OneNote for Windows 10 is getting a few nifty updates today that should make it a much more powerful tool for the budding mathematicians out there.
That should not be a problem, there’s a Fix It option to tinker with the conversion. Click on Fix it then circle the part that needs fixing. OneNote will present a series of alternatives to choose from. Here’s the options offered for the letter Y shown above – none of them are even close. It’s a similar story for a simple letter X – which OneNote can’t figure out. In our experience the alternatives don’t always include the one we want and there’s no quick fix from there. Microsoft has too much confidence in the ‘Ink to Math’ code and doesn’t allow for the possibility of error.
‘Ink to Math’ is a complex software feat – converting human scribbles into machine readable form ain’t easy. The problem isn’t ‘Ink to Math’ itself, it’s Microsoft’s lack of imagination and flexibility considering the possibility of gross misunderstanding. To fix this you must redraw that part of the equation until you get near OneNote’s ability to convert. There should be an option to type in an alternative or approximation instead of a long-winded ‘back and forth’ of drawing and testing ‘Ink to Math’ conversions. No Undo To make things worse – there’s no Undo!
![Is Onenote For Mac Has Ink Equation? Is Onenote For Mac Has Ink Equation?](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125387359/594447993.jpg)
If you choose the wrong ‘Fix it’ alternative, clicking Undo or Ctrl+Z doesn’t reverse the last action (it changes the drawing instead). For bog’s sake – it’s 2017!
How is any part of Microsoft Office made without using the in-built Undo modules? Redmond seriously dropped the ball on this. It makes us wonder what other parts of Office have overlooked Undo?
Microsoft recently pushed out a new update to its OneNote app, and it may just be a great help for those who aren't big fans of doing algebra and trigonometry problems. The app allows users to write any mathematical equation on the screen.
When highlighted with the lasso feature, users can tap on the math button, and the dreaded math equation will solve itself, almost like magic. Given that the handwriting is legible enough, the app can recognize elements used in math, convert them to text, and then solve it.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125387359/366055743.png)
The app does not only give you the answers to your mathematical dilemmas, but it also shows you a step-by-step guide on how to solve the problem, to ensure that you can show your solution and actually learn how to do it when you present your homework in class. Lastly, the app now has an 'Ink Replay' feature, allowing users to see again exactly how their handwriting was processed in OneNote. The new version of the app is available for Office 365 subscribers using OneNote for Windows 10.
Ink Replay will arrive soon to PowerPoint, Word and Excel on Windows desktops. A word of advice for our student readers: while the feature may indeed be considered as helpful when it comes to learning math, learning how to solve mathematical equations manually from scratch can still go a long way, instead of knowing the answer automatically.