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Equations in Pages are fuzzy when viewed in iCloud
Reading time: 2minApplicability
| The information on this page applies to: |
| MathType for Mac |
| Apple Pages |
Issue
You've written a class handout using Pages on your Mac. The MathType 7 equations looked nice and crisp on the computer (first screenshot below). When your students view it in iCloud, they report the equations to look fuzzy (the second screenshot below). In addition, they are shifted up in the line and do not align with the surrounding text.
Reason
This issue is not caused by anything you or MathType 7 have done. This is an Apple bug.
Solution
Since circumstances beyond your control cause this, there's no real solution. We can offer some tips and workarounds, though.
- You may know MathType 7 is not the only way to insert equations into Pages. You can also use MathML or LaTeX. For details about that, see our main page of instructions for using MathType with Pages.
- Inserting equations into Pages for Mac as MathML or LaTeX doesn't help this issue. Equations are still fuzzy when viewing in iCloud.
- If you insert equations as MathML or LaTeX, it's possible to change the font and size, but not without knowing how to do that in the MathML or LaTeX code. The Pages interface does not provide a point-and-click way of doing that.
- MathType 7 provides other means of saving equations.
- You can save equations from MathType 7 in PDF format and insert or drag them into your Pages document. See the next bullet for what to do next.
- You can save from MathType 7 in GIF format. The default GIF setting is a low-resolution image, so if you keep it as GIF, it's best to first open MathType 7 > Preferences > Web and GIF Preferences. Before you save the equation, set Bitmap Resolution to Other:288, then save the equation. Insert or drag the equation from its location into your Pages document. Equations saved as GIF at 288 dpi are 400% larger than standard text. That’s why you'll need to resize them. In the Arrange tab of the Format inspector, set the Size to 25% to match the surrounding text size. (If "Constrain proportions" is set, it's only necessary to select one value; the other will change proportionally.) See the next bullet for positioning.
- Also, on the Arrange tab of the Format inspector, set Text Wrap to "Inline with Text" and drag the equation to its position within the text. You can't change the vertical alignment of an "Inline with Text" image.
- Here's how each of these options looks in iCloud (explanation after the screenshot):
From top to bottom: Original MathType 7 equations, MathML equations, PDF graphics, GIF graphics.
As shown, there’s no perfect — or even good — solution to this issue. In the event it's absolutely, positively essential to have nice-looking equations while viewing the document in iCloud, it's clear which of the workarounds above you'll need to use.
Reporting this issue to Apple
Pages is a good program, but this is Apple's bug to fix. Apple has provided a feedback form for reporting issues and requesting enhancements. We encourage you to take advantage of this. While we work with Apple on making MathType work well with Pages, Apple prefers to hear from its customers and bases its development priorities on what its customers say, not on what other software companies recommend.
We hope this has been helpful. As always, please let us know if you have questions about this, or if you have additional techniques that work. We'd love to hear from you.