User Guide

Chapter 2: Getting Started

Notes for Microsoft Equation Editor Users

MathType with Word

The “Using MathType

with Microsoft Word”

section in Chapter 5

contains more useful

information for Equation

Editor users. It

describes the

commands and toolbars

MathType adds to Word

that automate equation

insertion, updating, and

numbering in Word

documents.

Once MathType is installed, it effectively replaces Equation Editor as the

application used for editing equations. However, MathType’s installation

program does not delete the Equation Editor application, but simply registers

itself as the editor for equations you have already created with Equation Editor

(and earlier versions of MathType). If you want to change this behavior or fine-

tune it, see the “Equation Conversion Manager” section below.

Equation Conversion Manager

Over the years, Design Science has produced several versions of MathType and

has licensed several versions of Equation Editor to many other software

companies, including Microsoft. You may already have one or more of these

installed on your computer now. Every equation is marked with the version of

MathType or Equation Editor that was used to create it. You can see this

information when, for example, you select an equation in a Microsoft Word

document. Word’s status bar near the bottom of the screen will show something

like, “Double-click to Edit MathType 5 Equation”.

MathType Setup automatically registers MathType 5 as the editor for equations

created by all earlier versions of MathType and Equation Editor. This has two

effects:

• When you double-click on an existing equation, MathType 5 will be used to

edit it and the equation will automatically be converted to a MathType 5

equation.

• Other versions of MathType and Equation Editor will no longer appear in the

list of insertable objects in your word processor’s Insert Object dialog.

This is usually what you want to happen, as MathType 5 is more powerful than

those other equation editors. However, if this is not what you want to happen,

you can use MathType’s Equation Conversion Manager to modify this behavior.

You must exit MathType before running the manager. The Equation Conversion

Manager command is in the MathType 5 submenu, which is located in the

Programs submenu in Windows’ Start menu.

The manager is quite simple to use — if you are not sure what to do, click on the

dialog’s Help button for more details.