Using the Microsoft Word 方程 Editor

介绍 to the Microsoft 方程 Editor

说到数学, many accessibility issues arise simply due to the nature of the subject itself; math combines characters and symbols from other languages in formats that aren’t seen in other subjects. As a result, great care needs to be taken when adding math equations to a document. The steps on this page demonstrate how to insert equations that can be read by screen readers using  the Microsoft Office方程编辑器.

Step by Step 指令 for adding equations with the Microsoft Office方程编辑器

Guidelines for Accessible Math Documents:

1. Use the equation editor to write all equations in Microsoft Word.
2. Be sure all your equations are presented as ‘professional’ (This should be the default option.)
3. Be sure to distribute the whole document as you will not be able to properly cut and paste the equations.
4. Be sure to check that special characters are being read properly by screen reader.

预置方程的插入:

Microsoft has several standard equations that you can insert and edit to fit your needs.

1. Select 插入; 方程 will be at the far right of the screen.
2. Select 下面的箭头 方程; this will open a drop-down menu.
3. 选择 a preset equation; a box with your equation will appear on the screen.
4. Select 打开编辑器的框.
5. Select elements in the equation to edit/replace them.

创建独特的方程式:

If Microsoft does not have the equation you need, you can create your own.

1. Select 插入; 方程 will be at the far right of the screen, or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+= (Alt key and equals key).
2. Select 方程; this will add a blank equation box.
3. Select 这个盒子.
   1. Use the tools at the top of your screen to create your equation
      1. Open the context menu of the equation box (along the right side of 这个盒子)
      2. Select 另存为新方程 to save this equation for further use.
         1. Note: If you have an equation you use frequently, write it with variables and save it to use as a template
   2. The equation editor can also interpret a lot, but not all, LaTeX syntax. Frequently, the use of curly brackets are replaced with parentheses in the MS Word 方程 Editor. 例如, to write a capital Sigma with subscript “n=1” to superscript infinity, the MS Word 方程 Editor syntax would be: \Sigma_(n=1)^\infty

检查可访问性:

When you are finished adding your equations, you can check your equations’ accessibility.

1. Select View
2. Select 学习工具
3. Highlight the equation you would like to check.
4. Select Read Aloud and listen to the equation.

Alternatives when Screen Readers read equations incorrectly

Sometimes the screen readers simply cannot interpret the equations correctly, 例如, binomial coefficients are frequently misread.

• • Word Read Aloud reads ‘n atop k’ instead of ‘n choose k’
  • JAWS reads ‘left paren n over k right paren.’
  • NVDA needs additional plug-ins to read math (such as MathCat), and even then it does not always seem to work with Microsoft Word.

对于这样的情况, you will need to either provide students with how their screen reader reads the equation and how they should interpret it, or you must provide an alternative format such as HTML.

Another way to distribute documents with math is to put the Word document through the 中央读取器(CAR) 程序创建一个HTML输出. CAR can read math in different ways depending on your discipline; open “Speech Settings” and select the discipline from the drop-down menu.