Visual Space manual, Live Apps, Mathpad

MathPad is Visual Space's workspace for writing structured mathematics directly in its rendered form. It brings formula entry, visual templates, keyboard-friendly editing, inspection, accessible output, and several portable formats into one focused Live App. It is useful when the shape and meaning of a formula matter as much as the characters used to describe it.

A Formula Editor, Not a Source-and-Preview Pair

MathPad lets you work with the mathematics you see. A fraction has a numerator and denominator you can enter. A power has a base and an exponent. Brackets, roots, scripts, matrices, large operators, functions, and other supported structures keep their meaningful parts while you edit them.

That structure is the heart of the app. Instead of treating a formula as one long line of source text, MathPad can place the caret inside a nested part, highlight a selected branch, and show empty placeholders where a template still needs content. The same formula can then produce readable text, speech-friendly text, web-accessible math, or a notation format for another tool.

Use MathPad when you want to:

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build a formula visually without memorizing every notation command;

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move confidently through nested mathematical parts;

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combine pointer, hardware keyboard, ribbon, search, and touch input;

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inspect the symbols and structure behind the visible expression;

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copy a formula into another mathematics workflow or review a formula snapshot already stored in an article.

MathPad belongs to the wider Live Apps family. It is a focused formula authoring surface rather than a general article editor, calculator, proof assistant, or shared whiteboard.

Start With an Empty Session Draft

Open MathPad from Apps to enter the formula explorer for the current space area. The explorer can show MathPad formulas alongside folders and lets you move through the space, subspaces, activities, and nested folders before opening an editor.

!MathPad formula explorer with the New formula action and an empty current area

The explorer locates formula entries in the current space area before the session-only editor opens.

Choose New formula to start a genuinely empty draft. MathPad does not insert a sample expression or prefill the undo history. The editor opens with a blank formula root, ready for typing or a structural template.

The explorer gives a formula a recognizable entry and a way to reopen it, but the editable formula is currently session-only. MathPad remembers a local draft's formula, selection, and command history when you return to it during the same app session. It does not yet save that content for a refresh, another device, or a later session. An existing file entry can also open without loading a previously saved formula body.

Treat the explorer entry as the place you opened, not proof that the expression itself is durable. Before refreshing or leaving a formula you need to keep, copy a suitable export and store it in its destination. For an end-to-end version of that workflow, see Build and Export a Formula.

Edit the Mathematics You See

Click or tap the rendered expression to place the caret. Drag across content when you need a range, or select a complete mathematical part when the action should apply to that structure. The highlight distinguishes ordinary ranges, structural selections, and empty placeholders.

Nested templates remain editable from the inside. After inserting a fraction, for example, the caret enters an available placeholder instead of leaving you to reconstruct the expression as text. Arrow keys move through nearby positions, while Tab and Shift+Tab advance between structural slots. Backspace and Delete remove supported content while keeping the next selection coherent.

The currently supported editing path covers common building blocks such as:

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symbols, numbers, basic operators, and formula rows;

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fractions, superscripts, subscripts, roots, fences, and accents;

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supported functions, large operators, limits, derivatives, integrals, and labeled arrows;

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matrices, arrays, vectors, and cases where the corresponding insertion is available.

MathPad restores formula focus after you use a menu, ribbon, or input overlay, so the next key continues in the formula rather than disappearing into the surrounding controls. Large expressions can be viewed from 50% to 200%, with a reset to 100% when you want a predictable scale.

Choose the Input That Fits the Moment

All supported input methods change the same rendered formula. You can begin with the visual tools, learn a shortcut from a tooltip, and switch to faster typing without creating a second copy of the expression.

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Hardware typing works well for letters, numbers, common operators, deletion, selection movement, and familiar undo, redo, copy, cut, and paste shortcuts.

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Formula ribbon groups visual previews for structures, operators, arrows, Greek letters, matrices, scripts, calculus, units, styles, and related categories. Cells can show placeholders and aliases before you insert anything.

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Slash commands provide quick search near the focused formula. Type / and continue with a query such as /fr, use the arrow keys to move among enabled results, then press Enter to insert. Escape closes the palette without changing the formula.

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Command browser exposes the broader catalog in a dedicated searchable view. Filters cover composite templates, categories, functions, arrows, sums, relations, Greek, matrices, structures, units, and styles. Empty Custom and Drawing collections explain their current status.

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Formula keyboard supplies touch-friendly layers for numbers, Latin and Greek letters, operators, functions, arrows, calculus, matrices, structures, and supported chemistry or unit entries. Its controls also provide caret movement, delete, copy, paste, undo, redo, shift, alternate characters, and a way to hide the keyboard.

The catalog is intentionally broader than today's insertion support. A visible command is not always available. Disabled ribbon cells and search results show why they cannot be inserted, and choosing them does not make a partial or unexpected change. This is especially important for advanced structures and limited source notation support.

Clipboard and History Follow Formula Structure

Copy, cut, and paste operate on selected formula content rather than flattening every selection into unrelated characters. A copied fraction, script, or other supported part keeps its structure when pasted into a compatible formula position. Cut and paste also become normal history entries, so their effect can be undone.

MathPad leaves clipboard shortcuts alone when an ordinary text field has focus. Inside the formula, paste depends on compatible formula content from the current MathPad clipboard; operating-system clipboard import is not a general source importer.

Undo and redo restore both the expression and its selection. Compatible runs of typing or deletion can appear as grouped changes instead of a separate item for every keystroke. The History panel shows the local undo and redo stacks, can run those actions, and can clear the history without clearing the formula itself. History belongs to the current session and cannot recover a formula after that session ends.

Understand the Current Formula

MathPad keeps the rendered expression central while providing several ways to inspect what is underneath it:

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Structure shows a read-only outline of formula parts, slots, placeholders, and detected issues. Activating a row selects the matching part in the rendered formula.

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Inspector summarizes the current selection and shows its formula type, position, display mode, alignment, size, notation preference, and source-preservation state. These presentation controls are currently a review surface, not editable settings.

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Symbols lists the variables, functions, operators, constants, and units found in the formula. Repeated occurrences remain visible, and a supported symbol row can take you back to its source in the expression.

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History connects the visible undo and redo stacks to the active formula session.

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Help & settings explains selection, structure insertion, command search, keyboard input, clipboard behavior, and history. It also reports the connected editor, formula mode, and preferred input, while making clear that MathPad preferences remain read-only.

These views are especially useful in a dense expression. The rendered formula answers “what does it look like?”, while Structure and Symbols help answer “what is this part?” and “where else does this name appear?”

Carry the Formula Into Other Work

The Export panel derives several representations from the current formula and lets you copy an available result. Choose the format for the next job rather than assuming one version suits every destination:

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LaTeX is useful for TeX-oriented writing and many mathematical publishing tools.

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Typst carries the expression into a Typst authoring workflow.

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MathJSON describes mathematical structure for compatible tools and data workflows.

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MathML provides web-oriented and accessibility-friendly mathematical markup.

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Plain text gives a readable fallback for search, messages, notes, and destinations that do not understand richer math formats.

Export does not turn any of these strings into a second editable copy inside MathPad. The current structured formula remains the source for all five. The panel also reports preserved source information and conversion warnings or losses when notation is unsupported, changed, or represented approximately. Review those diagnostics before relying on an export in a publication or downstream calculation.

For formula content that must survive beyond the current session, copy an export into another durable destination. Keep the notation that best preserves your next workflow, and consider plain text or MathML as an accessibility companion rather than assuming a visually similar export carries every authoring choice.

Accessibility Is Part of the Formula

MathPad keeps a native editable formula input available to browsers and assistive technology while the visible editor remains rendered mathematics. The focused surface exposes the formula's meaning, its focus state, and keyboard guidance. Selection changes can announce the selected part and its path through the expression.

The same formula can produce several accessible views:

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meaningful labels for the formula field and selected content;

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plain-language text for reading and copying;

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speech-friendly text for spoken mathematics;

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MathML for compatible web and assistive experiences;

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visible placeholders and keyboard navigation guidance during authoring.

Because these outputs come from the current formula structure, accessibility is not an image caption added after the fact. Still, authors should review the resulting wording and conversion diagnostics, particularly for advanced notation whose export support is incomplete.

Formula Items in Articles

Articles can display stored MathPad formulas as compact inline items or wider blocks. A valid stored snapshot can provide accessible formula text, plain-text copying, and stored MathML where supported. In an editable article, Open can return to the linked MathPad draft when it belongs to the current space; read-only rendering hides that editor action.

The current visible Article toolbar has a narrower workflow. It inserts a new linked draft named Untitled MathPad formula as a block. It does not choose the formula already open in MathPad, capture its expression, or offer an inline-versus-block picker. Editing the linked draft also does not fill or refresh the article automatically.

Without a usable stored snapshot, readers see Linked MathPad formula rather than the latest editor contents. An article formula is never a live mirror of the MathPad editor. See Add a MathPad Formula to an Article before relying on the current insertion preview.

Current Limits to Plan Around

MathPad already offers a broad editing and export surface, but several boundaries affect real work:

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Drafts are not durably saved. The formula, selection, and history survive only in the current app session, not a refresh, another device, or a later visit.

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Commands have partial coverage. Many catalog entries are useful for discovery but remain disabled until their insertion behavior is connected. Imported source supports a bounded LaTeX subset.

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Presentation settings are read-only. Inspector and Help & settings can describe the current values, but they do not apply appearance changes.

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AI actions are unavailable. The AI panel describes explain, simplify, conversion, generation, repair, and derivation requests, but no request provider is connected and no proposal can be applied.

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Handwriting is not an input method yet. Drawing and handwriting collections are reserved for future recognition rather than accepting strokes today.

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There is no realtime collaboration. MathPad does not share edits, selections, presence, or history between people.

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Article embeds are snapshots. They remain stable until article content is deliberately updated and never follow an in-session formula automatically.

These limits make MathPad best suited today to focused formula authoring, accessible snapshots, and portable exports that you verify before leaving the session.

Common Questions

Is the formula saved when it appears in the explorer?

No. The explorer entry identifies what you opened, while the editable expression remains in memory for the current app session. Export anything you need before refreshing or leaving.

Can I return to a draft after opening another formula?

MathPad can restore the formula, selection, and history of a local draft while the same app session remains active. That recovery does not extend to a refresh, another device, or a later session.

Do I have to write LaTeX to use MathPad?

No. You can type common content directly, choose visual ribbon templates, search slash commands, browse the command catalog, or use the formula keyboard. LaTeX is one available export and a limited input notation, not the only way to author.

Why is a ribbon or search command disabled?

The current catalog includes commands whose insertion behavior is not connected yet, or the current selection may not accept that command. MathPad shows the reason and leaves the formula unchanged.

Can I paste a formula from any application?

Not as a general promise. Structured copy, cut, and paste work with compatible MathPad formula content in the current session. Ordinary text fields keep their platform clipboard behavior, while broad operating-system formula import remains limited.

Which export should I choose?

Choose LaTeX or Typst for a matching authoring system, MathJSON for a structure-oriented exchange, MathML for web and accessibility uses, or Plain text for a readable fallback. Always check conversion warnings.

Can another person edit the formula with me?

No. Shared formula changes, presence, and collaborative history are not available. An exported representation or an article snapshot can be shared, but it does not create a joint editing session.

Will an article formula update when I change MathPad?

No. The article stores its own snapshot. The linked formula can be opened again in MathPad, but the article does not become a live view of the current editor state.

Continue With MathPad

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Follow Build and Export a Formula to create a structured expression and keep a portable result before the session ends.

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Use Add a MathPad Formula to an Article to understand the current block-only insertion preview and verify what the article actually stored.

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Return to Live Apps to compare MathPad with the other focused creative workspaces.