Setting Spacing for Radicals in the Equation Editor

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 29, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

A radical is often referred to as a "square root symbol," when, in fact, it is used for any types of roots (square, cubed, and so on). The Equation Editor allows you to specify a distance between the top of the radical and the top of any characters under the radical. You do this as follows:

Choose Spacing from the Format menu. The Equation Editor displays the Spacing dialog box.
Click on the Radical Gap box (you will need to scroll down some in the list of spacing settings). The Equation Editor changes the Spacing dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Spacing dialog box.

Enter a gap value in points.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (941) 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Line Numbering and Tables

Some types of documents (such as legal documents) may require that individual lines of text be numbered. If you use ...

Discover More

Applying Borders to Tables

Want to change the borders that Word adds to your tables? You have complete control over the way your borders appear, ...

Discover More

Why Does the Footer Expand?

When you add too much text into a footer for that text to display in the space you've allotted to the footer, then Word ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Adding Lines in an Equation Editor Matrix

If you are using matrices in your equations, you can add lines to a matrix by applying this tip.

Discover More

Setting Line Spacing in the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor can be a great boon when you need to include complex mathematical equations in your document. The ...

Discover More

Setting a Spacing Adjustment in the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor is a handy tool when you are creating documents that rely on mathematical formulas. If you want to ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 7 + 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.