2
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Restatement of question, including code.

numList = {"3 ", "(2)^2 ", "foo", "bar"};
Manipulate[nums = Extract[numList, {{1}, {i}}];
 Grid[{{"Perform the following calculation."}, {"input=" <> 
 StringJoin[nums]}, {"ans=" <> 
 ToString[ToExpression[StringJoin[nums]]]}}], {i, Range[2, 4]}]

Paste code into Mathematica. Replace foo with 2, control-6 (to get a superscript), 2. Replace bar with open paren, 2, close paren, control-6, 2. Execute, and then click on the ButtonBar. When i is 2 or 3, it works fine. If you click on i=4, you get a syntax error.

These should all be legal ways of doing 3 times 2^2.

| improve this question | |
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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "carrot" = caret? $\endgroup$ – AccidentalFourierTransform Oct 2 '19 at 23:58
  • $\begingroup$ What exactly fails? $\endgroup$ – Kuba♦ Oct 3 '19 at 6:06
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    $\begingroup$ Is there are particular reason why you want to input your expressions as strings? $\endgroup$ – Lukas Lang Oct 4 '19 at 8:01
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    $\begingroup$ If you look at FullForm[numList] you'll in the last string that "(2)" is not the base of the superscript. This string does what you wanted: "\!\(\*SuperscriptBox[\((2)\), \(2\)]\)" -- not sure how enter it tho' $\endgroup$ – Michael E2 Oct 5 '19 at 0:03
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    $\begingroup$ Hm. I finally emailed Wolfram support, and they say this is a bug, and they'll work on it. $\endgroup$ – rhomboidRhipper Oct 23 '19 at 16:14
1
$\begingroup$

How about this?

ToExpression@StringReplace[
 StringTrim@ToString@"(1\!\(\*SuperscriptBox[\()\), \(2\)]\)",
 pow_ ~~ "\n" ~~ base__ :> base <> "^" <> pow
]

1

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, but I'm trying to, in a non-MMtica-user-friendly way, display some text, and then evaluate it. The above is not legible to anyone save a very few of us. $\endgroup$ – rhomboidRhipper Oct 3 '19 at 14:52

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