Equations pasted in PowerPoint are recognized as images instead of OLE objects

Applicability

Issue

When copying and pasting an equation created by MathType 7 in PowerPoint, the pasted equation is sometimes recognised as an image, not an OLE object, making it impossible for MathType 7 to edit it again. When double-clicking a pasted equation, the following message is displayed:
 

Reason

Our investigation reveals the issue was introduced by Microsoft in a PowerPoint update released during the summer of 2025. 

Solution

There are two workarounds for this issue:

1. As the PowerPoint message states, saving the document and restarting PowerPoint allows the application to recognise the pasted equations as OLE objects again.
2. After copying the equation from PowerPoint, open MathType 7 and paste it there. Closing MathType 7 will insert the equation as an OLE object. 

Providing feedback to Microsoft

This behavior is related to a known issue in Microsoft’s PowePoint. While we don’t have direct control over how Microsoft prioritizes or resolves these issues, customer feedback plays an important role in bringing them to light.

If this issue impacts your workflow, we encourage you to share your feedback directly with Microsoft via their feedback portal, where users can report and vote on issues. We already submitted feedback that you can upvote. Once the feedback gains enough visibility, their team reviews and responds to it. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and support you with any available workarounds in the meantime.

If you have any questions or have found alternative approaches that work well for you, feel free to share them with us. Your feedback helps us improve both our products and our documentation.