Win XP Pro SP2. Word 2007. Math Equation issue.

[Roasted]

I work in a school district. We are phasing out Mac's since they seem to break down several times a day and replacing them with Windows XP loaded laptops. We ran into a minor bind... math teachers need (keyword - need) the equations feature in word, which we are using 2007. Great, fine, works. But it's only compatible with docx files. We need it to be compatible with doc files (97-03 word) so math teachers can email one another across the district and not have any issues.

Note: It's just the high school that has 07. The rest of the district is actively using 03 with no immediate plans to upgrade.

So, how can we make it so 07's word feature of "equations" for the math department be compatible for 97-03's "doc" extension so previous versions of word can read/edit/print them?

[Redrazor39]

I'm pretty sure equations only turn into static objects when converted to .doc format. Sorry about that.

[Unreal223linux]

This might solve your problem if you install it on the systems with office 03
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466

[Roasted]

Hmm... The problem is, we would like to have the saving standard as 97-03 format. We changed the regular format to save all word files as doc instead of docx. The thing is, we need to find a way to somehow have doc's be compatible with these equations. But right away when we save as a .doc, it'll print out all faded and off center and stuff. It's very bad. If we keep it in docx format, it's great.

But, like I said, we want the saving standard to be 97-03... so if we can keep the standard at that and manage to get equations in 03, that'd be fantastic. There's just entirely too many computers in the district (1300+) to install that onto... The thing is, if we can tweak JUST the math department computers, we'd love to do that.

[tamoneya]

What you should do is install openoffice. This will allow you to still save most files as .doc(97-03) but the math teachers will be able to write math equations. The only problem is that you will have to save the math equation filled documents as .ods or export to PDF so that they can be read on other computers without open office.

[darrelljon]

The first point is relying on closed standards (Microsoft Word Document) and Microsoft (who are well-known for "upgrading" closed standards) - is a bad idea. So switch to open standards if you want a long term solution.

The second point is to use a format designed to specifically handle mathematical equations. Many document formats are not designed with equations in mind, so consider instead using LaTeX format for documents with equations.

As schools do not want hardware or software upgrade costs, the natural answer seems to be to use the free LyX (http://www.lyx.org) across the whole district.

[Roasted]

I'm not in a position to make decisions like this.

The problem is the equations issue.
We have to stick with Microsoft. Openoffice is completely out of the question.

As an IT guy, it is my responsibility to ensure everything is running to the best of its abilities.

If there's a solution out there to make doc's accept equations in word as easily as docx's, I need to find it. If not, then we'll have to deal.

[Brian96]

I'm not in a position to make decisions like this.

The problem is the equations issue.
We have to stick with Microsoft. Openoffice is completely out of the question.

As an IT guy, it is my responsibility to ensure everything is running to the best of its abilities.

If there's a solution out there to make doc's accept equations in word as easily as docx's, I need to find it. If not, then we'll have to deal.

The only way I know to deal with this is to have those using 03 install the converter linked above. If you send the link to your teachers, they can send the link the first few times they e-mail a docx file to another school. There is not, I don't think, a purely technological solution here. Gonna have to do some social engineering as well.

As noted above, this is just a casualty of using closed standards. And to soap-box a little, it's amazing in light of this kind of issue (and I know TONS of people who are having problems b/c of M$ going to the +x format) that people think Linux and other open-source programs are a hassle. The fact is, it can all be a hassle, it's just a matter of what hassle you are familiar with.