# Is there any way to get LaTeX in OneNote?

Any thoughts on how to get LaTeX in OneNote?

• @Thorsten: Microsoft OneNote, the note-taking application that is part of Microsoft Office. Mar 11, 2011 at 9:48
• OneNote 2010 has built-in support for mathematics. Mar 11, 2011 at 13:29

[Not quite the answer you are expecting]

No, there's no way to include LaTeX (and I assume you mean the mathematics typeset with it) in OneNote.

One workaround that is sort-of-kinda-working (with severe caveats), so go ahead, if you absolutely need to. This applies to OneNote 2007, so if you have more recent version, it could be somewhat different.

1. Install the MathType Equation editor (Wikipedia description). It's commercial, but you can continue to use the evaluation version without LaTeX editing and other goodies for free after the trial period is over.
2. Typeset your mathematics with it (with the registered version, it understands TeX mathmode), and drag-and-drop your equations to your OneNote notebooks.

Now, the caveats:

• Formulas are read-only and appear as images. You cannot edit them once they are in place. At least they scale properly.
• The expressions are not lined with the text, so if you want to include them in a free-running text, be prepared for a major pain.

That being said, if you'd like to have a note-taking application together with LaTeX mathematics, I suggest turning to a wiki software that supports advanced typeset mathematics. I personally use Confluence, but free alternatives are available (the example that first comes to mind is MediaWiki, which powers Wikipedia, and it has comprehensive LaTeX support).

You will need to set up and administer a web server (and most likely a database server as well) in order to use wiki software, but in the long term, and especially if you are serious about having a space to collect your stuff, this is the superior solution.

In OneNote 2010, at least (which is the only version I have), you can enter at least some LaTeX directly in math mode. I say at least some because I am discovering it by experimentation rather than reading about it in OneNote documentation (if any such documentation exists).

Here are a few examples (after first selecting the type tool and entering math mode via cmd-=):

\int_0^2\pi x cos(kx)dx


The trick with actually getting it to typeset is to hit the space bar at certain places. For instance, above, I'd hit the space bar after the \pi a few times, each time you'll see your equation so far getting typeset incrementally, first the integral sign then the integration bounds.

sin(kx)|_0^2\pi


There is a lot more to discover (and I am only showing a few things I have found, but I am very pleased with what I have found so far. Oh, one other item that is helpful is that you can get textbook style fraction formatting and paren or bracket resizing by hitting space after them.

• This is a great feature, horribly documented. The best documentation is this pdf (I also put the link in a separate answer): office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/redir/XT101864188.aspx Apr 14, 2014 at 16:54
• @Joe I did not understand this part: after first selecting the type tool and entering math mode via cmd-=. How do you enter those commands. When I enter them in onenote itself they won't change to LaTeX.
– MOON
May 19, 2016 at 10:56
• @MOON, I haven't used this in a long time, but I just booted up OneNote 2013 and I had to select to insert an equation from the Insert menu. I haven't tried this again in OneNote 2010 recently. Hope this helps.
– Joe
May 19, 2016 at 15:58
• @MOON: what he meant is to press Alt + = Oct 20, 2017 at 21:52
• @user21952-is-a-great-name Link is dead. RIP. That documentation is lost forever. Jul 16, 2021 at 20:09

Go here:

http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php

then type your equation and hit the Enter key. Right click on the automatically generated image and copy it into my OneNote file.

To expand on Joe's answer, while there is no support for actual LaTeX, the LaTeX like language Joe describes is very powerful and convenient. It supports most things you'd want: matrices, subscripts, superscripts, blackboard bold, etc. The only thing I haven't been able to do are commutative diagrams with too many arrows.

Try typing this while editing text (what you'll see happening might feel confusing the first time):

 <Alt-=> [\matrix<space>(\doubleZ<space>&\scriptC<space>@\alpha_(0,1)<space>&1/(2\pi)<space>)<space>]<space>


It is pretty quick to learn, but does suffer from very obscure documentation and configuration. The best documentation I found is the pdf titled "Unicode Nearly Plain-Text Encoding of Mathematics" (formerly linked to from a somewhat helpful OneNote help page). The name Microsoft uses is "Math AutoCorrect", and the (limited) configuration is in Options -> Proofing -> AutoCorrect Options -> Math AutoCorrect tab.

Unfortunately, this type of equations is not at all supported by the online, Android or iOS OneNote.

• Press Alt + = to enter the math mode Oct 20, 2017 at 21:51
• I am not finding any OneNote page with all the details (not even the shortcut which you have mentioned) on typing math symbols (syntaxes for symbols, shortcuts, etc.). Do you know any of the help page? Jul 20, 2018 at 13:12

OneNote seems to have evolved quite a bit since the question was asked. At least OneNote 2016 is somewhat capable of understanding LaTeX-like equations. It is nowhere near something like Texmaker, but its somewhere in between Microsoft Word's equation editor and Texmaker.

Click Insert->Equation or just use the shortcut (Alt+=) to type out an equation.

• How does this add to tex.stackexchange.com/a/117827? Other than saying that something which worked in 2010 works in 2016?
– cfr
May 31, 2018 at 15:38
• @cfr It still answers the original question as to how to add LaTeX equations in OneNote. And since the accepted answer seems to say that there is no way to do that, I wanted to let any new readers know that there is, in fact, a mechanism. Jun 1, 2018 at 4:01
– cfr
Jun 1, 2018 at 4:06

The somewhat new OneNote for Windows 10 (the OneNote app) has built-in LaTeX support. To use it, write your formula out, select it, and click on Maths in the Insert tab. OneNote will then convert the formula and you will also be able to directly edit the formula.

Technically, this feature is only available if you have an Office 365 subscription, but if you disconnect your PC from the internet and start OneNote in offline mode, you will have access to the Maths feature. You can then also reconnect your PC and it won't disappear unless you restart OneNote.

This feature can also solve an equation.

• What is the difference to the math mode in OneNote 2010 mentioned by Joe? It sounds like it is still just a mathjax like math interpreter. Jan 22, 2020 at 15:37
• @dexteritas I don't know, could be. I just found this feature and wanted to share. Jan 23, 2020 at 18:04

Try Alt + equal sign to activate math type box.

If you're looking for speed while typing up notes, the fastest I've found is the add-on OneNote Gem (Gem for OneNote 2016). It's paid, some \$33 when I purchased a year or two back. Gem has other features but that's the only thing I bought it for.

As others have mentioned, you use Alt + to go into math mode, so I used an AutoHotkey snippet to make this shortcut the hamburger menu button on my keyboard:

    #NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn  ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

; onenote set appskey/hamburger button to alt= which opens equation editor for latex input
AppsKey::!=
return


Once you're at the grey box that indicates you're in the equation editor, use \TeX followed by a space to go into Latex mode after you've got Gem installed. That makes the commands almost the same as your Latex ones, although I also sometimes still use Word's syntax for speed, e.g. \scriptP, and \doubleR.

That gets me most of the way. The main thing I haven't figured out yet is cases with a piecewise function, because \TeX mode breaks some things in Microsoft's native equation format.

Matrices are also a little different. I haven't gotten that to work with Word in Latex's usual commands, so I just use for instance

[\matrix{a&b&c@d&e&f@g&h&i}]


but most other things follow Latex syntax rather than Word syntax.

If you are using macOS, one way would be to use LaTeXit and just drag the formula inside your OneNote page. If you are using any other operating system, there are softwares like LaTeXiT in them too, or you can try using online websites.

I haven't read all this page yet, but it seems that full LaTeX support is available in Word, PowerPoint and OneNote now: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/murrays/2017/07/30/latex-math-in-office/

• Hi just fired up standard one note which says what is latex and has nothing in help ? but when I ask for help on math it says buy 365 one note for office subscriptions so I guess we will never know :-)
– user170109
Feb 24, 2019 at 2:43

This questions should be closed as no longer relevant.

Word, PPT and OneNote all support Latex both using the new equation editor or inline with 'alt+=' as of 2022.