Chemical equation boxes (chem boxes) make it easy to type chemical formulas and equations, such as 
.
As you type in a chem box, most of the formatting work is handled automatically:
| • | Correct capitalisation of most element symbols, such as Ag and Cl, is automatic. |
| • | Leading digits are treated as coefficients and are shown at full size. Numbers that follow an element or a closed parenthesis are converted to subscripts. |
| • | The equals “=” symbol is converted to a yields “&” symbol. |
Notes:
| • | Equations in a chem box cannot be evaluated or balanced. |
| • | Element capitalisation may not work in every situation. For example, to enter carbon dioxide, CO2, you must manually capitalise the O. Otherwise, typing “co” would result in“Co”, the symbol for cobalt. |
Entering a chemical equation
| 1. | In the Notes work area, position the cursor where you want the equation. |
| 2. | From the Insert menu, select Chem Box. —or— Press Ctrl + E (Mac®: Press “+ E). |
An empty chemical equation box is displayed.
| 3. | Type the equation in the box. For example, to represent sulphuric acid, type h2sO4, capitalising the O manually. |
The chem box automatically formats the text as you type:
| 4. | If you need superscripts for ionic equations, type a caret symbol (^) and then the text. |
| 5. | Use parentheses to indicate whether a compound is solid (s), liquid (l), gas (g), or aqueous (aq). |
| 6. | To exit the chem box, click anywhere outside it. |