Math Palette¶
The math palette is a visual editor that lets you build math expressions by clicking buttons instead of typing notation. It uses the MathQuill library to show a formatted preview as you build your answer.
Opening the Palette¶
Click or Tab into a math answer box. When the equation editor is on, the box shows your answer as formatted math, and the palette opens automatically while the box has focus. On a computer it appears just below the box. On a phone or in a narrow window it becomes a full-width on-screen keyboard, docked at the bottom of the screen (or just below the box when the assignment is shown inside another site, such as your LMS).
If no palette appears, the equation editor may be switched off. Turn it on with the Use equation editor switch in the assessment header, or set Math Entry to Equation editor with entry palette in your user preferences. Otherwise the box is one that never uses the palette (see below). Either way, you can type calculator notation directly into the box.
Palette Sections¶
The palette is organized into tabs. Only the tabs that fit the question's answer are shown:
| Tab | What it inserts | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Fraction, power (x^□), subscript, square root, nth root, parentheses, absolute value bars, π, ∞, DNE, plus arrow and backspace keys | Always, but some answer formats change it: decimal-only answers show just ∞ and DNE, and logic, set-expression and chemistry answers replace these buttons with their own symbols |
| Vars | One button per variable in the answer (called Atoms for chemistry answers) | When the answer uses several variables or long variable names; otherwise the variable buttons sit on the Basic tab |
| Funcs | log, ln, log with a base (log_□), e^□ | Most math answers; hidden when the answer must be plain numbers, fractions or decimals, and for logic, set-expression and chemistry answers |
| Trig | sin, cos, tan, sec, csc, cot, sin⁻¹, cos⁻¹, tan⁻¹, sinh, cosh, tanh, π | Same as Funcs, unless the question turns trig functions off |
| Inequality | <, >, ≤, ≥, ≠, "or", DNE, "all reals" (function/expression answers get only <, >, ≤, ≥, ≠) | Answers written as inequalities |
| Interval | ( ), [ ], ( ], [ ), ∞, −∞, ∪ | Interval answers |
| Matrix | 2×1, 2×2, 2×3, 3×1, 3×3 and 3×4 matrix templates; add or remove a row or column | Matrix answers typed as one expression |
There is no Greek, calculus or symbols tab: π is the only Greek letter button, and there are no integral, derivative, limit or summation buttons. On a phone, the Basic tab also has a number pad with +, − and * (times), and two more tabs appear: =<% (brackets, =, <, >, ≤, ≥, %, comma, ∞) and ABC (letters).
Navigating Inside an Expression¶
After inserting a template (like a fraction) into an empty spot, your cursor lands in its first slot. If you click the fraction button right after typing a term (for example 3), that term becomes the numerator and the cursor goes to the denominator. Use:
- Tab — move to the next slot
- Arrow keys — move within an expression
- Backspace — delete the character to the left
- Escape — same as Tab inside a template: from a numerator it moves to the denominator; from a denominator it moves to just after the fraction. At the top level it does nothing
Switching Between Palette and Typed Input¶
You can mix palette clicks and typed input freely. For example:
- Open the palette and click the fraction template
- Type
3in the numerator slot - Press Tab to move to the denominator
- Type
4
This is equivalent to typing 3/4 directly in the input box.
Closing the Palette¶
Click the × at the right end of the palette's tab row, or click or Tab anywhere outside the answer box and palette. Your expression stays in the answer box.
When the Palette Isn't Available¶
Only math-entry answer boxes use the palette. These are calculated answers (including calculated interval, matrix, n-tuple and complex), function/expression, interval, algebraic n-tuple and matrix, and chemical-equation answers, plus matrix answers typed as one expression. String answers get it too when the author set them up for preview or for logic or set-expression entry. Plain number answers never show the palette, and neither do fixed-size grids of number boxes, essay, file upload or choice questions. No box shows it while the equation editor is switched off. If a question expects a specific format (like a matrix or interval), the palette shows specialized buttons for that format.