We explore the extent to which basic differential operators (such as Laplace-Beltrami, Lame, Navier-Stokes, etc.) and boundary value problems on a hypersurface S in R-n can be expressed globally, in terms of the standard spatial coordinates in R-n. The approach we develop also provides, in some important cases, useful simplifications as well as new interpretations of classical operators and equations. (C) 2006 WILEYNCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.