Document 448

Mathematics is garbled or appears in previewer as blue dots

Version: 4.x & 5.x - Scientific WorkPlace & Scientific Word

Problem

After Version 4.x or 5.x has been installed and an earlier version has been uninstalled, mathematical symbols are garbled in SWP and SW. In the TrueTeX Previewer, text and math characters display incorrectly or as blue dots.

Explanation

This problem is caused by absent Version 4.x or 5.x fonts. It occurs when an earlier version is uninstalled after Version 4.x or 5.x is installed.

Because Windows allows only one font of a given name to be installed on the system at any time, it discards old fonts when new fonts of the same name are installed. Thus, when Version 4.x or 5.x and its fonts are installed, Windows discards any fonts from earlier versions whose names are duplicated. If the earlier version is subsequently uninstalled, the fonts that are discarded are Version 4.x or 5.x fonts.

Solutions

If you used a patch update to install a newer version of the program, you may not want to run the installation program as suggested in Solution One. Instead use Solution Two or Solution Three.

Solution One

  1. Run the Version 4.x or 5.x installation program and follow the instructions on the screen.

  2. When the installation options are presented, choose the Repair option.

  3. Complete the installation as directed.

Solution Two

Sometimes, just opening the Fonts applet in the Control Panel is enough to refresh the installed fonts and solve the problem of missing fonts.

  1. Close SWP or SW.

  2. From the Windows Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel, and then choose Fonts.

  3. When the list of fonts is displayed in the Fonts applet, check for various fonts used by SWP and SW.

    In particular, 16 fonts start with the name "tci". The fonts used by the TrueTeX Previewer start with "cm", "dc", "eu" and a few others. They are probably the only installed fonts that are listed using only lower case letters. You can use Windows Explorer to browse the directory TCITeX\TeX\fonts\truetype in your SWP or SW program installation to see the complete list of fonts used by the TrueTeX Previewer.

If opening the Fonts applet doesn't restore the fonts, use the instructions in Solution Three.

Solution Three

Versions 4.x and 5.x of SWP and SW install the "tci" fonts into the Windows Fonts directory.

  • If the 16 "tci" fonts are not shown in the list of installed fonts and you have the CD for Version 4.1 or 5.x, follow the instructions below to install the fonts manually from the directory \Extras\Fonts on the CD.

  • If the 16 "tci" fonts are not shown in the list of installed fonts and you have the CD for version 4.0, use the install program as described in Solution One.

The fonts used by the TrueTeX Previewer are located in the directory TCITeX\TeX\fonts\truetype in your SWP or SW program installation.

To install fonts manually using the Fonts applet from the Control Panel:

  1. From the Windows Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel, and then choose Fonts.

  2. From the File menu, choose Install new font.

  3. In the Add Fonts dialog, navigate to the directory containing the fonts you want to install (\Extras\Fonts on the Version 4.1 or 5.x CD or TCITeX\TeX\fonts\truetype in the SWP or SW program directory). Listing all of the fonts takes a little time once you move to the directory containing the fonts.

  4. Choose Select All.

  5. Choose OK.

  6. You can exit the Fonts applet once all the fonts have been added.

See also

Last revised 05/23/06

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