I like the feature that permits the use of the dotted derivative, as it has the look and feel of the work that I am doing. However, when I enter, say, (x_dot + 1)^2 and invoke the expansion, I get x_dot(t)^2 +...

It's nice that Maple knows that x is a function of t, but I would like to avoid the clutter. How do I suppress the (t) so that all I see is x_dot^2?

Further to this, I'd like to be able to declare some variables, say l and theta that are a functions of t - something like l = l(t), then declare some function, say, x(t) = l + theta, not l(t) and theta(t). I'd like to be able to then take the derivative of x and and see something like x_dot = l_dot + theta_dot. Is this possible in Maple 12?

Thanks kindly,

Rich