Setting default font preferences for MathType in iWork '09

The information in this document applies to:
 

Issue:

Style and Size definitions in MathType are not respected with each new instance of MathType when called from the iWork '09 apps (Pages, Keynote, Numbers).

Reason:

These default place-holder equations are actually saved equations that fix the properties for font, size and style, that are used by the iWork 09 application to open MathType. And since this causes MathType to load saved equations, the "save for new equations" mechanism doesn't apply.

Solution:                     

We recommend saving default equations that contain the font, font size, and font attribute settings that are appropriate for your work. You can save multiple files if you wish, but note that each file, when used, must have the correct file name and must be placed inside the application's package contents as detailed below. Since opening MathType from Numbers actually opens MathType with a blank place-holder equation that contains font and size information, these instructions include all three iWork 09 applications (Pages, Keynote, Numbers).

Pages:

1. Go to your Applications folder/iWork 09 and find the application icon for Pages. Control-click the application icon and from the context menu choose "Show package contents."
2. From there navigate to Contents/Resources/
3. Locate the file named default_equation.pict.
4. Delete this file.
5. Launch MathType from the Finder.
6. From the Style Menu choose Define.
7. In the resulting dialog, choose Times (or your preferred font) from the Primary Font drop-down menu.
8. Be sure to include a check next to "Italic Variables" and "Italic lower-case Greek."
9. Click OK.
10. From the Size Menu choose Define.
11. Set the font size for Full to 12 points.
12. Click OK.
13. From the File menu choose Save-as.
14. Save the file using the Pict Format and name it default_equation.pict.
15. Place this saved pict file into the folder noted in item 2 above.
16. Changes will not take effect until Pages has been restarted.
    
    Note: The steps above offer suggested settings for font and font size. You can use whatever settings you wish if that's more appropriate to your work. Or, you can create multiple equations each containing different settings. To use any of those you must be sure that it's named default_equation.pict and placed in the resources under the Pages Package contents.

Keynote:

1. Go to your Applications folder/iWork 09 and find the application icon for Keynote. Control-click the application icon and from the context menu choose "Show package contents."
2. From there navigate to Contents/Resources/
3. Locate the file named default_equation.pict.
4. Delete this file.
5. Launch MathType from the Finder.
6. From the Style Menu choose Define.
7. In the resulting dialog, choose the font you normally use for slides from the Primary Font drop-down menu. For scientific documents that include math we suggest Times.
8. Be sure to include a check next to "Italic Variables" and "Italic lower-case Greek."
9. Click OK.
10. From the Size Menu choose Define.
11. Set the font size for Full to match the font size used on your slides.
12. Click OK.
13. From the File menu choose Save-as.
14. Save the file using the Pict Format and name it default_equation.pict.
15. Place this saved pict file into the folder noted in item 2 above.
16. Changes will not take effect until Keynote has been restarted.
    
    Note: The steps above offer suggested settings for font and font size. You can use whatever settings you wish if that's more appropriate to your work. Or, you can create multiple equations each containing different settings. To use any of those you must be sure that it's named default_equation.pict and placed in the resources under the Keynote Package contents.

Numbers:

1. Go to your Applications folder/iWork 09/ and locate the application icon for Numbers. Control-click the application icon and from the context menu choose "Show package contents."
2. From there navigate to Contents/Resources/
3. Locate the file named empty_equation.pict.
4. Delete this file.
5. Launch MathType from the Finder.
6. From the Style Menu choose Define.
7. In the resulting dialog, choose Helvetica Neue (or your preferred font) from the Primary Font drop-down menu.
8. Be sure to include a check next to "Italic Variables" and "Italic lower-case Greek."
9. Click OK.
10. From the Size Menu choose Define.
11. Set the font size for Full to 10 points.
12. Click OK.
13. From the File menu choose Save-as.
14. Save the file using the Pict Format and name it empty_equation.pict.
15. Place this saved pict file into the folder noted in item 2 above.
16. Changes will not take effect until Numbers has been restarted.
     

    Note: The steps above offer suggested settings for font and font size. You can use whatever settings you wish if that's more appropriate to your work. Or, you can create multiple equations each containing different settings. To use any of those you must be sure that it's named empty_equation.pict and placed in the resources under the Numbers Package contents.

After creating and saving the pict files as detailed above, open any of the iWork Applications and from the Insert Menu choose MathType Equation. This will open MathType with an empty workspace and the font, font size and font attributes will be those that were created and saved to the pict file. You may now proceed with creating your math expressions as you would normally.

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