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Equations are randomly re-sized in Word
Reading time: 2minTechNote 150
Applicability
| The information on this page applies to: |
| MathType 7 for Windows |
| Microsoft Word 2007 and later (Windows) |
Issue
You have created a Word document with several MathType 7 equations. It looked great at the time, but when you opened it a week later, the equations are now different sizes — some smaller, some larger, most with a random height:width ratio.
Reason
Our investigation shows that this behavior is caused by how Word currently handles these elements. This issue affects MathType 7 equations and other embedded objects, such as charts and images. Below, we'll describe the process to fix the equation display ratio and minimize the possibility of it happening in the future.
Solution
The first step in the solution is to upgrade to the most recent version of MathType 7 because the repair process below will go smoother than if you're using an earlier version. You can download the latest version from our downloads page. If you have a MathType 7 subscription already, this is a free upgrade and you should not have to enter your product key during installation. No need to uninstall your current version, just install the new one on top of it. If you're licensed for a version earlier than 7.0, you might want to install it as a 30-day trial first.
To solve this issue, please change the equation size on the Format Object menu in MS Word, following these steps:
- Right-click on the equation.
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Go to Picture…
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Go to the Size tab and change the Height and Width to 110% and 101%, respectively
If the steps above do not work, or you have a large number of equations in the document, use the Convert Equations Command below.
Run the Convert Equations command
In the MathType 7 tab on Word's ribbon, there's a command named Convert Equations. It may seem that since it's the formatting that's off and not something else, then "Format Equations" would be more appropriate. That is, in fact, logical, but it's indeed "Convert Equations" you need in this case. Click that, and the Convert Equations dialogue will open:
Of the four checkbox selections on the left, you need at least the top one checked and possibly the 4th one, as shown here. If it's your document, and you know you didn't use Word's equation editor for any of the equations, just select the top one. In the "Convert equations to" section on the right, ensure the chosen button is shown here. Click Convert and wait for the process to complete.
Recommendations
- Work on a copy of the document, not on the original. When the process is finished and you've verified things are as you'd like, you can save the copy with the original document's name and work with this one as your new "original".
- Word doesn't handle large documents well. If your document contains more than ten pages or more than 100 equations, this process will work best if you run Convert Equations on one section of the document at a time. "Select" part of the document either by dragging the mouse across the text or any other means of selection that you're familiar with, then choose the Current selection option in the Range section of the dialogue. Repeat the process on the next section of the document until you've converted the entire document.
- Scan and spot check the document because sometimes Word will have corrupted an equation or two (or more), and these may now be missing from the document.
Providing feedback to Microsoft
This behavior is related to a known issue in Microsoft’s Word. 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.