can no longer c&p in equation editor!

[scrappydeb]

I'm really distraught and can't figure out what the problem is. I use
equation editor in Word (93, running under Windows XP) ALL the time (I'm a
math teacher). I have always been able to select part of an equation, copy
it with the keyboard shortcut cntl-c, and then paste it with cntl-v to either
a different equation object, or a different place in the same object. I use
this a lot, as I might be creating an answer key and need to show the problem
step by step with just a minor change in each step, or repeat a term, etc.

Earlier today I was working on something, and I think I was in an equation
object, when I got the Word Message of Death that there was an error, had to
shut down, etc. I didn't think much of it since I had recently saved,
re-opened my document and went about my business. however, since then, I can
no longer c&p any part of an equation object! It allows me to cntl-c, but
when I cntl-v, it just bounces me out of the equ object and back into the
document!

My husband says that when he uses equation editor at work, he c&p's from the
menus, never the keyboard shortcuts, so he suggested I try that to see if it
would work. But in my version, when I'm in an equation object, I can't even
access a copy or paste menu command.

This is a HUGE problem for me, given the way I write my
quizzes/exams/worksheets and what I'm used to! ACK! Any suggestions would
really be appreciated!!

 

[Bob Mathews]

Whether you use the shortcut keys or menu commands shouldn't matter.
What you didn't mention is whether you're able to EDIT one of the old
equations (one of the ones you can't paste). Try double-clicking one
of them to see, but I'll bet it won't open. I'm thinking at some point
it's turned into a picture, and is no longer an equation object.
That's why Equation Editor won't let you paste it. The menu command
Copy won't be available unless you have something selected to copy.
The menu command Paste won't be available unless you have copied
something that Equation Editor knows it can successfully paste --
i.e., an equation.

So, how did it happen that your equations turned into pictures? I
can't be sure, but one thing that's many times the culprit is copying
an equation and pasting it elsewhere in the document, or into a new
document. You said sometimes you paste it into a new Equation Editor
window, but that's really the only way to do it to produce consistent
results.

--
Bob Mathews
Director of Training
Design Science, Inc.
bobm at dessci.com
http://www.dessci.com/free.asp?free=news
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