BrowseAloud uses MathML, the standard XML format for mathematics, to represent equations. MathType has extensive support for import and export of MathML equation data, so MathType and BrowseAloud should be able to exchange equations in MathML format. MathML is the Mathematical Markup Language recommended by the W3C for use as a format for communicating math on the World Wide Web.

Copying MathML Equations from MathType

Most applications that use MathML use it as a clipboard format for Copy and Paste. Newer applications look for a special MathML data type during Copy and Paste operations, and with those applications, MathType will likely just work. However, most MathML applications look for MathML in text data on the clipboard. To instruct MathType to use MathML as text during Copy and Paste operations, you will need to use a Translator.

MathType uses Translators to set what data format is placed on the clipboard. You select a Translator from the Translators... dialog, available from the Preferences menu. See the MathType Help system for detailed information about the dialog controls and options.

MathType provides translators for four common MathML formats, differing primarily in the conventions used for mixing MathML with document-level XML markup. Three of the translators generate MathML 2.0 using differing conventions for XML namespaces. The fourth translator generates MathML 1.0 for older MathML applications:

MathML 2.0 (m namespace). All MathML tags are prefixed with an m: namespace. This style of MathML is used by our MathPlayer behavior for Internet Explorer 6 and newer (Windows only). Pages using this plug-in also require an additional statement linking this namespace to the MathPlayer behavior. See the MathPlayer website for more details.
MathML 2.0 (namespace attr). This translator generates MathML 2.0 using a namespace attribute on each <math> tag. This is often the best general choice.
MathML 2.0 (no namespace). This translator generates MathML 2.0 without any explicit namespace markup. This format often works best with older applications.
MathML 1.0. This is provided for compatibility with a few older software packages. You probably won't need to use it unless the MathML software you're using doesn't support MathML 2.0.

Experiment with different translators to see which formats work best with BrowseAloud.

It is often the case that applications do not implement all of MathML, or do so in a non-conformant way. By customizing the MathML MathType generates for various equation constructs, it may be possible to improve interoperability. If you are technically inclined, you may be interested in creating a custom MathML translator for BrowseAloud. Consult the MathML Translator Manual in the MathType SDK for details.

At this time, it is not possible to save MathML directly to a file. Open a new file in your favorite text editor, and copy and paste MathML from MathType into it.

Opening MathML Equations in MathType

You can paste MathML equations into MathType. MathType can generally auto detect and process most of the encoding variations permitted by XML, so there are no options or preferences to select for pasting MathML into MathType.

When MathType writes out MathML via a Translator, it embeds private equation data in an annotation, so it can restore it exactly for editing. By contrast, when MathType processes MathML on the clipboard without its own private data, it must translate the MathML to its own format. Because not all MathML constructs translate perfectly into MathType equations (and vice versa), some MathML equations may fail to paste properly into MathType.

Like the MathML output translators, the input translator may also be customized. Consult the MathML Translator Manual in the MathType SDK for details.

You can't currently read MathML from a file directly. Open it in a text editor, and copy and paste into MathType.

Details about how MathML is used vary from application to application, and at this time we only have basic information about the MathML support in BrowseAloud. If you can tell us more about how best to use MathType to work with BrowseAloud, we would love to hear from you. Please send questions, comments and suggestions to interop@dessci.com.

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