Choosing a Character Size in the Equation Editor

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 22, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


As you are creating your equation, you will need to change font sizes on certain characters and equation elements so they appear correctly in the equation. The Equation Editor provides five predefined character types (Full, Subscript, Sub-Subscript, Symbol, and Sub-Symbol) that allow you to change font sizes simply by indicating what the character or element represents. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select the equation element or text whose size you wish to change.
  2. Pull down the Size menu.
  3. Select one of the defined sizes.

The Equation Editor allows you to define the appropriate sizes of character types. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Define from the Size menu. The Equation Editor displays the Sizes dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  2. Figure 1. The Sizes dialog box.

  3. Choose the type of character whose size you want to define. Notice that the Equation Editor changes the illustration to indicate the element you chose.
  4. Enter a size, in points.
  5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each element you want to change.
  6. Click on OK when you are finished.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (924) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Moving Footnote Text into the Document

Need to move the contents of a footnote up into the main body of your document? You can use normal editing techniques to ...

Discover More

Stopping a Checked Box from being Unchecked

When creating user forms for use in Excel, you are provided with a range of controls you can add, including check boxes. ...

Discover More

Changing the Style Area Font

The style area, displayed at the left side of your document, can be helpful in understanding how styles are used in your ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Choosing an Equation Style

You can define styles for different characters used in the Equation Editor. It is not as full-featured as styles in Word, ...

Discover More

Setting Prime Height Spacing in the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor is a great tool for easily creating fancy-looking equations in your document. You can even control ...

Discover More

Setting Superscript Height in the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor makes it easy to create and add equations to your documents. Here's how to adjust where the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 + 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.