PPT97: Equation Editor Objects Printed Incorrectly on Handouts

ID: Q191245

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you print handout pages from a PowerPoint presentation that contains one or more equation objects from Microsoft Equation Editor or MathType, some lines and other objects in your equations are not printed correctly. This problem affects equations on the slides in the lower portion of the handouts pages, rather than the top portion.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because Equation Editor and MathType do not handle cases where the font size is very small. This problem causes the equations to not be printed correctly.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you can convert the object from an Equation Editor or MathType object to a PowerPoint drawing object. To do this, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: If You Have One or a Few Objects

Copy the original Equation Editor or MathType object and ungroup it to convert it to a PowerPoint drawing objects. To do this, follow these steps:

Select the Equation Editor object.

On the Edit menu, click Copy.

Drag the Equation Editor object off the slide.

On the Edit menu, click Paste.

Select the object you just pasted, and click Ungroup on the Draw menu.

On the Draw menu, click Group.

Repeat these steps for each Equation Editor object in your presentation.

Method 2: If You Have Many Objects

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft Support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

The following sample Visual Basic for Applications macro automates the procedure outlined in Method 1, making it easier to convert many Equation Editor objects in a presentation.


Sub Fix_Equations()
   Dim sld As Slide
   Dim sha As Shape
   Dim sha2 As Shape
   Dim tmr, tmr2 As Date
   Dim i, cnt As Long

   For Each sld In ActivePresentation.Slides
      ' Change to the next slide.
      ActiveWindow.View.Slide = sld

      ' Get the count.
      cnt = sld.Shapes.Count
      tmr = 0

      For i = 1 To cnt

         ' Get the next shape.
         Set sha = sld.Shapes(i)

         ' Is the shape an OLE object (EQNEDIT)?
         If sha.Type = msoEmbeddedOLEObject Then

            ' Copy the shape.
            sha.Select
            sha.Copy

            ' Move the original off the slide.
            sha.IncrementLeft 700

            ' Paste the shape.
            sld.Shapes.Paste

            ' Wait for the shape to be copied...1 second
            tmr = Now
            Do Until Now &gt; (tmr + 0.00001)
            Loop

            ' Ungroup.
            sld.Shapes(cnt + 1).Ungroup.Select

            ' Group.
            ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Group.Select
         End If
      Next i
   Next sld
End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. MathType is manufactured by Design Science, Incorporated, vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

Additional query words: ppt97 8.0 powerpnt powerpoint ppt shift changed move moved up down left right slide change changes different pull


Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: May 19, 1999