Equation numbering in Word

Numbering equations

To add a number to a regular display equation, double-click the margin to place the cursor where the number should go

and use the “Insert equation number” command to insert it.

Referencing numbered equations

To reference a numbered equation, use the “Insert equation reference” command to mark the place where the reference is to be inserted, then find the equation you want to reference and double-click its number.

The documents created using Ribbit 1.x need to be upgraded for this to work.

Using new equation numbering functionality in documents created in Ribbit

To take advantage of the new functionality in documents created using Ribbit 1.x (pre-Aurora), select the entire document by pressing <Ctrl+A>, open the “Format equation numbers...” dialog, and press “OK.” Old-style equation numbers will be upgraded automatically.

Because Ribbit used tables to hold numbered equations, some equation numbers might become too long to fit in their cell after reformatting. When that happens, Word will display them as just D or line or something similar. Resizing the cell to accomodate the number fixes the problem. Since Aurora does not use tables for numbered equations anymore, new numbered equations created by Aurora do not have this issue.

Equation number format

Aurora’s equation numbers may include the chapter and section numbers, the equation number itself, separators, and enclosing symbols. The “Format equation numbers...” dialog lets you choose among several standard variations of numberings formats or define your own according to your needs.

If you want to include the chapter and/or section numbers in the equation number, your document will need to be structured in a certain way. For documents that use the Heading styles for chapter and section headings, the numbering process is automatic. However, you can also fine-tune or even entirely override Aurora’s numbering manually.

Automatic (style-based) chapter and section numbering

Aurora keeps track of the chapter and section headings to know where the chapters and sections begin. Whenever it sees a “Heading 1” style, Aurora treats it as a chapter heading. Likewise, all paragraphs using the “Heading 2” style are assumed to begin a new section. If you adhere to this convention, Aurora will automatically include appropriate chapter and section numbers in your equation numbers.

By default, Aurora looks for changes in the document structure that might lead to changes in chapter and section numbering every time you insert a new numbered equation (this may be disabled in the “Aurora settings” dialog). However, since full renumbering may take a while for large documents, only partial renumbering is done on those occasions. To update all equation numbers in the document, use the “Update equation numbers” command.

Note: The styles mentioned above are the defaults. You can change the styles Aurora looks for in the “Manage equation numbering...” dialog.

Manual chapter and section numbering

If you prefer to specify where chapters and sections begin manually, you can use the “Insert section break” command. This allows you to either increment the chapter or section number or to set them to any values you want.

Normally, the chapter/section breaks are hidden. To edit them, use the “Toggle section markers” command to make them visible.

Positioning numbered and display equations

Aurora uses the style named “Display Equation (Aurora)” to control the position of display equations on a page. By default, this style simply centers equations and places equation numbers at the right margin, but you can modify it to change the layout of all display equations in the document. Since Aurora only creates the style if it does not already exist, by creating it ahead of time and saving it in your document template (e.g., normal.dot), you can make Aurora always position display equations your way.

Note: Aurora's predecessor, Ribbit, used two styles: “Display Equation” and “Display Equation (numbered).” Because of the changes in the way numbered equation are implemented, these styles have now been merged into one.