Have you ever found yourself deep throes of critical thinking in Excel and wishing, “Man, it would save time if I could write complicated equations right here on the screen.” Well, if you can think it, now you can ink it. Ink Equations lets you write out complicated equations in Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Excel.

To insert an ink equation, we click the Insert tab, then in the symbols group, click Equation, and finally click Ink Equation.

If you have a touch device, use your finger or a stylus to write an equation in the dialog box on the screen. If you don’t have a touch screen, no worries, you can use your mouse to write, too. There’s no need to be self-conscious about your screenwriting skills because Excel will convert your chicken scratch to legible text in the preview box.

And if Excel doesn’t correctly identify a number or symbol, click the Select and Correct option. Then click the item that is incorrectly displayed. From the drop-down menu, select the correct option. If your option isn’t there, click Erase and write it again.

When your equation is correctly displayed, click Insert. And the equation appears in your notebook.

So to recap: Think it. Ink it. Insert it. Done.