In other cases, you may want to copy an existing expression from one of your documents into MoboMath to change it. And when you are entering a number of similar expressions, it is often more efficient to copy and edit an earlier expression than to start each one from scratch.
You can perform any of the following editing operations in MoboMath:
Many commands operate on selected text. To select a piece of an expression, just circle it. The characters you circle become selected and by default are shown in red. Once your characters are selected, you can apply a command to them. The selection recognizer acts immediately; you don't have to tell it you are done selecting.
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To delete part of an expression or an entire region, circle it to select it and then cross it out using an X gesture. If you are crossing out a single character, it is not necessary to select the character first. See the Deleting topic in the Using MoboMath section for more details.
To erase any ink you have added during editing, select Clear Ink from the Edit or context menus. To delete everything on the page use the Clear Page button or gesture.
You can write over formatted math expressions, either in a blank space to add new elements, or on top of a character or subexpression to replace it. Use the Enter button or gesture to recognize your added ink.
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There are a number of tricky cases – if you are adding complex material or adding ink at a number of places in the expression, or if there is not enough room to add material where you want. The Adding ink topic in Using MoboMath covers these. You can also see examples of these in action by viewing the video tutorials on the MoboMath Help menu or the Enventra web site.
The easiest way to move or copy part of an expression is to drag it to the target location. If you are moving or copying several characters, select them first. Single characters can be dragged even if they are not already selected.
There are several possibilities for the target location:
| • | If the target is an empty space away from other regions, the characters you drag are copied to create a new region. |
| • | If the target is an empty space in an expression, you add a new expression element there – for example, a new exponent. |
| • | If the target is a character or selection in an expression, you replace it with the dragged material. |
The target can be in the same region as the source or in a different region. Drags in the same region are moves, and drags outside the region are copies.
MoboMath differs from the usual cut and paste paradigm since dragging text outside a region is considered a copy, not a move. This makes it easy to create new copies of an expression or subexpression which you can modify.
Request alternate recognition results
The most common recognition error is mistaking one character for a similar character. If this happens, tap the incorrect character (several times if necessary) to see the other choices. You can also get alternate recognitions for a group of characters by selecting them first and then tapping one of the selected characters.
You can select List Alternates from the Edit or context menus to view the entire list of alternates at one time.
You can insert a blank row or column in a matrix by drawing a horizontal or vertical line where the new column or row should appear. Once the blank column or row is inserted, write a new matrix entry, or drag something into an empty matrix position. Otherwise, the empty space will be removed.
You can also use all the usual editing operations on matrices and their entries.
If you have multiple regions in the MoboMath window, you can control which is the current or selected one. Just tap inside the region, but outside the expression it contains. The background of the region should turn yellow to indicate that it is current.
In some cases, you may need to undo an editing action if you don't get the intended result. For example, if you inadvertently tap a character and it is replaced with an alternate, you can use undo to restore the original character. If you undo too much, you can redo it.