Microsoft Word and Mathtype - an impossible marriage?

[scientia2002]

I tried to made portable (ThinApp 4.7) the following two apps, on a WinXP environment:

MS Word 2003 +  Mathtype 6.8 (latest version).

Mathtype is the Pro version of the (pre-Office 2007 exclusive) MS integrated Equation editor. It is necessary for MS Word files that are passed to publishing houses.

In my attempt, I found the following strange pattern:

1. If I virtualize just MS Word 2003 with its own equation editor, the equations are made and open correctly. This was not true, as far as I remember, when I used ThinApp early versions (4.0 for instance).
   
2. Yet if I virtualize also Mathtype with Word, I had the following result: The equations are created OK, but they cannot be modified (i.e. reopened). If I try I get the following warning: "The object was created in Equation. This equation is not available....etc". This occures also when Mathtype is already open as a server (a feature of MT that leaves the application in the taskbar).
   

Is there someone that can help in understanding if the marriage is possible or not? And in the former case in which way. I know that the issue is about  Ole/com objects which are used by the equations of Mathtype, as they are also used by  the internal Equation Editor of MS Word 2003. But precisely for that,  it seems strange that scenario 1 works, and scenario 2 does not.

Thanks for any feedback.
Anthony

[kmgp]

Hi,

This is what I have done.

Packaging:

1. ThinApped Office 2003 application.
2. ThinApped MathType 6.8 application(Evaluation).
3. Applinked Mathtype 6.8 to Office 2003 application
          a.  Create a new folder by name "Plugins" in the bin folder of Office 2003.
          b. Copy the contents of the bin folder of Mathtype 6.8 package here.
          c. Uncomment the line OptionalAppLinks=plugins\*.exe in the package.ini of Office 2003.
          d.  Build the office 2003 package.

Testing Steps

Formula creation:

The following test was done on Windows XP and Windows 7.

1. Launch the thinapped Word 2003 application.
2. Do Insert -> Object -> MathType 6.0 Equation.
3. That would launch the MathType Application.
4. Click on Any formula.
5. Click on File -> Close and Return to Document 1.
6. Choose "Yes" on "Save changes to Equation in Document1?
7. After a delay the equation typed in MathType would appear in Document 1.

Formula Editing:

1. Insert a formula in the Document 1.
2. Double click on the formula.
3. It will launch the Mathtype.
4. Do edit and then save changes back to Document 1. The edited formula would appear in Document 1.

Does this help?

GURU

[scientia2002]

Dear kmgp,

thanks for your suggestions. I will try them shortly. In these weeks I almost gave up to it. But I will give it a go again: I never tried the settings you saggest.

So you Thinapped MS Word and MathType separately, not together. My fear is that in this way one misses the integrated menu that Mathtype adds to the Word standard menu. I hope to be wrong.  In any case is not possible to  thinapp both of them with a single snapshot (this is what I was trying to do)?

Thanks again.

Update:

I tried your method. Here my results, after uninstalling MT from the system and using just the thinapped one as you suggested:

1. the MT addon menu is properly shown in Word 2003.

2. Equations are created ok in Word docs. In my case, the menu Insert/Objects.... does not show obviously MathType as possible OLE choice, since Word was thinapped before installing and thinapping MT. But the creation works by selecting just Microsoft Equation 3.0 (MT is its substitute and launches properly) or by using the added MT menu/toolbar.

3. Insead if I attempt to edit an MT equation I have often the warning shown below. This was the type of  problem I had before asking help here (i.e. no MT edit)

I wonder if other tweakings  are needed in the package.ini or if one needs to install first MT --> thinapped it; and then Word --> thinapped it, instead of the opposite order as I did.