Type fractions, roots, chemical reactions and physics units in questions, show them properly to students, and print them cleanly. This guide follows an equation from the settings switch to the printed paper and the student's answer.
Go to Settings › Features and switch on the Math equation editor. It adds an Insert math equation button to question, paper, assignment and forum fields, and shows equations formatted for staff, students and parents. Everyone signed in can read the setting, so students see formatted maths, not raw code. The change applies right away: no reload, and no change for text without equations.
An equation is stored as plain text between dollar signs. One pair of dollar signs is inline, inside the sentence; two pairs make a display equation, centred on its own line. Backslash brackets are accepted too. Money is safe: a lone dollar sign, or five dollars and ten dollars, stays ordinary text, and text without equations is stored and shown exactly as before.
Press Insert math equation beside a field. The Visual editor builds fractions and roots as you click and type; or type LaTeX in the box. The Preview underneath matches how it will look. The Math palette inserts fractions, roots, sums, integrals, Greek letters and matrices; Chemistry uses ce for formulas and reactions; Physics adds units with pu, vectors and common formulas. Display mode centres the equation on its own line; off keeps it inside the sentence. Insert puts the dollar-wrapped text into the field at the caret or over the selection.
In the question bank, Add question has the button beside the question text. Every answer option has its own button, so options can hold equations, and the explanation has one too. Beneath it, Equation preview shows how the text will render. Saved questions render in the bank list, in the paper picker and on the paper.
Chemistry works in the same syntax: a reaction, an ion and an equilibrium. Physics uses units with pu and formulas such as Newton's second law.
When AI writes a paper it is told the same convention: dollar signs, ce for chemistry, pu for units and no macros. Whatever it writes passes the same safety check as typed text before anything is saved. The check refuses dangerous commands and links, and caps the size: fifty thousand characters in a field, two hundred equations and one thousand characters in each.
In the review list equations render in questions, options, model answers and explanations. Edit shows the source with the same button and a live preview. Marking-scheme criteria can hold equations too, so the scheme can say exactly which step earns the mark.
Print paper makes a clean sheet: exam, date, duration, total marks and every question with its equations. Print answer key adds the correct answers, marked as a staff copy. SCM waits for the maths fonts to load before printing, so symbols are never swapped for plain letters.
In the online exam the student sees the equations formatted. For a written answer the student has the same Insert math equation button, gated only by the switch, and the answer goes through the same safety check. Assignments and discussion forums use the same button.
| Mistake | What you see | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No equation button | The switch is off | Ask someone who can manage settings to turn on the Math equation editor |
| Unbalanced braces | Invalid equation | Correct the source |
| Pasting a macro such as input or include | The text is refused | Remove the command; use plain LaTeX |
| Item | Meaning / rule |
|---|---|
| $...$ | Inline equation |
| $$...$$ | Display equation, centred on its own line |
| ce | Chemistry formulas and reactions |
| pu | Physics units |
| Limits | 50,000 characters a field, 200 equations, 1,000 characters each |
Why is there no Insert math equation button? The Math equation editor switch in Settings › Features is off. Ask someone who can manage settings to turn it on.
Will a dollar amount in my question turn into an equation? No. A lone dollar sign, or amounts such as five dollars and ten dollars, stays ordinary text.
What happens if I make a typo in an equation? It shows Invalid equation and the source is kept, so you can correct it.
GridX SCM runs this whole workflow. See what GridX SCM does and what it costs, or browse all step-by-step guides.