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Setting Fraction Bar Overhang Spacing in the Equation Editor

Printing On Both Sides of the Paper

Turning Off AutoComplete for Dates

Ordering Search and Replace

Understanding Auto Line Spacing

Adding Comments to Your Document

Conditional Calculations in Word

 

Wrong Characters Printed in Equations

Summary: You can use the Equation Editor to add complex equations to your document. If the characters in the equation don't print out correctly (but they display correctly), then there are only a few possible causes. This tip explains a couple of things you can look for and provides a resource you can use to track down additional information. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003.)

Jakob uses the Equation Editor in one of his documents, and he's having problems printing the equation correctly. Instead of printing a Delta character in the equation, a picture of a small house is printed on his HP DeskJet 720C. (It shows correctly on the screen, but prints incorrectly in the document.)

There are a couple of things to check. First of all, you'll want to make sure that the proper font definitions are set up in the Equation Editor:

  1. Start the Equation Editor (insert a new equation or double-click an existing equation).
  2. Choose Define from the Style menu. The Equation Editor displays the Styles dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
  3. Make sure that the L.C. Greek, U.C. Greek, and Symbol drop-downs are all set to Symbol.
  4. Click OK.

If this doesn't fix the printing problem, there is a good chance that something is messed up with your printer driver; either the driver is not installed fully or the driver is performing some inappropriate font substitutions. To test if this is the case, take the document to a different system, preferably one that uses a different printer. If the document prints correctly on that system, then you might try removing the printer driver and reinstalling it on your system.

If the problem persists, contact the good folks at Design Science. They are the creators of the Equation Editor, and they assure WordTips readers that they will be very responsive to any technical support issues such as this. Send your problem to support@dessci.com for the fastest response.

Tip #243 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Add a Professional Finishing Touch! Word includes great tools that allow you to add professional-grade finishing touches to your documents. You can add indexes, tables of contents, and other special tables by using the detailed information available in this volume.
 
Check out WordTips: Indexes and Special Tables today!