David J. Newman is a Senior Marketing Specialist for PTC’s CAD segment. He works with PTC’s partners so they have the marketing assets they need, and he also is in charge of the strategy and execution for PTC Mathcad marketing.
What are PTC Mathcad Prime equation breaks?
Equation breaks allow you to move parts of your equations to a second line in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division operators. Equation breaking is strictly visual, and has no impact on your calculations. Equation breaks can only be applied to the definition side of the equation, but there it can even be used in exponentiation.
How is this different than legacy Mathcad?
Legacy versions of PTC Mathcad, such as Mathcad 15, had the equation wrap feature that was limited to only addition. Since the release of Mathcad Prime 4, you can move your equations to a new line with subtraction, in-line division, and multiplication as well.
Why do Mathcad users use equation breaks?
Equation breaks are one tool to contain math within your worksheet’s margins and improve your documentation. Well-arranged notes reduce the risk of misunderstandings and errors within engineering, and for teams downstream who will need to leverage your work. Keeping that documentation clear and easy to read is where equation breaking comes in.
How do I use equation breaks in Mathcad Prime?
Select new equation break operators from the Operators drop-down on the Math tab, or use Ctrl+Shift before using the normal symbol for that operator. (For example, Addition would be Ctrl, Shift, and +; in-line division would be Ctrl, Shift, and /.)
A 2x2 Matrix of Euler's Identity, going from no equation breaks to two equation breaks, and how that looks. Breaking up much longer equations to new lines can drastically shorten horizontal space to help things fit on a page.
What about converting my existing equations to be on a new line with keyboard shortcuts?
You can select one of those operators if they already exist and convert them to an equation break (it’ll be flashing blue when selected) and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Enter to convert your ordinary operator into an equation break operator.
| Addition | Ctrl + Shift + + |
| Subtraction | Ctrl + Shift + - |
| Multiplication | Ctrl + Shift + * |
| Division | Ctrl + Shift + / |
| Convert any existing operator to a break | Ctrl + Shift + Enter |
Similarly, you can convert an existing equation break to a normal operator by selecting the equation break (which will flash blue) and then inserting the addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division operator of your choice, or by using Ctrl, Shift, Enter again.
You can also convert to and from equation breaks without keyboard shortcuts by selecting Equation Break from the Style grouping on the Math tab on the ribbon.
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