Troubleshooting Equation Editor Display & Printing Problems

• Microsoft Equation Editor version 1.0

SUMMARY

If Microsoft Equation Editor version 1.0 displays or prints equations incorrectly, the problem may be related to the configuration of Microsoft Word version 2.0 for Windows (the client application with which Equation Editor ships), Equation Editor, or the Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.0 or 3.1.

This article describes common causes of display and printing problems you may encounter in Equation Editor. It is designed as a troubleshooting checklist to assist you in diagnosing and resolving these problems in Windows version 3.1 and Windows version 3.0.

For more troubleshooting information about size, position or palettes, query on the following word here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   EEPREFS.PRE

MORE INFORMATION

Preliminary Troubleshooting

If your equations are displaying or printing incorrectly or the error message:

   Adequate Symbol font is not available

Style              Font                    Font
Name               Windows 3.0             Windows 3.1
-----              -----------             -----------

Lowercase Greek    MT Symbol               Symbol

Uppercase Greek    MT Symbol               Symbol

Symbol             MT Symbol               Symbol

When you start Equation Editor, the following sequence of error messages occurs if the Fences or MT Extra TrueType fonts are damaged, corrupted, or not installed:

   Equation Editor's <fontname> font is not available on the default
   printer. Some characters will not display or print. Choose a different
   printer or reinstall the Equation Editor to properly install its fonts.

      followed by:

   Equation Editor's equation memory is running low.

1. Start Control Panel and choose the Fonts icon.

2. Select the corrupted font (Fences or MT Extra).

3. Choose the Remove button and choose Yes when prompted.

4. Choose the Add button.

5. Select the font (Fences or MT Extra), which is located in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory. Choose OK.

6. In the Sample box, the font you reinstalled should now display correctly, and you should no longer get the above error messages in Word.

If your equations are not displaying and/or printing at all, one of the following settings may be the cause:

1. Draft View. Open the View menu. If there is a check mark next to Draft, your equations will not be displayed on the screen, but they will print correctly. Choose Draft to return to normal view.

2. Picture Placeholders. From the Tools menu, choose Options. Under Category, select View. If the Picture Placeholders option is selected, clear the check box, and choose the OK button.

3. Draft Output. From the Tools menu, choose Options. Under Category, select Print. If the Draft Output option is selected, your equations will be displayed on the screen, but they will not print. Clear the Draft Output check box, and choose the OK button.

Microsoft Windows Operating System Version 3.1

If your Equation Editor mathematical symbols are displayed incorrectly on the screen after upgrading from Windows version 3.0, there may be a conflict between Windows version 3.0 and Windows version 3.1 Equation Editor fonts. There may also be extra printer entries in your Windows WIN.INI file that need to be removed.

Conflicts may arise if Equation Editor fonts for both Windows version 3.0 and Windows version 3.1 are installed on your system at the same time. To avoid possible conflicts, remove the Windows version 3.0 bitmap fonts by choosing the Fonts icon in the Windows Control Panel, selecting the fonts listed below, and choosing the Remove button.

   Fences
   MT Extra
   MT Symbol
   Symbol

The correct fonts appear as follows in the Fonts dialog box:

Fences   (TrueType)       -or-       Fences Plain   (TrueType)
Symbol   (TrueType)       -or-       Symbol Plain   (TrueType)
MT Extra (TrueType)       -or-       MT Extra Plain (TrueType)
Symbol   (TrueType)       -or-       Symbol Plain   (TrueType)

After you install the correct Equation Editor fonts as described above, your "old" equations will still be formatted with the Windows 3.0 bitmap fonts and may continue to be displayed incorrectly. To update your equations with the newly installed fonts, select the equation, and choose Equation Object from the Edit menu. If you edit the equation, the font assignments will be updated. (You may need to add and delete a character in the equation to force it to be updated.)

If there are multiple references to the Equation Editor fonts in the printer sections of the WIN.INI file, you may experience incorrect display and/or printing problems with Equation Editor equations. To remove extraneous printer entries, open your WIN.INI file in a text editor, and delete any duplicate printer sections. Save the WIN.INI file, exit Windows, then restart Windows.

Transfer of Equations from Windows 3.0 to Windows 3.1

If an equation created in Windows 3.0 is brought into Windows 3.1, the MT Symbol fonts often map to Wingdings instead of Symbol. The following line in the [FontSubstitutes] section of the WIN.INI file corrects this problem:

   MT Symbol=Symbol

Microsoft Windows Operating System Version 3.0

If Equation Editor mathematical symbols are displayed on the screen correctly but print incorrectly, the screen fonts are probably installed correctly. The problem may involve the soft font files or the active printer.

The soft font files that were downloaded to a laser or PostScript printer may have been deleted or corrupted on the hard drive. If this has occurred, the printer will substitute a printer-resident font for the Equation Editor font. Verify that the Equation Editor fonts are installed correctly for the active printer. Look for the Equation Editor font files in the C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\EQUATION directory. Open the Windows WIN.INI file, check the Equation Editor font entries in the active printer section, and delete any duplicate printer sections.

Note: To correct this problem, it is often easiest to delete font files from the hard drive, delete entries from the WIN.INI file, and rerun the Word for Windows Setup program. By choosing the Custom Installation Setup option, you can reinstall the Equation Editor and thereby reinstall the Equation Editor fonts for the active printer.

If your active printer is a dot-matrix printer, you cannot print Equation Editor soft fonts. (Soft fonts cannot be downloaded to dot-matrix printers.) For more information on the Equation Editor and dot-matrix printers in Windows version 3.0, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   equation and editor and dot and matrix and fonts

Note: A PostScript printer or HP-compatible laser printer must be installed, active, and set as the default printer on a valid printer port prior to reinstalling Equation Editor. "File:" is not a valid printer port; if you choose the Printer icon in the Control Panel and configure the printer port to "File:", the Equation Editor fonts will not be installed correctly.

For more information on the Equation Editor fonts, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   equation and editor and fonts

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Equation Editor User's Guide," version 1.0, pages 66-67, 69, 71-73

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, page 694