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MathType™ Equation Editor

Despite the MathType™ equation editor's popularity and general user-friendliness, there were many problems encountered with using MathType™. These included:

• Difficulty in editing MathType™ equations,
• Font size/spacing differences between Mac and IE, despite attempts to "play with" the preferences for font size/spacing,
• The laborious task of tracking and numbering thousands of MathType™ images/equations,
• Difficulty in aligning MathType™ graphics with other non-MathType™ text on a page.

An exhaustive quality assurance, editing process that eliminates any and all MathType™ errors in the first place greatly decreases the need to edit MathType™ equations. This editing process is recommended above all else when using the MathType™ equation editor.

Furthermore, only detail-oriented people with a sound knowledge of mathematics should be involved in the creation of MathType™ images. Ultimately, the best-case scenario would be for one knowledgeable person to create and edit all MathType™ images on one computer for a course. This would eliminate font size/spacing differences, keep tracking and numbering consistent, and result in the least amount of errors for a course.

The alignment issue between text and larger MathType™ equations was best handled by using tables in an HTML program editor (such as Dreamweaver™). At times, however, it was easier to integrate text and mathematical characters in one large MathType™ graphic. This issue is case specific. Unfortunately, a complicated line of text and MathType™ graphics occasionally will not line up on all browser/platform combinations. In other words, while a line of text and MathType™ graphic may appear to look fine using a PC/IE platform/browser, it may look awful on a Mac/IE platform/browser.

During the design of several math courses, CLASS™ often used temp-hired personnel to help speed the process of generating MathType™ equations (typical courses often had as many as 10,000 separate MathType™ graphics). In all cases, the more "hands in the pot," non-Math literate people involved, and variety of platforms and MathType™ versions used in the creation of MathType™ images, the more mistakes and errors occur.

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