Microsoft Word Takes Longer to Launch After Installing MathType
The information in this document applies to:
MathType 4.0 (Win)
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Microsoft Word 2002 (Win)
Microsoft Word 2000 (Win)
Microsoft Word 97 (Win)
Microsoft
Word 95 (Win) |
Issue
After installing MathType, users with older computers report that launching
Microsoft Word takes longer than it did previously.
Reason
When MathType is installed, it places an add-in called "MathType
Commands for Word" in your designated Microsoft Word Startup folder. The
add-in contains macros that add commands and toolbar buttons into Microsoft
Word that help integrate MathType more fully into Microsoft Word. These macros
are loaded when you launch Microsoft Word.
The longer launch time for Microsoft Word is because MathType's add-in causes
Word to load Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). While this is the normal behavior, if the majority of the work you do in
Microsoft Word does not contain mathematical expressions, you may want to simply
remove the MathType commands from Word's startup folder and opt to load the
commands only when you need them.
Solution
This document provides a link to instructions on how to stop the MathType
Commands for Word from loading at startup and provide you with an alternative
way of loading the add-in when you need MathType's extra commands and toolbar in
Microsoft Word. Before removing the file from
Word's startup, read the section in the MathType manual about using MathType with
Microsoft Word so you understand what functionality the add-in provides. After reading about the
additional features, you can make an informed decision about whether they are
useful to you or not.
In MathType 5, the add-in for Microsoft Word works differently. The add-in is
split into two parts. The first part contains just enough information to create
the MathType menu and toolbar in Microsoft Word 97, 2000, or XP. The second part
contains the actual code that is used to implement the commands and toolbar
buttons. Any delay that is required to load the macros in the MathType add-in is
deferred, for the most part, until you actually use the extra features that the
add-in provides. Thus, in MathType 5, the macros are not loaded until the first
time that you use them, which is much more convenient for people with older,
slower computers who only author documents containing equations occasionally.
To address the issue with MathType 4's commands, please refer to
TechNote 97: Removing or Disabling MathType Commands in Word.
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