Using partial derivatives in mathematica

Question

I am attempting to use the partial derivative operator in mathematica but can't quite get it working. This is my code.

Subscript[\[PartialD],x]x

It keeps saying "Derivative: ∂, x cannot be interpreted. A partial derivative requires a subscript differentiation variable."

Is this not how you do it? I have looked at a lot of documentation ... Also I do not want to use D[x,y] (more friendly for my code)

Your issue is that the box-structure is wrong. You will want something like this: ToExpression[ RowBox[{SubscriptBox["\[PartialD]", RowBox[{"x"}]], "y"}], StandardForm, Defer]. Mathematica has a front-end that works with "boxes". This is a case where your "boxes" aren't quite right for it to interpret. — b3m2a1, Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 8:33
"Also I do not want to use D[x,y] (more friendly for my code)" Mathematica is a programming language. You should use clear and unambiguous code. Traditional mathematical notation is far from unambiguous. — Szabolcs, Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 10:07
But if you really want to, you can type the following sequence of keys: ESC pd ESC Ctrl-_ x RightArrow x. This is not the same as what you show in your post, even though it looks the same. — Szabolcs, Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 11:53

xzczd · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-09 10:55:50Z

1

Use EscdtEsc and fill in the blanks is one way. In the subscript you can put as many variables as you want, separated by ,.

xzczd♦

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answered Dec 7, 2017 at 8:25

Bill Watts

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$\begingroup$ Your using a version that does not allow escape key commands? $\endgroup$
– Bill Watts
Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 8:33
$\begingroup$ backslash[PartialD] ctrl- also works $\endgroup$
– Bill Watts
Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 8:38
$\begingroup$ the partial clearly shows up in the notebook but I can't seem to add the subscripts on as shown in the code above ... $\endgroup$
– Aakash Lakshmanan
Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 8:56
$\begingroup$ The control- (control-minus sign) isn't working for you? That is how I create a subscript. $\endgroup$
– Bill Watts
Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 20:41
1

$\begingroup$ If you have access to it, the Basic Math Assistant Pallete has it. $\endgroup$
– Bill Watts
Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 22:59

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