You can create, modify, or delete character styles in the Character Styles dialog. All character styles are now represented visually rather than in a sequence of style information such as "style1+bold+times..."

All potential matches are displayed in a pop-up dialog.

The Classic Worksheet supports OLE objects and Metafiles in Windows only. Maple 9 does not support OLE objects and Metafiles that have been embedded in worksheets from previous releases of Maple. When opening such a worksheet, a warning dialog is displayed. The objects will not appear, that is, be displayed in the worksheet. If Maple 9 is used to save the worksheet, the embedded data is not retained. OLE objects are added in worksheets of previous Maple releases by using the Insert, Object menu items in Windows operating systems only. Note that in Maple 9, objects are inserted by using the Insert, Image menu items in Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX operating systems.

The underlying implementation of a Maplet element has changed slightly since Maple 8. Now all Maplet application windows have a parent hierarchy, set to be the window that is currently enabled when RunWindow is called.  When the parent is closed by a call to CloseWindow, the child window is automatically closed as well. Previously, Maplet application windows did not have parents, and so the call to CloseWindow would close only the single Maplet application window.

As a result of this change, it may be necessary to modify some of your Maplet application code. Possible workarounds include the following. In the Maplet application code:

Remove calls to CloseWindow on windows if other windows are running. The behavior of the Maplet application remains relatively the same, with the first window being disabled instead of disappearing.

Call CloseWindow on the first window before calling RunWindow on the new window.

Write the second window as a separate Maplet application and use the Maplets:-Display command instead of the RunWindow command.

Note that this change of behavior occurs in the Standard Worksheet interface only. Maplets running in the Classic Worksheet or command-line interface will retain the old behavior. Once the Maplet application code is modified using one of the suggestions above, the Maplet can be run as expected in all modes.

In addition to Web site, worksheet, and help topic links, you can now hyperlink a worksheet to an email address.

Maple 9 worksheets are saved in a new XML-based format. The new file extension for these worksheets is .mw. Maple 9 can read worksheets from previous releases of Maple.

The Save as Maple 8 Worksheet option exists for cases where the worksheet also needs to be read by older releases of Maple; it creates a worksheet file in the .mws format. Note that whenever an older release of Maple reads a worksheet created in a new release, newer features will not be available and command results may change.

Maple 9 has a new easy-to-use help interface. It contains the following features.

The help system now opens in a separate window.

The window has two panes. The left pane contains the Help Navigator, while the right pane displays the help page.

The Maple worksheet contains a Help icon that allows you to quickly access the help system.

Icon size can be increased or decreased by controlling interface settings in the Options Dialog.

UNIX and Macintosh based users can now insert images directly into worksheets. Previously, this was available only to Windows users. A variety of formats, such as .jpeg, .tif, and .pnm, are supported. Images are incorporated by using the Insert dialog. This dialog is accessed by selecting Insert from the main menu and then Image. (Previously in Windows, this submenu option was Object. Note the current submenu name of Image.) See note regarding Compatibility.

A new interactive interface has been created for the Maple debugger.

The interactive Maple Debugger displays the procedure name and the Debugger output.

A text box allows you to quickly enter commands and click the Execute button.

The interface also contains buttons for performing common debugging functions, for example, Step, Next, and so on.

For details, see Interactive Maple debugger.

A new interactive interface (Interactive ODE Analyzer) has been created for numeric and symbolic solutions of ODEs and ODE systems. The Analyzer is easy to use, with many common options.  In addition to computation of solutions and solution values, plots can also be generated. The Analyzer is suitable as an educational tool; it can provide the corresponding Maple commands needed to compute the solution or plot. For information on launching the interface (and command-line options), see dsolve/interactive. For an illustrated description of the interface, see worksheet/interactive/dsolve. (Also available in the Classic Worksheet.)

In Maple 9, the default kernel mode for the worksheet is parallel. For more information, see Change Kernel Modes. (Also parallel in the Classic Worksheet.)

Enhancements to the Maplet system enable you to interactively rotate 3-D plots in Maplet applications.

Maplet application authors now have better layout control. Using the VerticalGlue element in BoxColumn elements and the HorizontalGlue element in BoxRow elements, Maple application authors can more precisely specify layout. Also, there have been improvements to the GridLayout element.

The cyclic option to the Plotter element has been deprecated. The option 'cyclic'=true is interpreted as 'continuous'=true. The option 'cyclic'=false is ignored.

(All Maplet application enhancements available in the Classic Worksheet.)

When 2-D output is selected, the Maple worksheet displays an Operations menu listing math context menu items. Previously, the associated math context menu items, for example, Approximate and Integer Factors, were visible only by right-clicking the 2-D output.

You can customize your Maple options by using the new Options Dialog, formerly known as File Preferences. To access this dialog, select Tools from the main menu. Configure your settings in the appropriate tabs: General, I/O Display, Plotting, Numerics, Spell, or Interface. You can apply changes to the current session or apply changes globally, thereby changing the default settings.

New plot option for surface transparency. For more information, see updates/Maple9/graphics.

There is a new maplet plot device available. It displays plots in a separate window as a Maplet application (using the Maplets Plotter element). This functionality is particularly useful in the command-line version. For more information, see plotdevice. (Also available in the Classic Worksheet.)

To move to the next execution group, use CTRL + Down Arrow in Windows and UNIX or Command + Down Arrow and in Macintosh.

To move to the previous execution group, use CTRL + Up Arrow in Windows and UNIX or Command + Up Arrow in Macintosh.

For more information, see shortcut keys.

The Show/Hide Content features are now conveniently located in one dialog, accessed from the View menu.

Maple 9 now accommodates two styles of windows. In a single-document interface, worksheets open in a separate frame. In a multi-document interface, worksheets open as an internal frame window within a single parent frame (not available in Mac OS X). These window styles are set in the Options Dialog .

Sketching an idea has never been easier. The Maple 9 Sketch pad feature allows you illustrate your plans with a click of the mouse. Select pen or highlighter size and color. As a guide, use a grid or a simple vertical or horizontal line background.

Large arrays, vectors, matrices, and higher dimensional tables are displayed using a summary format. You can view the contents of these objects by using the new Browse Matrix dialog.

The Browse Matrix dialog is accessed by double-clicking the summary output from an object. The new Browse Matrix dialog contains three tabs: Table, for default spreadsheet representation, Image, and Options, for Arrays that are 2-D or higher. The image view can be imported into your worksheet simply by clicking the Insert button.

Maple 9 welcomes you with one of many Tips of the Day. Even if you are an experienced Maple user, these suggestions and guidelines are an invaluable resource. Navigate through the tips to learn about GUI procedures or Maple commands. When you are ready to proceed to the worksheet, simply click Close in the Tip of the Day dialog.

If you adjust the speed for an animation, and then export the worksheet to HTML, the adjusted speed is used in the HTML document.