Controlling the Symbol font used when creating EPS files

The information in this document applies to:

Issue

MathType-generated EPS files that contain italic characters from the Symbol font may not display correctly when printed or output to PDF. Typical problems are using Courier instead of Symbol, or missing characters. This problem can also occur when using bold or bold and italic Symbol characters.

A related issue is that if you have the Windows TrueType Symbol font installed, the EPS files will refer to it (as SymbolMT) for italic, bold and bold/italic Symbol characters instead of Symbol. (The MT in SymbolMT refers to MonoType, the company that created the font).

Reason

When generating EPS files MathType includes the PostScript name for every font present in the equation. This includes variations like italic and bold, which are referred to as separate fonts. As there is no italic PostScript Symbol font, MathType has to handle these characters differently. If you have the Windows TrueType Symbol font installed, MathType will use it instead of Symbol, which looks perfectly fine but may not be what you expect.

If you remove the TrueType Symbol font and install a PostScript Symbol font, MathType generates font names such as Symbol-Italic into the EPS files, and these names aren't recognized when printing on a PostScript printer or including the EPS file in a PDF. 

Solution

MathType's Fonts folder contains a FontInfo.ini file which can be used to extend MathType's knowledge of fonts, their encodings and PostScript names. By adding the following information to this file MathType can be instructed to use the proper names for italic and bold Symbol characters.

To edit your FontInfo.ini file, follow the steps below:

1. Exit MathType

2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\MathType\Fonts

3. Make a backup copy of the FontInfo.ini file in case you need to revert back to it at any time

4. Open the file FontInfo.ini using Notepad

5. Add the following to the end of this file:

[Font1]
Name = Symbol
Encoding = Symbol
PSName1 = P,Symbol
PSName2 = I,Symbol
PSName3 = B,Symbol
PSName4 = BI,Symbol

Note, if you have made any previous edits to this file, the first line in this statement will need to reflect the next successive font number appropriate to your file i.e [Font2], [Font3], [Font4] etc. For more information read the comments in the FontInfo.ini file.

Also, we have anther TechNote that addresses similar problems that you may experience when using MathType to generate PDF files. 

TSN #69 - Using MathType with Adobe Acrobat to Create PDF Files