Troubleshooting Equation Editor Display & Printing Problems

ID: Q84847

The information in this article applies to:

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

make sure the correct font is assigned to each style. From the Equation Editor Style menu, choose Define. The correct fonts for the Lowercase Greek, Uppercase Greek, and Symbol styles should be listed as follows:


Style              Font                    Font
Name               Windows 3.0             Windows 3.1
-----              -----------             -----------
Lowercase Greek    MT Symbol               Symbol

Uppercase Greek    MT Symbol               Symbol

Symbol             MT Symbol               Symbol

If an incorrect font is listed for one of these styles, select the correct font, and choose the OK button.

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.

To verify this problem, start Control Panel and choose the Fonts icon. If Control Panel indicates that the font is corrupted, remove and then reinstall the font or fonts using the following instructions:

Start Control Panel and choose the Fonts icon.

Select the corrupted font (Fences or MT Extra).

Choose the Remove button and choose Yes when prompted.

Choose the Add button.

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

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

Note: If the problem persists, delete the FENCES.TTF and MTEXTRA.TTF files in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory and then reinstall Equation Editor.

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

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.

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.

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

Note: These font names include resolution (such as EGA, VGA, or 8514/a Res) and/or font size information (such as 8, 10, 12, 18, or 24).

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)

Note: If the font name includes the word "Plain," the font was deleted and reinstalled previously.

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

Version 2.0b of Word for Windows corrects this problem by automatically adding this change to the WIN.INI file during Setup.

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

If this problem persists, reinstall the Equation Editor using the Word for Windows version 2.0a Setup program.

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

Additional query words: w4wprint tshoot 2.00 2.00a eq ed applet ole jagged crooked wrong letter translate initialization IBM symbol

Keywords : kbprint kbtool
Version : :1.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :