So what's the story with MathType and Microsoft Office 2008?
MathType 6.0 is compatible with Mac Office 2008 but ...
MathType is compatible with Microsoft Office X, 2004, and 2008. However, a
few MathType features are not available when it is used with Office 2008 due to
circumstances that are beyond our control. Below, we explain why this is the
case and how it impacts your use of MathType.
Microsoft omits VBA from Mac Office 2008, creating problems for MathType
users and many others
VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) has been a programming language feature
of both Mac and Windows versions of Microsoft Office for many years. VBA allows
Office users to automate tasks and enables applications that enhance Office,
such as MathType, to add their own commands. However, with Mac Office 2008 only, Microsoft has omitted
VBA support. MathType's toolbar, menu inside
Word, features such as equation numbering, formatting, etc., are not possible
without VBA. Many of our customers were
among those who complained to Microsoft about VBA being left out of Office 2008.
The good news...
Microsoft decides to restore VBA in Mac Office 2010
Microsoft
announced that they are adding VBA back to the next major version of Mac
Office, which is probably going to be in 2010. We like to think that Microsoft's change of heart was at least partially
due to our customers' efforts. Thank you for making it happen.
So what's the bottom line?
- MathType's toolbar and menu are not available Word and PowerPoint 2008.
Instead, there is only an Insert Equation toolbar button.
- None of this affects MathType use with other versions of Mac Office, just
Office 2008.
- None of this affects functionality within the MathType equation editor
application itself, only its commands within Word and PowerPoint 2008.
- Microsoft has announced that they will restore VBA support in the next
major version of Mac Office, due around 2010. We expect to restore MathType's
menu and toolbar in that version.
|
