Introduction
Aurora editor
Aurora’s main window consists of a syntax-highting LaTeX editor and a toolbar with the following functions:
Refresh | re-runs LaTeX on the current equation and updates the equation in the host program. |
Properties | lets you edit the equation rendering options, specify appropriate LaTeX packages, and edit theglobal Aurora settings, such as the commands Aurora uses to invoke the LaTeX interpreters. |
Help | brings up a list of commonly used LaTeX commands with examples. |
Editor font | lets you change the font used in the editor window. |
Almost every function of Aurora has a keyboard shortcut for it.
The editor itself is not tied to any particular word-processing application and can be used to enter equations into any program that supports Object Linking and Embedding. Working with Microsoft Office applications is further enhanced by the add-ins that ship with Aurora:
Using Aurora in Microsoft Word
- Equation types
- Entering and editing equations
- Working with numbered equations
- Converting existing TeX documents
- Modifying equation properties
- Controlling Aurora’s behaviour
- Keyboard shortcuts
Using Aurora in Microsoft PowerPoint, Visio, and Excel
Formula properties
Rendering method
On the way from LaTeX to your word processor, Aurora converts equations you enter to images. These images may be of three different types: a bitmap image or Raster, sequence of drawing instructions or Vector, or a combination of the two—Vector (render all fonts). Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks, and the optimal choice depends on what you are planning to do with the document.
Vector rendering method is the best choice if Aurora will be installed on the computers of all people who are going to be working with or viewing the original document. It also yields the highest quality results when converting the original document to the PDF format. Note that the resulting PDFs will not require Aurora to display properly, as they will contain all the requisite fonts within them.
If the original document will need to be viewed by people who may not necessarily have Aurora, use the raster rendering method (the default). Equations rendered this way will display and print on all systems.
Note: When using Word, the “Edit selection properties...” command lets you change the rendering method of multiple equations at once, so you are never locked into one choice.
The table below describes the differences between the methods in greater detail:
Raster | Vector | Render all fonts | |
---|---|---|---|
Display quality: | |||
with ClearType | Good | Very good | Good |
without ClearType | Good | Acceptable | Good |
Print quality | Good | Excellent | Good |
File size | Large | Smallest | Largest |
Background | Solid color | Transparent | Transparent |
PDF quality | Good | Excellent | Good |
PDF size | Large | Smallest | Largest |
Searchable in PDF | No | Yes | No |
Displays without Aurora | Yes | No | Yes |
PDF compatibility | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
For comparison, here are magnified examples of what these methods look like when rendered at 360 dots per inch (dpi):
Raster | Vector | Vector (render all fonts) |
High contrast (vector rendering method)
The “High contrast” setting makes vector methods look a little bolder on screen. It has no effect on the print quality.
Background color (raster rendering method)
In raster mode, you can specify the color to be used as the image background. When creating new equations in Word or PowerPoint, Aurora automatically sets it to the main background color of the current page or slide.
Resolution
In raster and “render all fonts” rendering methods, the resolution specifies how smooth the equation images Aurora creates are. To get a feel for how this setting affects the output, here are four magnified examples of the same text rendered using the raster method at different resolutions:
96 dpi | 200 dpi | 720 dpi (default) | 2400 dpi |
Typically, a resolution of around 600 dpi is sufficient for obtaining perfect printouts at a normal scale. However, if you magnify an equation, you might need to increase the resolution proportionally to avoid jagged appearance.
Resolution affects the vector rendering method in a different and subtle way: it defines the grid on which all drawing commands are aligned, and thus a low resolution may affect the spacing in a formula. Since resolution does not typically have any effect on the size of the document or the time it takes to display a formula when using the vector rendering method, setting it to at least 600 dpi is recommended.
Font size
Size of the font LaTeX should use. Normally, this should be set to the same size as the text of your document. In Word, you can tell Aurora to automatically use the current font size when creating new equations.
Maximum equation width
If an equation looks too spread-out (for example, when using the multline*
environment), use this setting to squish it in. This setting is also useful when changing the document layout from single-column to multi-column and the other way around.
Packages
Many features of LaTeX are implemented using the so-called packages. If a symbol or a feature you need to use requires a special package, it may be included by adding an appropriate \usepackage
statement on the “Packages to include” page. You can also use this page to define custom commands.
By default, Aurora includes the amsmath
and amssymb
packages. Internally, Aurora also uses the preview
and anyfontsize
packages.
Aurora settings
Paths
To use LaTeX, Aurora needs to be able to find it. By default, Aurora presumes that a working LaTeX installation can be found in the system search PATH and simply invokes “latex”, “pdflatex”, and “dvipng” commands whenever it needs to. However, if your installation is different, you can tell Aurora the exact locations of these programs using the “Paths” property page.
Keyboard shortcuts
Aurora
Re-run LaTeX | <Ctrl+R>, <Ctrl+S>, <Ctrl+Shift+L>, or F2 |
Run LaTeX and exit Aurora | <Ctrl+Enter> or <Alt+F4> |
Cancel all changes and exit Aurora | ESC |
Switch between the source/errors panels | <Ctrl+Tab> |
Open the manual | F1 |
Open the properties window | <Ctrl+P> |
Change the editor window font | <Ctrl+F> |
Microsoft Word
To avoid conflicts with other applications, most of Aurora’s keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word are prefixed with<Alt+U>. For example, to insert a new display equation, hold <Alt> and press <U> followed by <D>.
Insert inline equation | <Alt+Q> |
Insert display equation | <Alt+U D> |
Insert numbered equation | <Alt+U N> |
Insert equation number | <Alt+U A> |
Insert equation reference | <Alt+U R> |
Insert section break | <Alt+U B> |
Show/hide (toggle) section markers | <Alt+U T> |
Format equation numbers | <Alt+U F> |
Manage equation numbering | <Alt+U M> |
Update equation numbers | <Alt+U U> |
Paste from TeX | <Alt+U V> |
Edit selection properties | <Alt+U S> |
In the past, Aurora used <Ctrl+;>, where <;> is the key used to insert a semi-colon when using the English keyboard layout, as the prefix key for its keyboard shortcuts. While these shortcuts are still supported by Aurora, they are not compatible with certain keyboard layouts. For completeness, here is the list of these alternative keyboard shortcuts:
Insert inline equation | <Ctrl+; ;> |
Insert display equation | <Ctrl+; D> |
Insert numbered equation | <Ctrl+; N> |
Edit equation on the left | <Ctrl+; L> or <Ctrl+; Left> |
Edit equation on the right | <Ctrl+; '> (apostrophe, the key to the right of<;>) or <Ctrl+; Right> |
Insert equation number | <Ctrl+; A> |
Insert equation reference | <Ctrl+; R> |
Insert section break | <Ctrl+; B> |
Show/hide (toggle) section markers | <Ctrl+; T> |
Format equation numbers | <Ctrl+; F> |
Manage equation numbering | <Ctrl+; M> |
Update equation numbers | <Ctrl+; U> |
Paste from TeX | <Ctrl+; V> |
Edit selection properties | <Ctrl+; S> |
Microsoft PowerPoint, Visio, Excel
Insert equation | <Alt+Q> in Office 2000, XP, and 2003 <Alt+N Q> in Office 2007 |