Here are some tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of Maple 2015, covering from short cuts to how to use the newest features.

1. Whenever you are asking yourself “..but how do I do it?”, just type ?Portal+Enter, and you will access the Maple Portal, which will give you a complete guide on how to do things.
   
   
2. If you want to implement 1 of the 300 tasks that Maple offers in a syntax-free way, like Completing the Square, just follow this path: Tools≻Tasks≻Browse.
   
   
3. Type Ctrl+F2 or Command+F2 and the Quick Reference window with shortcut keys and other information about working with the Maple interface will pop up.
   
   
4. If you need quick help with a specific mathematical function, click or highlight the function + F2 and a Help box that contains a summary of the basic characteristics of the function will pop up.
   
   
5. If you have installed the Excel Add-in and you want to perform some Maple commands within Excel, make sure to enable the Maple add in by following this path: Excel’s Tool Menu>Add-Ins>Select Maple Excel Add-in Box> OK
   
   
6. Export Maple’s data into Excel by right clicking and choosing ‘Export As’>Excel.
   
   
7. Instead of having to copy-paste your Maple information into a Power Point Presentation, just turn the slideshow mode on by pressing F11. This way you will have an interactive presentation that holds all the live plots and embedded components that Maple offers.
   
   
8. Whenever you want to create interactive mini-applications that can be used to explore the parameters of any arbitrary Maple expression, such as a plot, mathematical equation, or command use the Exploration Assistant. Do this by either right-clicking +Explore from the context-sensitive menus, or by calling the Explore command.
   
   
9. Save time while computing mathematical expressions by calling the equation label instead of having to re-type the equation. Do this by pressing CTRL+L and then input the number that identifies the equation.
   
   
10. Reference mathematical equations or expressions from other documents. First, determine which label is associated with the equation you want. In the main document, select "Insert" > "Reference". From the file dialog, select the file containing the expression. Then select the equation reference number of your equation from the list that appears.
    
    
11. In Maple, the letter "e" entered using the keyboard does not represent the exponential function. The exponential function can be entered using command completion (Ctrl+Space or ESC) or the "exp(a)" item in the Expression Palette (Standard interface only). The exponential can also be entered as:          

    > exp(x)
    
    

12. With Maple 2015 you can now access data sets from various built-in and online data sources. This package is able to access time series data from the data aggregator Quandl, as well as locally installed data from countries and cities. To learn more, click here.
    
    
13. Whenever you assign plots to a variable name, p:=[plot(sin(x)), plot(cos(x))] a thumbnail of the plot will appear instead of the code.
    
    
14. Save time when inputting existing or personalized units. Just click CTRL+SHIFT+U and type the desired units you want.
    
    
15. With Maple 2015 you can now zoom in or out just by pressing CTRL+SCROLL or CTRL+ place two fingers on the pad and move them up to zoom in or down to zoom out.
    
    
16. Convert a Maple Worksheet into Microsoft Word: This can be done using the Export to HTML feature.
    
    1. Prepare your worksheet as you would like it to appear in the document.
    2. From the "File" menu in Maple, select "Export As ..." > "HTML".
    3. Give the HTML file a name, "output.html" for example.
    4. When the export has completed, start Word, and open the HTML file. If you used "output.html" as the name to save the file as, open the file called "output1.html" into Word.
    5. From the "File" menu in Word, select "Save as Word Document" to save the file. You now have a Word document which contains the content of your Maple worksheet.
       
       Note: this procedure will work with any Word Processing program that can open an HTML document.
       
       
17. Change Maple’s default input from 2D to 1D:
    1. Open the Tools > Options... menu (Maple > Preferences on a MACINTOSH machine).
    2. Select the Display tab
    3. From "Input Display" menu select Maple Notation
    4. Press the Apply to Session button to make the change take effect for the current Maple session.
    5. Press Apply Globally to have the change take effect permanently. Maple will need to be restarted if you choose Apply Globally for the changes to take effect.
       
       You may download a set of instruction on how to change your 2D interface to the “Classic” Style here: ftp://public.maplesoft.com/miscellaneous/ChangeToClassicInterface.pdf

We hope that you find this list helpful. Please feel free to add any of your tips or techniques to this post, or to create your own new topic.

Last month, we received a very kind note from a recipient of one of our sponsorships. Maplesoft sponsors several academic and commercial events throughout the year, providing free copies of Maple or MapleSim to lucky attendees. Audrey was one of the winners of the Elgin Community College Calculus Contest, where she won a copy of Maple. Here’s what she had to say:

Thank you so much for the Maple license.  I have become familiar with Maple during the last school year.  At first the commands were like Chinese to me and I had a rough time getting anything done, but once I made a connection between the commands and what they were doing it was a lot easier.  Even without former knowledge of computer programing, the commands are increasingly intuitive.  Maple has been a huge help to me doing my homework and projects, and even as I was studying for the competition it was useful for checking my answers.  Another reason that I love Maple is that it provides visuals for the difficult concepts we learned in class, such as shell method in Calc II and mixed partial derivatives in Calc III.  I enjoy math, but I thank that Maple has enriched my experience along the way.

Thank you again for your generous gift, 

~Audrey~

It’s always nice to hear how students and professionals alike are succeeding with the help of Maple. If you’d like to share your experience, please send an email to customerservice@maplesoft.com or post it here on MaplePrimes.

You are teaching linear algebra, or perhaps a differential equations course that contains a unit on first-order linear systems. You need to get across the notion of the eigenpair of a matrix, that is, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, what they mean, how are they found, for what are they useful.

Of course, Maple's Context Menu can, with a click or two of the mouse, return both eigenvalues and eigenvectors. But that does not satisfy the needs of the student: an answer has been given but nothing has been learned. So, of what use is Maple in this pedagogical task? How can Maple enhance the lessons devoted to finding and using eigenpairs of a matrix?

In this webinar I am going to demonstrate how Maple can be used to get across the concept of the eigenpair, to show its meaning, to relate this concept to the by-hand algorithms taught in textbooks.

Ah, but it's not enough just to do the calculations - they also have to be easy to implement so that the implementation does not cloud the pedagogic goal. So, an essential element of this webinar will be its Clickable format, free of the encumbrance of commands and their related syntax. I'll use a syntax-free paradigm to keep the technology as simple as possible while achieving the didactic goal.

Notes added on July 7, 2015:

• This live webinar has already been presented and you can view the recording here: http://www.maplesoft.com/webinars/recorded/featured.aspx?id=922
  
  
• For one reaction to a point made in the webinar, see this post.

We find recent applications of the components applied to the linear momentum, circular equations applied to engineering. Just simply replace the vector or scalar fields to thereby reasoning and use the right button.

Momento_Lineal_y_Circular.mw

(in spanish)

Atte.

L.AraujoC.

A small piece of code for fun before the weekend, inspired by some recent posts:

http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2015/06/03/mystery-curve/

http://mathlesstraveled.com/2015/06/04/random-cyclic-curves-5/

http://www.walkingrandomly.com/?p=5677

cycler := proc(t, k, p, m, n, T) local expr, u, v;
  u := exp(k*I*t);
  expr := exp(I*t) * (1 - u/m + I*(u^(-p))/n);
  v := 1 + abs(1/n) + abs(1/m);
  plots:-complexplot( expr, t = 0 .. T, axes = none,
                      view = [-v .. v, -v .. v] );
end proc:

cycler(t, 5, 3, 2, 3, 2*Pi);

And that can be made into a small application (needs Maple 18 or 2015),

Explore( cycler(t, k, p, m, n, T),
         parameters = [ k = -10 .. 10, p = -10 .. 10,
                        m = -10.0 .. 10.0, n = -10.0 .. 10.0,
                        [ T = 0 .. 2*Pi, animate ] ],
         initialvalues = [ k = 5, p = 3, m = 2, n = 3, T = 2*Pi ],
         placement = left, animate = false, numframes = 100 );

cyclerapp.mw

The animation of parameter T from 0 to 2*Pi can also be fun if the view option is removed/disabled in the call to complexplot. (That could even be made a choice, by adding an additional argument for calling procedure cycler and an accompanying checkbox parameter on the exploration.)

acer

Maplesoft will be hosting the 2015 Maple T.A. User Summit this June 15 - 17 in New York City. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about new trends in online education while networking and socializing with fellow educators and Maple T.A. users in the city that never sleeps!

We are happy to announce that the schedule has been finalized! The event will include keynote presentations, talks and discussions from users and Maplesoft staff, training sessions, a welcome reception and a boat cruise around New York City, 

If you'd like ot sign-up but still haven't - don't hesitate to do so today using the following link: https://webstore.maplesoft.com/taconference/register.aspx .

I hope to see you there!

Jonny
Maplesoft Product Manager, Maple T.A.

Developed and then implemented with open code components. It is very important to note this post is held for students of civil engineering and mechanics. Using advanced mathematical concepts to concepts in engineering.

Metodos_Energeticos_full.mw

(in spanish)

Atte.

L.Araujo.C

On a related post here, I have posted some screen shots for fun. Today is a special day for me in particular, because I passed my PhD viva with minor corrections! If you look colsely on the date, by coincidence, it was TWO years ago exactly. So I feel like I maybe 'update' the old post with a bit more, to make it V2.

So here comes the new screent shots: (Bear with me for now, I will post some actual content about how I feel when using Maple later.)

Alright, enough with the screent shots. If you click to see the big picture, you would notice that I have managed to get a complete sets of Maple versions from Maple V to Maple 2015!

===============================================

I am originally from Shanghai and I have always done well in Maths and science. I first heard about Maple in 2004 from a Maths teacher. He introduced me to this software. I played just a couple of times with Maple 6 on his computer, to get a first impression. At that time, all I could say was, hmmm insteresting.

In 2006, I went to UK for a foundation course. That was the first time I was actually taught how to use Maple 9.5. So I had access to it on the university computers. I discovered a lot about Maple and used it for ALL my Maths homeworks. Yes, I am lazy. I hope that Maple can do everything!

Then I got fascinated with Maple. Unfortunately, Maple was not taught in the undergraduate course. But there are materials for self-learning. By that time, I had become quite good with most of the contents in those materials. So I went look for other things to try. I went to ask my foundation course classmates, to see if they have anything on Maple and if they needed the help. One of them was at Imperial College and the questions were a bit chanlleging (finally!). That was the time I first met MaplePrimes! Hello, how have you been?

After that I have never stopped using Maple or Maple Primes. I may have been quite on the forum, but I was there. My PhD research rely hugely on the ability to compute the symbolic rank of certain matrices as well as the ability to simplifiying complicated expressions using siderules.

I do not want to talk too much about the technical details when using Maple. But I do

THANK Maple and it creators, developers and all relavent staff around the globe.

THANK Maple Primes and all its users. Some users have been particulary helpful!

Lastly, I dont have any other words to say other than this:

It's been really fun and enjoyable. Thanks!

This post is related to the this thread

The recursive procedure  PosIntSolve  finds the number of non-negative or positive solutions of any linear Diophantine equation

a1*x1+a2*x2+ ... +aN*xN = n  with positive coefficients a1, a2, ... aN .  

Formal parameters: L is the list of coefficients of the left part, n  is the right part,  s (optional) is nonneg (by default) for nonnegint solutions and  pos  for positive solutions.

The basic ideas:

1) If you make shifts of the all unknowns by the formulas  x1'=x1-1,  x2'=x2-1, ... , xN'=xN-1  then  the number of positive solutions of the first equation equals the number of non-negative solutions of the second equation.

2) The recurrence formula (penultimate line of the procedure) can easily be proved by induction.

The code of the procedure:

restart;

PosIntSolve:=proc(L::list(posint), n::nonnegint, s::symbol:=nonneg)

local N, n0;

option remember;

if s=pos then n0:=n-`+`(op(L)) else n0:=n fi;

N:=nops(L);

if N=1 then if irem(n0,L[1])=0 then return 1 else return 0 fi; fi;

add(PosIntSolve(subsop(1=NULL,L),n0-k*L[1]), k=0..floor(n0/L[1]));

end proc:

Examples of use.

Finding of the all positive solutions of equation 30*a+75*b+110*c+85*d+255*e+160*f+15*g+12*h+120*i=8000:

st:=time():

PosIntSolve([30,75,110,85,255,160,15,12,120], 8000, pos);

time()-st;

                                       13971409380

                                             2.125

To test the procedure, solve (separately for non-negative and positive solutions) the simple equation  2*x1+7*x2+3*x3=2000  in two ways (by the  procedure and brute force method):

ts:=time():

PosIntSolve([2,7,3], 2000);

PosIntSolve([2,7,3], 2000, pos);

time()-ts;

                47905

                47334

                 0.281

ts:=time():

k:=0:

for x from 0 to 2000/2 do

for y from 0 to floor((2000-2*x)/7) do

for z from 0 to floor((2000-2*x-7*y)/3) do

if 2*x+7*y+3*z=2000 then k:=k+1 fi;

od: od: od:

k; 

k:=0:

for x from 1 to 2000/2 do

for y from 1 to floor((2000-2*x)/7) do

for z from 1 to floor((2000-2*x-7*y)/3) do

if 2*x+7*y+3*z=2000 then k:=k+1 fi;

od: od: od:

k;

time()-ts; 

                   47905

                   47334

                   50.063

Another example - the solution of the famous problem: how many ways can be exchanged $ 1 using the coins of smaller denomination.

PosIntSolve([1,5,10,25,50],100);

                        292

 Number-of-solutions.mw

 Edit.  The code has been slightly edited 

The question of colorbars for plots comes up now and then.

One particular theme involves creating an associated 2D plot as the colorbar, using the data within the given 3D plot. But the issue arises of how to easily display the pair together. I'll mention that Maple 2015.1 (the point-release update) provides quite a simple way to accomplish the display of a 3D plot and an associated 2D colorbar side-by-side.

I'm just going to use the example of the latest Question on this topic. There are two parts to here. The first part involves creating a suitable colorbar as a 2D plot, based on the data in the given 3D plot. The second part involves displaying both together.

Here's the 3D plot used for motivating example, for which in this initial experiment I'll apply shading by using the z-value for hue shading. There are a few ways to do that, and a more complete treatment of the first part below would be to detect the shading scheme and compute the colorbar appropriately.

Some of the code below requires update release Maple 2015.1 in order to work. The colors look much better in the actual Maple Standard GUI than they do in this mapleprimes post (rendered by MapleNet).

f := 1.7+1.3*r^2-7.9*r^4+16*r^6:

P := plot3d([r, theta, f],
            r=0..1, theta=0..2*Pi, coords=cylindrical,
            color=[f,1,1,colortype=HSV]):

P;

Now for the first part. I'll construct two variants, one for a vertical colorbar and one for a horizontal colorbar.

I'll use the minimal and maximal z-values in the data of 3D plot P. This is one of several aspects that needs to be handled according to what's actually inside the 3D plot's data structure.

zmin,zmax := [min,max](op([1,1],P)[..,..,3])[]:

verthuebar := plots:-densityplot(z, dummy=0..1, z=zmin..zmax, grid=[2,49],
                                 size=[90,260], colorstyle=HUE,
                                 style=surface, axes=frame, labels=[``,``],
                                 axis[1]=[tickmarks=[]]):

horizhuebar := plots:-densityplot(z, z=zmin..zmax, dummy=0..1, grid=[49,2],
                                  size=[300,90], colorstyle=HUE,
                                  style=surface, axes=frame, labels=[``,``],
                                  axis[2]=[tickmarks=[]]):

Now we can approach the second part, to display the 3D plot and its colorbar together.

An idea which is quite old is to use a GUI Table for this. Before Maple 2015 that could be done by calling plots:-display on an Array containing the plots. But that involves manual interation to fix it up to look nice: the Table occupies the full width of the worksheet's window and must be resized with the mouse cursor, the relative widths of the columns are not right and must be manually adjusted, the Table borders are all visible and (if unwanted) must be hidden using context-menu changes on the Table, etc. And also the rendering of 2D plots in the display of the generated _PLOTARRAY doesn't respect the size option if applied when creating 2D plots.

I initially thought that I'd have to use several of the commands for programmatic content generation (new in Maple 2015) to build the GUI Table. But in the point-release Maple 2015.1 the size option on 2D plots is respected when using the DocumentTools:-Tabulate command (also new to Maple 2015). So the insertion and display is now possible with that single command.

DocumentTools:-Tabulate([P,verthuebar],
                        exterior=none, interior=none,
                        weights=[100,25], widthmode=pixels, width=420);

DocumentTools:-Tabulate([[P],[horizhuebar]],
                        exterior=none, interior=none);

We may also with to restrict the view, vertically, and have the colorbar match the shades that are displayed.

DocumentTools:-Tabulate([plots:-display(P,view=2..5),
                         plots:-display(verthuebar,view=2..5)],
                        exterior=none, interior=none,
                        weights=[100,25], widthmode=pixels, width=420);

DocumentTools:-Tabulate([[plots:-display(P,view=2..5)],
                         [plots:-display(horizhuebar,view=[2..5,default])]],
                        exterior=none, interior=none);

I'd like to wrap both parts into either one or two procedures, and hopefully I'd find time to do that and post here as a followup comment.

Apart from considerations such as handling various kinds of 3D plot data (GRID vs MESH, etc, in the data structure) there are also the matters of detecting a view (VIEW) if specified when creating the 3D plot, handling custom shading schemes, and so on. And then there's the matter of what to do when multiple 3D surfaces (plots) have been merged together.

It's also possible that the construction of the 2D plot colorbar is the only part which requires decent programming as a procedure with special options. The Tabulate command already offers options to specify the placement, column weighting, Table borders, etc. Perhaps it's not necessary to roll both parts into a single command.

3dhuecolorbarA.mw

acer

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a Maple 2015 update available. Maple 2015.1 provides:

• Support for high-resolution monitors (e.g. 4K, UHD)
• Updated translations for Brazilian Portuguese, French, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese
• Enhancements to the Explore command
• Improvements to the DataSets package
• Updates to the Microsoft Excel plug-in
• Enhancements to unit handling
• A variety of improvements to the math engine, interface, and documentation

To get this update, you can use Tools>Check for Updates from within Maple, or visit Maple 2015.1 Downloads.

If you are a MapleSim 2015 user, you already have this update, as it was part of the MapleSim 2015 installation.

Kim

Here we have a very brief introduction to the use of embedded components, but effective for the study of the polynomials in operations and some products made with maple 2015 to strengthen and raise the mathematics today.

Operaciones_con_Polinomios.mw

(in spanish)

Atte.

L.AraujoC.

This post is related to the question. There were  proposed two ways of finding the volume of the cutted part of a sphere in the form of a wedge.  Here the procedure is presented that shows the rest of the sphere. Parameters procedure: R - radius of the sphere, H1 - the distance the first cutting plane to the plane  xOy,  H2 -  the distance the second cutting plane to the plane  zOy. Necessary conditions:  R>0,  H1>=0,  H2>=0,  H1^2+H2^2<R^2 . For clarity, different surfaces are painted in different colors.

restart;

Pic := proc (R::positive, H1::nonnegative, H2::nonnegative)

local A, B, C, E, F;

if R^2 <= H1^2+H2^2 then error "Should be H1^(2)+H2^(2)<R^(2)" end if;

A := plot3d([R*sin(theta)*cos(phi), R*sin(theta)*sin(phi), R*cos(theta)], phi = arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2) .. 2*Pi-arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2), theta = 0 .. Pi, color = green);

B := plot3d([R*sin(theta)*cos(phi), R*sin(theta)*sin(phi), R*cos(theta)], phi = -arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2) .. arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2), theta = 0 .. arccos(sqrt(R^2-H2^2-H2^2*tan(phi)^2)/R), color = green);

C := plot3d([R*sin(theta)*cos(phi), R*sin(theta)*sin(phi), R*cos(theta)], phi = -arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2) .. arctan(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2), H2), theta = arccos(H1/R) .. Pi, color = green);

E := plot3d([r*cos(phi), r*sin(phi), H1], phi = -arccos(H2/sqrt(R^2-H1^2)) .. arccos(H2/sqrt(R^2-H1^2)), r = H2/cos(phi) .. sqrt(R^2-H1^2), color = blue);

F := plot3d([H2, r*cos(phi), r*sin(phi)], phi = arccos(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2)/sqrt(R^2-H2^2)) .. Pi-arccos(sqrt(-H1^2-H2^2+R^2)/sqrt(R^2-H2^2)), r = H1/sin(phi) .. sqrt(R^2-H2^2), color = gold);

plots[display](A, B, C, E, F, axes = none, view = [-1.5 .. 1.5, -1.5 .. 1.5, -1.5 .. 1.5], scaling = constrained, lightmodel = light4, orientation = [60, 80]);

end proc:

Example of use:

Pic(1,  0.5,  0.3);

Here we have an application to understand how algebraic expressions, calculating degrees relative abosulutos polynomial operations and introduction to work.Here we have an application to understand how algebraic expressions, calculating degrees relative abosulutos polynomial operations and introduction to work.

Grados_de_Polinomios.mw

(in spanish)

Atte.

L.AraujoC.

We’re trying out something new with our webinars and are hosting our first ever live streaming webinar. Broadcast in real time, and featuring Jonny Zivku, our Maple T.A. Product Manager, this will be your chance to see the face behind the voice, as well as learn more about how academic institutions around the world are using Maple T.A. We hope you can join us.

Here are the full details:

Transforming Testing and Assessment with Maple T.A.

In this webinar, you will learn how Maplesoft's testing and assessment system, Maple T.A., is being used to improve learning, save money, reduce drop-out rates, and increase student satisfaction at academic institutions around the world.

The following Maple T.A. case studies will be presented:

• The University of Waterloo saved $100,000/year on their grading budget
• At the Amsterdam University of Applied Science, student pass rates went up approximately 20% within one year
• The University of Canterbury continued to offer their full academic program after an earthquake damaged classrooms
• At the University of Guelph, drop-out rates were reduced by more than 10%
• ...And more!

All attendees of this webinar will be sent a complimentary copy of the Maplesoft magazine Transforming Testing and Assessment.

To join us for the live streaming webinar, please click here to register.