# The Azimuth Project Forum - Guide (Rev #37)

## Idea

This is information about how to use the Azimuth Forum, especially for members of the Applied Category Theory course. You are reading this on the Azimuth Wiki, and to learn how to use that, see How to. If you have questions or comments, click here and start a discussion about it:

### Joining

For information on joining the forum, see: Forum - Joining.

### How it works

The Azimuth Forum runs on Vanilla, but not all the fancy features of Vanilla have been activated there. (Previously the forum ran on software developed by Andrew Stacey and/or Jacques Distler, and a lot of the old content there is still visible now.)

### Writing math

• The Azimuth Forum uses MathJax to display equations. MathJaX is a version of LaTeX designed for use on the web, limited in its power compared to full LaTeX. It takes a while to learn LaTeX: everyone serious about math must go through the pain of this. Here is a quick intro:

Unfortunately, a couple things on this tutorial don’t apply on the Azimuth Forum! Most importantly:

• For “displayed” equations, centered on the page, use double dollar signs: $$E = \sqrt{m^2 + p^2}$$.

• For “inline” equations, mixed in with your text, use this method: \$$E = \sqrt{m^2 + p^2}\$$.

### Formatting

Unlike full-fledged LaTeX, MathJaX does not handle formatting outside equations.

To create italics, boldface, quoted passages numbered or itemized lists, subject headers, and the like, use the markup language called Markdown.

### Images

To include images you can link to an external file using Markdown as follows:

 ![Title](http://...)  ![Title](/path...)

You can also do it using HTML: for example, including this in your comment:

<img src = "http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/mathematical/7_sketches/exercise_1.2.png">

creates this:

This image is stored on an external website.

### Editing posts

You can edit your posts if you click on the “gear” symbol and choose “Edit”. By the way, choosing “View Source” can let you see the tricks other people are using to write their posts: this is a good way to learn stuff.

To effectively use the search box on the forum, you need to understand the quirks of the search string format. See this discussion.

Note that this applies only to searching on the forum, not on the wiki.