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Today we're making it a little easier for users to quickly type equations using LaTeX equation shortcuts. For anyone who heard of LaTeX before, it's a document markup language that's often used by academics to quickly type out complex formulas. In Google Docs, when you're inside an equation you can type '\sqrt' followed by a space or a parenthesis to automatically convert the text into a square root sign √. Other examples of useful shortcuts are '\frac' for a fraction and shorthands like '\epsilon' for Greek symbols."
Sometimes, when typing, you have a need to use extra symbols that are not found on the standard keyboard. Maybe you're typing in a foreign language, or you are trying to write a mathematical sentence. Whatever the reason, some extra symbols can be of use.