Word 2007 equation galleries are blank

[Daddy Tadpole]

Hello,

I downloaded the evaluation version of the home edition of MS$ Office and
then paid my 99 euros because of a few compatibility problems with OOo
encountered by clients who only have M$. Reluctantly, because M$ office
seems to be designed to drive scientists mad.

The galleries of the equation editor were blank (empty boxes) in the
evaluation version, and this was not corrected when I installed the
definitive licence key. I did 'repair' firstly online and then afterwards
from the DVD.

Do I have to uninstall and reinstall the whole thing? If I do, is there any
chance that the equation editor will function? I have work to do.

Regards

 

[Jay Freedman]

First close Word.

In the Computer application, type
%appdata%\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks
on the address line and press Enter.

In that folder, open the subfolder with the numeric name corresponding
to the language used in your documents (for example, 2057 for English
UK, 1033 for English US, or 1036 for French -- see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/221435 for the list).

In that folder you should find a file named Building Blocks.dotx.
Delete it.

NOTE: If you search the disk for this file, you may not find the one
in the %appdata% path, because that's a hidden folder, but you will
find one with the same name in a numbered folder under
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Document Parts.
DO NOT delete that one!

Now restart Word and try to insert an equation. That should cause Word
to copy the original file from the Program Files path to the %appdata%
path and populate the gallery.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Daddy Tadpole]

Thanks.

I did that, exactly as you described, but the gallery still isn't populated.

There is a new copy of Building Blocks.dotx in the directory you indicated.

The (non-)workings of the equation editor are too chaotic to be describable
here.

What do I do next?

Regards

 

[Jay Freedman]

It seems that the Building Blocks.dotx file in the Program Files
folder might be the one that has a problem, and it's propagating that
problem to the one in the %appdata% folder.

Follow the steps in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933312. You've
already done the equivalent of step 1 once (there's no point in
renaming the file instead of deleting it, as there's nothing in the
file worth keeping). Do it again, and also do steps 2 and 3. The
result will be a new file in the Program Files folder (from the DVD)
and a new copy of that one in the %appdata% folder.

If that still fails to populate the gallery, I think you'll need to
contact Microsoft Software Support. Don't let the representative
charge you for this, because they state explicitly that installation
support is free.

 

[Daddy Tadpole]

I followed those instructions.

N.B. in the French version of Vista 'Program files' has the stupidly
incorrect alias 'Programmes', which can make life a bit difficult for
non-USA users.

The only reference to Office in the control panel is to the evaluation
version, depite the fact that it was updated with a legitimate paid-for key.
However it let itself be repaired.

'Repair' said it had succeeded, but the situation is exactly as before.

Regards

 

[Daddy Tadpole]

I know it's a stupid thing to do but I tried uninstalling the whole thing
and starting again from the Office DVD I'd paid extra to have.

Same problem - presumably the fault is elsewhere than in Office.

I suppose I'll have to contact Microsoft Software support. Their website
sends you round in circles for hours (including signing on to their 'Live'
rubbish and configuring IE which I never use), until you discover that the
only possible contact is via a premium phone line ... for software I've
already paid for and that is supposed to be under some kind of guarantee.

Does anyone know if Word 2007 uses the .NET stuff? Like many othe V*sta
users, I'm constantly getting update failure messages, and after much
searching and trying I have concluded that no solution to that particular
problem exists.

I WANT TO USE MY COMPUTER

Regards