Mac Office 2011: Equation Editor opens instead of MathType

The information in this document applies to:

Issue:

Clicking on any of the insert equation buttons, or choosing any of the Insert Equation functions from the MathType menu in Word or PowerPoint 2011, results in Equation Editor opening instead of MathType. This can also happen when double-clicking existing equations for editing.

Reason:

The Microsoft Office 2011 updates, beginning with update version 14.1.0, when installed disrupts the OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) registration for MathType with Office 2011.

Solution:

To correct this, MathType must re-register itself as the application to handle math in the Office 2011 applications. Follow these instructions to do so:

Resetting MathType's OLE Registration:

First, the removal of all the OLE registration database files:

1. Navigate to Macintosh HD/Users/Your Home folder/
2. With the Home folder open, click on the "Go" menu and choose Go to Folder
3. In the field type Library and click the Go button.
4. Continue navigating to Application Support/Microsoft/Office/Preferences/Office 2011/
5. If present, delete the file called OLE Registration Database
6. Navigate to HD/Users/Your Home folder/library/preferences/Microsoft/Office 2011/
7. If present, delete the file called OLE Registration Database

Next we need a new OLE Registration Database file to be created.

1. Launch Word to an empty document. Then quit Word. This will cause a new OLE Registration Database to be written.

Last, we need to have a MathType entry

1. Download the MathType installer from http://www.dessci.com/en/dl
2. Once downloaded, run the installer as you would do so normally (There is no need to uninstall MAthType first).

You should now be able to open Word and insert an equation.

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