Creating new equations

To add an equation:

If needed, select the Math group in which to create the equation.
Click the New equation icon at the top of the Equation table.
Type the expression in the Equation Editor dialog that opens. The expression can contain the functions listed in the Function Reference.

Any new variables used in the expression are added to the parameter table.

Note the following when creating equations:

You are offered auto-complete selections as you type equations in the Equation Editor. For example, if you type S, an auto-complete popup contains any existing parameters that begin with "S" (in the example below, "SpringLength") and any functions that begin with "S" (sin ( ), sind ( ), etc.).

To select an auto-complete suggestion, click the entry or use the up/down arrows to highlight the entry and press Enter. To dismiss the popup, press Esc. This feature is particularly useful for entering long variable names in equations, reducing the time to enter equations, and eliminating potential typos.
If you enter an invalid equation, you will see a message that describes the error and the equation will be added to the Equation table but will be deactivated (the equation's On checkbox will be unchecked). After fixing the equation so it is a valid expression, it will be activated. For more information about correcting errors, see Equation errors.
You can copy and paste equations into the Equation Editor from other applications, such as Word, Excel, or Notepad.

Before copying an equation from Excel, add a single quote ( ' ) to the beginning of the equation so that Excel will see the cell contents as text instead of a formula. If you have multiple cells to copy from Excel, you can perform a search/replace to change the equal sign ( = ) to a single quote and an equal sign ( '= ).