Problem w/MathType and KaleidaGraph embedded objects

[ecf_in_MD]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I am having trouble with embedded objects Word 2008 from either of the above programs. Note that I do not have problems with embedded objects created with Office applications such as Excel. I'm not sure about other applications. Here is what happens:
If I open a Word Document created with either Word 2003 or Word 2007 on windows that contains an embedded MathType equation or Kaleidagraph graph, when I double click to open it with Word 2008 I get an error that says "Word is unable to locate the server application for XXX objects", where XXX is DSMT4.Equation and KGraph_Plot, for MathType and Kaleidagraph, respectively. If I copy and paste an object from either of these applications it goes into the document as a picture. I can tell this because when I double click on it the format picture dialog comes up. Also, if I use Paste Special, it says "Source: Unknown" and only gives me the option of pasting in a picture.

I have tried deleting the OLE Registry, reinstalling Office 2008, reinstalling MathType, etc., all to no avail. Hopefully someone here can shed some light on what is going on. Thanks.

 

[ecf_in_MD]

Doh. I forgot to add that I am using MathType 6.0 and KaleidaGraph 4.0 and 4.1 Beta. On the PC I am using MathType 6.0 and KaleidaGraph 4.0. I suspect the problem is not either of these programs in particular, but something about OLE.

 

[Bob Mathews]

Just to close the loop for everyone on this issue, the problem was
that since Kaleidagraph isn't an OLE server on the Mac (or DDE, or
EGO), naturally it's going to return an error that "no server app can
be found". The Windows version of Kaleidagraph acts as an OLE server,
but not the Mac version.

--
Bob Mathews
Director of Training
Design Science, Inc.
bobm at dessci.com
http://www.dessci.com/free.asp?free=news
FREE fully-functional 30-day evaluation of MathType
MathType, MathFlow, MathPlayer, MathDaisy, Equation Editor

 

[ecf_in_MD]

Thanks for confirming this for Kaleidagraph. I'm having what seems to be the same problem with MathType. Is MathType an OLE Server?

 

[Bob Mathews]

Thanks for confirming this for Kaleidagraph. I'm having what
seems to be the same problem with MathType. Is MathType
an OLE Server?

Yes, MathType is an OLE server. I'll explain what that means, in case
people are reading this who don't know what the terms "client" and
"server" mean with regard to OLE...

When an application is an OLE server, that means you can insert an
object from that app into another app that's an OLE client, and
there's a connection maintained such that if you double-click
(right-click, Ctrl+click, whatever) the object to edit it, the
original application (the server) opens up. You can make your changes
and close the server app, and the changes are preserved in the client
app. The server provides the object, and the client accepts the
object.

To put that into terms of Microsoft Office and MathType, you can
insert a MathType object (i.e., an equation) into a Word document, a
PowerPoint presentation, or an Excel spreadsheet, and when you edit
it, you edit it in MathType. Kaleidagraph is able to do this on
Windows, but not on the Mac.

It is possible for an application to be both an OLE client and an OLE
server. MathType is not an OLE client.

(There's a lot I DON'T know about OLE, DDE, and EGO; there are no
doubt much better explanations available with a Google search.)

--
Bob Mathews
Director of Training
Design Science, Inc.
bobm at dessci.com
http://www.dessci.com/free.asp?free=news
FREE fully-functional 30-day evaluation of MathType
MathType, MathFlow, MathPlayer, MathDaisy, Equation Editor