Equations Are Displayed as { EMBED Equation } in Microsoft Word

The information in this document applies to:

Issue

Many users become alarmed when the equations in their Microsoft Word document is displayed in the cryptic form of { EMBED Equation.DSMT4 }, { EMBED Equation.DSMT36 } or { EMBED Equation } instead of the actual MathType or Microsoft Equation equations.

Reason

These representations are a feature in Microsoft Word called Field Codes. They are used to help Word identify objects, such as equations, in your document. You only see them when the option is turned on, in which case, they appear on-screen, only in the printout, or in both the screen and printout.  

Solution

As this is a feature of Word, it is advisable to follow the instructions listed in your Microsoft Word manual or on-line help file for resolutions to this issue. Typically you can do a word search for "Field Codes" in the index of the manual or in the Find tab of Word's on-line help manual. The information contained in the Microsoft Word manual and on-line help supersedes this notice.

{ EMBED Equation } appears on-screen

If you find that your equations are not displaying on-screen but instead are displaying something like { EMBED Equation } or { EMBED Equation.DSMT4 }, you can change your view settings from within Word to correct this. To do so,

1. Launch Word.
2. Select
   • Tools | Options (Win 2000, 2002, 2003)
   • Office Button | Word Options | Advanced (Word 2007)
   • Edit | Preferences (Mac Word 98, 2001)
   • Word | Preferences (Mac Word X, 2004, 2008).
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Uncheck the box for "Field Codes".
5. Press OK.

At this point, the equations contained within the Word document should display correctly. Other ways that you can toggle this property are:

• Via keystroke; the Word keyboard shortcut is ALT+F9 (Win) and Option+F9 (Mac).
• Via the Word toolbar;  the toolbar button in Word looks like "{a}". This is not one of the default buttons but can be added to the Word toolbars by using Word's Customize command. For more information about customizing your Word toolbars, please consult your Microsoft Word on-line help.

Any of the above methods will allow you to toggle the field codes off and on that will allow you to see the equations.

{ EMBED Equation } appears in your printout

If you find that your equations are not printing out but instead are displaying something like { EMBED Equation } or { EMBED Equation.DSMT4 }, you can change your print settings from within Word to correct this. To do this:

1. Launch Word.
2. Select Tools | Options (Win), Edit | Preferences (Mac Word 98, 2001) or Word | Preferences (Mac Word X, 2004).
3. Select the Print tab.
4. Uncheck the box for "Field Codes".
5. Press OK.

At this point, if you print your document, the objects contained within the Word document should print out correctly.

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