Equations are scrambled in Microsoft Visio

1. Inserting equations. Use one of these two techniques to get equations into Visio:
   1. Use Insert > Object in Visio, and select MathType 7.X Equation from the list. After you create the equation, don't use copy & paste to get it into Visio. Close MathType 7 by clicking the red X in the upper right corner of the MathType 7 window. Or…
   2. Open MathType 7 from the Windows Start menu. Create the equation, select it, then cut & paste it into Visio. Leave MathType 7 open for your next equation.
2. Sizing equations. Don't click and drag the corners to resize equations. In MathType 7, use the Size > Define command to set the equation size to match your Visio diagram.
3. Don't copy & paste equations within Visio. We don't recommend this because while it may not appear to cause problems initially, we have seen cases where it will cause problems later. These problems are such that the only recovery is to recreate the equation, so it's best to insert equations as described in step 1 above.
4. Editing equations. We've determined that this can cause scrambled equations like those shown above. Using the techniques here, you can keep this from happening, but you can recover without creating the equation again if it does happen.
   1. If you insert equations as described above and never edit them, we don't believe the equations will ever scramble.
   2. If you insert an equation and edit it (by double-clicking) before closing the document, it should not cause any problems.
   3. If you have closed and reopened the document, you need to edit an equation. If you double-click it to edit, close and reopen the document, the equation will be scrambled. However, the equation is still valid. Cut the equation (Ctrl+X is a convenient way), open MathType 7, paste the equation into it, make any necessary edits, then insert it into Visio using one of the recommended methods in step 1. The equation will be unscrambled.
   4. Do not double-click an equation to edit it. This is the best advice we can give. As described in step 4b above, this can work if the conditions are right. To avoid scrambling, we strongly recommend always using the cut & paste method: cut the equation from Visio, paste it into MathType 7, edit if needed, and insert it back into Visio. By doing this, we believe the equations will never be scrambled.

Providing feedback to Microsoft

This behavior is related to a known issue in Microsoft's Visio. 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. 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.