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Breaking an equation in two lines

Anonymous
2017-04-15T08:52:06+00:00

Hi, i can't seem to be able to figure how to split an equation in two lines.

I have quite a few big equations just like 

but i can't split this in to two lines without it not having the big brackets in the end.

If i try i get this

which is not what i want (this is referred to as a matrix in fact, and is not what i want)

And if i simply split it before using the brackets, they dont become big.

Someone can help me?

(word 2016)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-27T07:17:08+00:00

    Has this been fixed yet with an update? I'm still unable to break my own long equation in Word 2016. 

    This was not an issue in older versions like Word 2007 thanks to "manual break". I don't understand why useful features get dropped in newer versions of applications.

    9 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Jay Freedman 207.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2017-04-15T19:45:53+00:00

    You can get the equation to split itself by decreasing the width of the text column (that is, by increasing the left and right indents) of the paragraph. Notice where the left and right indent markers are on the ruler in this picture:

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-12-21T02:31:54+00:00

    When I have a similar issue and I only need to break the equation into two lines, I use a 'stacked' bracket.  Select the first half of you equation. Then in the equation tool bar, choose the bracket structure, then scroll down to the the 'cases and stacks' section.  You will see a structure with two stacked boxes and no surrounding parenthesis or brackets.  You can put half of your equation in the top and half in the bottom.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-27T11:55:40+00:00

    I was still able to use a manual break here as follows:

     a. go into File->Options->Customize Ribbon, click the Customize... keyboard shortcuts button near the bottom left of the dialog

     b. select category "All commands", then locate and select "EquationManualBreak" in the list of commands

     c. click in the Press new shortcut key box and use a suitable keystroke combination, e.g. ctrl-alt-shift-M

     d. click the Assign key.

    Then, if you click in the appropriate place in the equation and use that keystroke, you should get a line break.  You do not seem to be able to assign this function to the QAT.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2018-02-27T07:24:54+00:00

    This doesn't work. Equations don't respond to the indent markers. Not sure if you actually tried what you were suggesting, especially as you posted a screenshot.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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