# 2D input for partial derivative

If I input

D[f[x,y],x]


the output is $f^{(1,0)}[x,y]$. If I copy and paste this output then it works as an input as expected.

However, if I manually type the 2D input $f^{(1,0)}[x,y]$ using the key sequence

[f], [^], [(], [1], [,], [0], [)], [right arrow], [[], [x], [,], [y], []]


I get an error

Syntax::sntxf: "(" cannot be followed by "1,0)".


So my question is, how do I input the partial derivative in the concise form $f^{(1,0)}[x,y]$, rather than having to type D[f[x,y],x]?

• You can enter it as D[f[x, y], x], highlight the code, then Evaluate in Place to change its appearance to what you desire. – Bob Hanlon Nov 10 '17 at 18:41
• Bob Hanlon's comment is the closest to my actual intention. – Ubiquitous Nov 17 '17 at 17:08

2. If you look at FullForm@D[f[x, y], x] you will find it is Derivative[1,0][f][x,y], which you can enter directly. I suspect you will call this "less concise".
3. You can enter Grad symbolically, which gets close to what you want (but as a list).
4. You can enter D symbolically, which is very concise and as close as possible to what you want, I think: "By using the character ∂, entered as [esc]pd[esc] or \[PartialD], with subscripts".
• I say more concise because it occupies less screen space. But my main interest in the 2D input form is not its conciseness, but rather the fact that it looks much closer to how I would usually typeset the derivative ($f_1(x,y)$) and, in my opinion, makes the notebook more readable. – Ubiquitous Nov 10 '17 at 18:26
You could type in the FullForm, and then use the menu item Cell | Convert To | StandardForm (the OSX keyboard short cut is Shift+Alt+N) to convert it to the form you want. Here is an animation: