Add and edit equations with MathType (Writer)

Wiris announced that MathType 6.x is no longer supported and will be deprecated on 1 October 2023. For more details on the deprecation, please see this article.

MathType (currently version 7.6.x) is the original mathematical notation tool for Microsoft Word. Open MathType, and you have everything at your fingertips for professional-quality math typesetting. Maths for More, a mathematical software company based in Barcelona, Spain, that makes WIRIS tools, acquired Design Science, makers of MathType, in September 2017.

Insert an equation

To insert an equation with MathType:

1. Select a command from the Insert Equation group on the MathType tab.
   
   This launches the MathType application.

   

   If the MathType title bar does not say Equation in … and instead says something like Untitled 1, there is no link between MathType and Microsoft Word. Please close MathType and again select a command from the Insert Equations group on the MathType tab.

2. After creating your equation, close the MathType application to place it in your Word document. The first time you do this, a pop-up will appear asking if you want to save changes; if you don't want to see this confirmation every time, select the Don't show this dialog from now on checkbox.

Edit an equation

To edit an equation, double-click it. This will open the equation for editing in a new MathType window.

If your document has Equation Builder equations, but you prefer or need to use MathType instead, click Convert Equations in the Format group on the MathType tab, and then select the equation types you want to convert to MathType equations. You can select the whole document or your current selection, and whether you want to be prompted before each conversion. You may need to do some cleanup on the converted equations, but it's much less work than recreating the equations manually.

For more information on authoring equations using MathType, please see the WIRIS MathType documentation.

MathType uses OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) objects to insert its equations into Microsoft Word. Therefore, equations must be converted into an alternate format before being used in applications that don't support OLE (for example, the Saxon XSLT processor or Adobe InDesign).

Typefi Writer automates the conversion of MathType equations into MathType EPS equation images once you've installed two additional Microsoft Word templates (contact your Typefi Solutions Consultant for access):

• The MathType SDK template exposes the advanced capabilities of MathType to third-party applications like Typefi Writer; and
• The MathType for Typefi Writer template modifies Typefi Writer's Publish function to export all MathType equations as MathType EPS equation images and swap them into a temporary copy of your document to replace the original MathType OLE objects (this temporary file is submitted to the selected Typefi Server workflow, leaving your original document untouched).

Because this conversion relies on the MathType SDK and the locally installed MathType application, MathType-enabled documents are restricted from being used directly as inputs to server-side Typefi workflows. For example, if you select a MathType-enabled document as input for an Import DOCX workflow action, the Content XML output will not include your equations.