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Word 2016 - Equation editor object is missing

Anonymous
2015-07-27T09:47:18+00:00

Hallo,

I installed Office for Mac 2016 on OS X Yosemite. Now I can't edit equations that were created with the Equation-Editor 3.0 object. It is also not possible to insert it because it is not available in the "Insert Object Type" list. The new equation editor is not really an alternative because I have to edit a huge amount of publication with equations that are Equation-Editor 3.0 objects.

Thanks,

Mike

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2016-03-11T02:07:55+00:00

I'm sorry I just this afternoon saw this thread, and despite the fact that it's several months old, there are so many inaccuracies here that as a Design Science insider I felt compelled to respond. (Before I go on, I realize the term Equation Editor is potentially confusing here, since there are 2 of them. In my response below, I will use that term only to refer to our equation editor -- the one that has been packaged with Microsoft Office since Office 2.0. This is the one that has a similar appearance to, and looks somewhat like a cut-down version of, MathType. The "new equation editor" that Microsoft introduced with Word 2007 on Windows, and is now integrated into Word 2011 and 2016, is correctly called the "OMML editor", so that's the term I'll use below. The OMML editor is a Microsoft creation, not a Design Science one.)

So, in no particular implied order of importance, here goes...

  1. It's completely incorrect that the Equation Editor license ran out, expired, was canceled, or anything of the sort. I know at least 2 people in this thread, and would vouch for their credibility. I'm sure everyone else here just wants the truth as well, so I don't think it's important where the "expired license" rumor began, but I just want you to know it's not true. This is not why Equation Editor (aka Microsoft Equation 3.0) is missing from Office 2016 for Mac.
  2. It is correct that the OMML editor cannot edit Equation Editor equations. Nor can it edit MathType equations.
  3. It's correct that the latest version of MathType for Mac (version 6.7h) cannot integrate into Office 2016 for Mac.
  4. It's not correct that it's possible to use MathType 6.7h with Word 2016 by going to the Insert Object dialog. The only objects listed on that dialog are Word and Excel objects. MathType is not listed there, and cannot be added to the dialog. (Nor is Equation Editor in that list.)
  5. One of John Korchok's replies is so good that I'll just repeat it here, to emphasize why MathType does not [yet] work with Word 2016, and why it's taking so long to get it there: "Office 2016 for Mac is unique in that it follows Apple's new protocols for sandboxing applications. From what I gather, this is making it difficult to implement Add-Ins, MathType among them. I know that 2016's VBA capabilities are severely compromised, and many Add-Ins depend on VBA." We're working on it! In fact, we want MathType to integrate into Office 2016 just as much as you want to be able to use it there. We're just not there yet. We're working with Microsoft to make it happen.
  6. Yes, it's possible to provide a stand-alone version of Equation Editor, and if you have or had Office 2011 installed, you probably still have one. It won't work with Office 2016 though -- not if you want an equation you can edit, that is. Whatever you create in Equation Editor and paste into Word 2016 will paste as an image. If you need to edit it, you'll need to replace it with a completely different one. Also, it will not be nicely-aligned vertically with the text of your document.
  7. As John K also said, "However, if you're in love with Equation Editor 3, you can buy MathType. It has all of the features of EE3, plus more." That's very true, but like I've already said, it doesn't yet work with Office 2016. (There are some things that will work, and the list is somewhat long, so if you'll write us at support at dessci.com, we'll be glad to let you know what works and what doesn't. We can also add you to our list of customers who will get first notification when a compatible version of MathType is ready.)
  8. michaeljcarroll's reply, just a few replies above mine, is good. Read it.

Hope that's been helpful.

Bob Mathews

Design Science

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-07-29T09:34:36+00:00

    The problem exists for equations made in Word 2011 or with Word on Windows. 

    To describe that in more detail. I can use the new equation editor via the Ribbon Insert -> Equation. That works fine. 

    My problem are equations that were created with the old (external) Equation Editor that was a part of MS Office 2011. In Word 2011 I can create an Equation Editor object via the menu entry "Insert -> Object". In the the appearing dialog I have to choose "Microsoft Equation Editor" to create a new equation. This equation editor is  not available in the "Insert Object Type" list in Word 2013 (and also in PowerPoint). I also did not find a way to invoke the binary for the Microsoft Equation Editor in Word 2013. (I can start the old binary in /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office.)

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  2. John Korchok 232.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-07-29T01:34:25+00:00

    Can you narrow down the source of these documents? Do you know if they were from Word 2011 or a Windows version? I can create an equation in 2011 and edit it in 2016 with no problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-07-28T09:27:19+00:00

    It doesn't matter. I saved it to latest format, the problem is still existing.

    I think, the file format is not the problem because the my equation editor objects are missing the equation editor binary. 

    Once again the equation editor object is not available in the "Insert Object Type" list.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-07-28T02:43:03+00:00

    Can you try re-saving the file to the latest format and test it.

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