RE: MS Word 2007 ignores the MathML color attributes when pasting MathMML into it.

Hi Saf,

 

I don't know the details of how MS Word deals with pasting of MathML but
my experience with similar issues in my company's MathType product gives
me a perspective on all this.

 

In general, math being pasted in contains font specifications, various
font sizes, text and background colors, etc. Typically, the user wants
math being pasted in to inherit the target document's formatting, rather
than respect such the MathML's formatting. If the user is pasting from a
web page into a Word doc, for example, they would prefer the pasted math
to have font, size, color of the target document.

 

Clearly, this policy doesn't always give the results the user wants.
Ideally, the pasting app could provide a Paste With Formatting command
to allow the user the choice. However, even this would not work in all
cases. Often, the user wants some MathML attributes respected and others
ignored. It is doubtful MS Word will ever has such functionality, of
course, since it is not primarily a math application. Since MathType IS
a math app, it might make sense for MathType to add such features,
thereby allowing it to be used as a filter between some source of MathML
and an app like MS Word.

 

Of course, this all could just be some bug in MS Word. LOL.

 

Paul

 

 

From: saf sied [mailto:saf_itpro@yahoo.com] 
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2013 3:38 PM
To: www-math@w3.org
Subject: MS Word 2007 ignores the MathML color attributes when pasting
MathMML into it.

 

For example, pasting the following two gives the same results in MS Word
2007. Does anyone happen to know if it is the limitation of the MS Word
equation editor or I am missing something here? In a MathML compliant
web browser (or any browser +MathJax) the second example below displays
the expression under radical sign with a yellow background.

Example 1 (No MathML color):

<math
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msqrt><mrow><msup><mi>a</mi>
<mn>2</mn></msup><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msqrt></math>

Example 2 (mathbackground attribute used)

<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"
display="block"><msqrt><mrow><mstyle
mathbackground='yellow'><msup><mi>a</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>+</mo><mn>1
</mn></mstyle></mrow></msqrt></math>

Thanks..Saf