Anyone have experience of MathType? It’s supposed to work with Microsoft Word.

This is slightly urgent. A CSIRO colleague is writing a conference paper and I’m adding the mathematics. The conference insists on all the equations being in MathType. Nobody has a copy.

It doesn’t help that the Equations have currently been written in LaTex

¿Could it be that MathType is compatible with either of the two other equation editors for Word, to whit the old Microsoft Equation 3.0 (From Word 2003 and earlier) or the more modern default equation editor with Word.

When I click on an equation that is claimed to have been written in MathType, the old Microsoft Equation 3.0 editor pops up.

i thought this MathType thing was more compatible with TeX syntax but i could be wro

mollwollfumble said:

Anyone have experience of MathType? It’s supposed to work with Microsoft Word.

This is slightly urgent. A CSIRO colleague is writing a conference paper and I’m adding the mathematics. The conference insists on all the equations being in MathType. Nobody has a copy.

It doesn’t help that the Equations have currently been written in LaTex

¿Could it be that MathType is compatible with either of the two other equation editors for Word, to whit the old Microsoft Equation 3.0 (From Word 2003 and earlier) or the more modern default equation editor with Word.

When I click on an equation that is claimed to have been written in MathType, the old Microsoft Equation 3.0 editor pops up.

I’m sure you’ve read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MathType, which includes the notes,

“MathType also supports the math markup languages TeX, LaTeX and MathML. LaTeX can be entered directly into MathType (this feature is disabled by default, but can be enabled in Workspace Preferences), and MathType equations in Microsoft Word can be converted to and from LaTeX.”

“On Windows, MathType supports object linking and embedding (OLE), which is the standard Windows mechanism for including information from one application in another. In particular office suites such as Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org for Windows allow MathType equations to be embedded in this way.”

“Microsoft Equation Editor is a cut-down version of MathType included in Microsoft Office products.” This has been replaced by a completely rewritten (by Microsoft) equation editor, first appearing in Office 2007, but now ubiquitous in all MS Office products.

The Design Science website (from the creators of MathType) also offers a 30-day free trial, at “http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/trial.asp“http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/trial.asp

SCIENCE said:

i thought this MathType thing was more compatible with TeX syntax but i could be wro

You’re right. It is, all I have to do is buy the program for 5 computers at US$97 each. Do you have a spare $645?

Nowhere on Google search have I found out what the capabilities and limitations of “MathType lite” is.

It would be ideal if MathType was written by the same company (probably dead, but possibly bought out by Wolfram Alpha) that wrote Equation 3.0. Then it would be backwards compatible and I could use the Equation 3.0 editor.

> Microsoft Equation Editor is a cut-down version of MathType

I strongly suspect that this is a bare-faced lie. If it was true, then MathType equations may or may not open with Microsoft Equation Editor, but they certainly would not open with the incompatible Equation 3.0.

Off the top of my head and without looking anything up MathType is a graphical editor for mathematical equations, allowing entry with the mouse or keyboard in a full graphical WYSIWYG environment. This contrasts to document markup languages such as LaTeX where equations are entered as markup in a text editor and then processed into a typeset document as a separate step.

MathType also supports the math markup languages TeX, LaTeX and MathML. LaTeX can be entered directly into MathType, and MathType equations in Microsoft Word can be converted to and from LaTeX. MathType supports copying to and pasting from any of these markup languages.

Additionally, on Windows 7 and later, equations may be drawn using a touch screen or pen (or mouse) via the math input panel.

By default, MathType equations are typeset in Times New Roman, with Symbol used for symbols and Greek. Equations may also be typeset in Euclid, a modern font like Computer Modern used in TeX, and this is included with the software. Roman characters (i.e. variable names and functions) may be typeset in any font that contains those characters, but Greek and symbols will still use Times or Euclid.

Support for other applications

On Windows, MathType supports object linking and embedding (OLE), which is the standard Windows mechanism for including information from one application in another. In particular office suites such as Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org for Windows allow MathType equations to be embedded in this way. Equations embedded using OLE are displayed and printed as graphics in the host application, and can be edited later, in which case the host document is updated automatically. In addition, a Microsoft Word add-in is included, which adds features including equation numbering and formatting displayed equations (as opposed to inline equations), which are features that MathType does not add to other applications.

On Macs, there is no analogous standard to OLE so support is not universal. Microsoft Office for Mac supports OLE, so MathType equations may be used there as usual. MathType has support for Apple iWork ’09, so equations may be embedded and updated seamlessly in that product too. In applications where no other possibility is available, such as OpenOffice.org for Mac, Design Science recommends exporting equations as images and embedding those images into documents. As on Windows there is a plugin for Microsoft Word for Mac (except for Word 2008), which adds equation formatting features such as equation numbering, which are features that MathType does not add to other applications. AppleWorks included a special version of MathType for built-in equation editing.

That’s all I can remember.

mollwollfumble said:

> Microsoft Equation Editor is a cut-down version of MathType

I strongly suspect that this is a bare-faced lie. If it was true, then MathType equations may or may not open with Microsoft Equation Editor, but they certainly would not open with the incompatible Equation 3.0.

Ahh, it is a lie. Wikipedia. I should have looked it up in the first place.

“Microsoft Equation Editor in a previous versions of Office (ie. Equation 3.0 from Office 2003) is a cut-down version of MathType included in Microsoft Office products. Although fully functional, it lacks some features of MathType, and it includes a help item with information on purchasing the full product. In more recent versions (from Office 2007 and later) it was replaced by a different equation-editing system.”

And thanks PWD.

Moll, you asked a question. Instead of criticising the answers and/or their sources, why don’t you try acting on the suggestions given? I’ve downloaded and installed the trial version from the site I gave. It installed (on a W7 box) with no problems, and seems to do what you’re after (it handles some advanced and complex mathematical notation, and loads and saves LaTeX documents without complaints.)

btm said:

Moll, you asked a question. Instead of criticising the answers and/or their sources, why don’t you try acting on the suggestions given? I’ve downloaded and installed the trial version from the site I gave. It installed (on a W7 box) with no problems, and seems to do what you’re after (it handles some advanced and complex mathematical notation, and loads and saves LaTeX documents without complaints.)

When I’m mentally healthy, I’m a critic. When I’m mentally unhealthy, I’m a dreamer. Not meant to be destructive criticism.

Thank you for advice. Will follow it and download trial versions on all five computers, but then need to keep fingers crossed that the Lite version after the trial is finished won’t be full of advertisements or prohibit essential operations such as printing. I’ve not yet been convinced that MathType Lite is any better than Equation 3.0. Equation 3.0 has problems with undo, if you undo an operation it tends to erase incorrectly.

SCIENCE said:

i thought this MathType thing was more compatible with TeX syntax but i could be wro

Have downloaded 30 day trial. The manual isn’t clear on whether MathType translates TeX syntax into MathType or simply displays TeX without translating. It may not matter.

Have you contacted the conference organisers and asked them if they really mean it?

Conference procedures are often copied from the previous conference (which copied there procedures from the previous conference (… and so on)).