MathType MTEF v.4 (MathType 3.5)

Abstract

This document is describes MTEF, the binary equation format used by MathType 3.5 (all platforms). MTEF is embedded in OLE equation objects produced by MathType, as well as in all the file formats in which MathType can save equations. The methods used by MathType to embed this information in such files is described in a separate document. See How MTEF is Stored in Files and Objects.

This file was archived on August 6, 1999 and recovered using the Wayback machine. The MathType folks have more recent documentation, but the license restrictions are incompatible with the GPL.

Contents

Introduction

This document is describes the binary equation format used by MathType 3.5 (all platforms). Although MTEF is not the most friendly medium for defining equations, there have been so many requests for this information, we decided to publish it anyway. We must warn the reader that it is not an easy format to understand and, more importantly, MathType is not at all forgiving in its processing of it. This means that if you send MathType MTEF with errors, it might crash. At a minimum, you will get an equation with formatting problems. Also, it is a binary format. This means that you can't use character strings to represent equations and it makes creating MTEF a little harder with programming languages like Visual Basic.

How MathType stores an equation description in an OLE equation object, a file, or on the clipboard is not described here. Please see the document on MathType MTEF Storage for more information on this subject.

Header

MTEF version history:

MTEF data exists in the following versions:

0 MathType for the Mac 1.x (this format is not described here);
1 MathType for the Mac 2.x and MathType for Windows 1.x;
2 MathType 3.x and Equation Editor 1.x;
3 Equation Editor 3.x (this format is not described here);
4 MathType 3.5.

Version 2 differs from version 1 only in the format of the header.

MTEF header (version 1):

The version 1 header consists of a single byte version number. This number is 1 if the MTEF was generated on the Mac or 101 if it was generated by the Windows version.

MTEF header (version 2 and later):

The version 2 header consists of a 5-byte header:

byte description value
0 MTEF version 2
1 generating platform 0 for Macintosh, 1 for Windows
2 generating product 0 for MathType, 1 for Equation Editor
3 product version 3
4 product subversion 0

MTEF Byte Stream

This section describes the actual MTEF data following the header. MTEF data consists of a series of records. Each record starts with a tag byte containing the record type and some flag bits. The overall structure is:

Most MTEF values are bytes. Word values (16-bit) are written low-order byte followed by high-order byte. All dimensional values are expressed in MathType’s internal units, 32nds of a point (A point is 1/72 inch).

Tag byte structure:

Each tag byte consists of a record type in the low-order 4 bits and option flags in the high-order 4 bits. The following record types are used:

value symbol description
0 END end of MTEF, pile, line, embellishment list, or template
1 LINE line (slot) record
2 CHAR character record
3 TMPL template record
4 PILE pile (vertical stack of lines) record
5 MATRIX matrix record
6 EMBELL character embellishment (e.g. hat, prime) record
7 RULER ruler (tab-stop location) record
8 FONT font name record
9 SIZE general size record
10 FULL full size record
11 SUB subscript size record
12 SUB2 sub-subscript size record
13 SYM symbol size record
14 SUBSYM sub-symbol size record

Option values:

The option flag values are record-dependent:

value symbol description
Option flag values for all equation structure records:
0x8 xfLMOVE nudge values follow tag
Option flag values for CHAR records:
0x1 xfAUTO character is a candidate for function recognition
0x2 xfEMBELL character is followed by an embellishment list
Option flag values for LINE records:
0x1 xfNULL line is a placeholder only
0x4 xfLSPACE line spacing value follows tag
Option flag values for LINE and PILE records:
0x2 xfRULER RULER record follows LINE or PILE record

Nudge values:

LINE, CHAR, TMPL, PILE, MATRIX, and EMBELL records may store the result of nudging (small offsets applied by the user). A nudged record has the xfLMOVE flag (0x8) set in the tag byte and the tag byte is followed immediately by the nudge offset. The nudge offset consists of either two bytes or six, depending on the amount of offset. If -128 < dx < +128 and -128 < dy < +128, then the offsets are stored as two bytes, dx followed by dy, where each value is biased by 128. Otherwise, two bytes of 128 are stored, followed by the (unbiased) offsets, dx and dy, stored as 16-bit values.

Typeface values:

CHAR records contain a typeface value (biased by 128). If the value is positive, it represents one of MathType’s styles:

value symbol
1 fnTEXT
2 fnFUNCTION
3 fnVARIABLE
4 fnLCGREEK
5 fnUCGREEK
6 fnSYMBOL
7 fnVECTOR
8 fnNUMBER
9 fnUSER1
10 fnUSER2
11 fnMTEXTRA

If the value is negative, it represents an explicit font as specified by a FONT record.

Object lists:

LINE, CHAR, TMPL, PILE, MATRIX, and RULER records are followed by object lists that define contents of each equation structure. Each object list contains a sequence of records of any type and terminated by an END record. In a special case for LINE records, if there are no objects in the list, the xfNULL flag will be set in the tag byte and the object list is omitted entirely (i.e. no END record). Although there are no restrictions made by the MTEF format on what record types may occur in any particular list, the user interface prevents certain things from happening. For example, the object list defining the contents of a pile contains only LINE records.

Record Details

END record (0):

Contains just the tag byte. No flags are defined.

LINE record (1):

Consists of:

The line spacing value, if present, is the distance between the baseline of this line and the line above it.

CHAR record (2):

Consists of:

Associated with every font is an encoding (a one-to-one mapping between character value and glyph; e.g. ASCII). The character represented by the character value is determined according to the encoding of the typeface value. The encodings used by MathType are documented by Design Science Tech Note #9.

TMPL record (3):

Consists of:

The template selector and variation codes determine the class of the template and various properties of the template, such as which subobjects can be deleted by the user (see Template Selectors and Variations for a list). The class of a template determines the order and meaning of each of its subobjects (see Template Subobject Order).

The template-specific options field is only used for integrals and fence templates:

Integral template option field values:
0 fixed-size integral;
1 the integral expands vertically to fit its contents.
Fence template option field values (fence alignment):
0 center fence on math axis, place math axis of contents on math axis of containing line (default);
1 center fence on contents, place math axis of contents on math axis of containing line;
2 center fence on contents, center contents on math axis of containing line.

PILE record (4):

Consists of:

Horizontal alignment:

1 left justification
2 centered
3 right justification
4 relational operator alignment
5 decimal point alignment

Vertical alignment:

0 alignment with baseline of top line
1 alignment with baseline of center line
2 alignment with baseline of bottom line
3 vertical centering

MATRIX record (5):

Consists of:

The values for valign, h_just, and v_just are described in PILE above.

The row partition line type list consists of two-bit values for each possible partition line (one more than the number of rows), rounded out to the nearest byte. Each value determines the line style of the corresponding partition line (0 for none, 1 for solid, 2 for dashed, or 3 for dotted). Similarly for the column partition lines.

EMBELL record (6):

Consists of:

The embellishment types are:

value symbol description
2 embDOT single dot
3 embDDOT double dot
4 embTDOT triple dot
5 embPRIME single prime
6 embDPRIME double prime
7 embBPRIME backwards prime (left of character)
8 embTILDE tilde
9 embHAT hat (circumflex)
10 embNOT diagonal slash through character
11 embRARROW right arrow
12 embLARROW left arrow
13 embBARROW double-headed arrow
14 embR1ARROW right single-barbed arrow
15 embL1ARROW left single-barbed arrow
16 embMBAR mid-height horizontal bar
17 embOBAR over-bar
18 embTPRIME triple prime
19 embFROWN over-arc, concave downward
20 embSMILE over-arc, concave upward

RULER record (7):

Consists of:

Each tab stop is described by a tab-stop type (0 for left, 1 for center, 2 for right, 3 for equal, 4 for decimal), followed by a 16-bit offset from the left end of the slot or pile with which it is associated.

FONT record (8):

Consists of:

This record associates a typeface number with an explicit font and style. The typeface number is the negative (which makes it positive) of the typeface value (unbiased) that appears in CHAR records that might follow a given FONT record. For example, a 3 in the FONT record corresponds to 125 (-3 + 128) in the CHAR record.

SIZE record (9):

Consists of one of the following cases:

if lsize < 0 (explicit point size):

  • tag (9)
  • 101
  • -lsize (16 bits)

else if -128 < dsize < +128:

  • tag (9)
  • lsize
  • dsize + 128

else: (large delta)

  • tag (9)
  • 100
  • lsize
  • dsize (16 bits)

Sizes in MathType are represented as a pair of values, lsize and dsize. Lsize stands for "logical size", dsize for "delta size". If it is negative, it is an explicit point size (in 32nds of a point) negated and dsize is ignored. Otherwise, lsize is one of the following typesize values and dsize is a delta from that size:

value symbol description
0 szFULL full
1 szSUB subscript
2 szSUB2 sub-subscript
3 szSYM symbol
4 szSUBSYM sub-symbol
5 szUSER1 user 1
6 szUSER2 user 2

TYPESIZE records (10-14):

Consists of:

These records are just short ways of specifying a simple typesize where dsize is zero. The tag value represents an lsize + 10. So if the tag value is 10, it means equation content following it will be Full size (szFULL), tag value 11 means szSUB, and so on.

Template Selectors and Variations

This section shows the selector and variation codes for all the templates. The symbols shown here are internal identifiers in MathType and are for reference only. The class names can be used to determine the order of subobjects in the list following the template tag (see Template Subobject Order).

selector symbol description class
0 tmANGLE angle brackets ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBANGLE both left and right
1 tvLANGLE left only
2 tvRANGLE right only
1 tmPAREN parentheses ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBPAREN both left and right
1 tvLPAREN left only
2 tvRPAREN right only
2 tmBRACE braces (curly brackets) ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBBRACE both left and right
1 tvLBRACE left only
2 tvRBRACE right only
3 tmBRACK square brackets ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBBRACK both left and right
1 tvLBRACK left only
2 tvRBRACK right only
4 tmBAR vertical bars ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBBAR both left and right
1 tvLBAR left only
2 tvRBAR right only
5 tmDBAR double vertical bars ParBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBDBAR both left and right
1 tvLDBAR left only
2 tvRDBAR right only
6 tmFLOOR floor brackets ParBoxClass
7 tmCEILING ceiling brackets ParBoxClass
8 tmLBLB left brace, left brace ParBoxClass
9 tmRBRB right brace, right brace ParBoxClass
10 tmRBLB right brace, left brace ParBoxClass
11 tmLBRP left brace, right parenthesis ParBoxClass
12 tmLPRB left parenthesis, right brace ParBoxClass
13 tmROOT radical RootBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvSQROOT square root
1 tvNTHROOT nth root
14 tmFRACT fractions FracBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvFFRACT full-size slots
1 tvPFRACT subscript-size slots (piece fraction)
15 tmSCRIPT subscript/superscript ScrBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvSUPER superscript
1 tvSUB subscript
2 tvSUBSUP both
16 tmUBAR underbar BarBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvSUBAR single underbar
1 tvDUBAR double underbar
17 tmOBAR overbar BarBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvSOBAR single overbar
1 tvDOBAR double overbar
18 tmLARROW left-pointing arrow ArroBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLTARROW box on top
1 tvLBARROW box below
19 tmRARROW right-pointing arrow ArroBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvRTARROW box on top
1 tvRBARROW box below
20 tmBARROW left- and right-pointing arrow ArroBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBTARROW box on top
1 tvBBARROW box below
21 tmSINT single integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvNSINT no limits
1 tvLSINT lower limit only
2 tvBSINT both limits
3 tvNCINT contour, no limits
4 tvLCINT contour, lower limit only
22 tmDINT double integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvNDINT no limits
1 tvLDINT lower limit only
2 tvNAINT area, no limits
3 tvLAINT area, lower limit only
23 tmTINT triple integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvNTINT no limits
1 tvLTINT lower limit only
2 tvNVINT volume, no limits
3 tvLVINT volume, lower limit only
24 tmSSINT single summation-style integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBSSINT both limits
1 tvLSSINT lower limit only
2 tvLCSINT contour, lower limit only
25 tmDSINT double summation-style integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLASINT area, lower limit only
1 tvLDSINT lower limit only
26 tmTSINT triple summation-style integral BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLVSINT volume, lower limit only
1 tvLTSINT lower limit only
27 tmUHBRACE upper horizontal brace HBrBoxClass
28 tmLHBRACE lower horizontal brace HBrBoxClass
29 tmSUM summation BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLSUM lower only
1 tvBSUM both upper and lower limits
2 tvNSUM no limits
30 tmISUM summation (integral-style limits) BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLISUM lower only
1 tvBISUM both upper and lower limits
31 tmPROD product BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLPROD lower only
1 tvBPROD both upper and lower limits
2 tvNPROD no limits
32 tmIPROD product (integral-style limits) BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLIPROD lower only
1 tvBIPROD both upper and lower limits
33 tmCOPROD coproduct BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLCOPROD lower only
1 tvBCOPROD both upper and lower limits
2 tvNCOPROD no limits
34 tmICOPROD coproduct (integral-style limits) BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLICOPROD lower only
1 tvBICOPROD both upper and lower limits
35 tmUNION union BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLUNION lower only
1 tvBUNION both upper and lower limits
2 tvNUNION no limits
36 tmIUNION union (integral-style limits) BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLIUNION lower only
1 tvBIUNION both upper and lower limits
37 tmINTER intersection BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLINTER lower only
1 tvBINTER both upper and lower limits
2 tvNINTER no limits
38 tmIINTER intersection (integral-style limits) BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLIINTER lower only
1 tvBIINTER both upper and lower limits
39 tmLIM limit LimBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvULIM upper limit
1 tvLLIM lower limit
2 tvBLIM both upper and lower limits
40 tmLDIV long division LDivBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLDIVW with upper slot
1 tvLDIVWO without upper slot
41 tmSLFRACT slash fractions SlashBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvSLFNORM normal
1 tvSLFBASE slots on baseline
2 tvSLFSUB subscript-sized slots
42 tmINTOP big integral-style operators BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvUINTOP upper limit
1 tvLINTOP lower limit
2 tvBINTOP both upper and lower limits
43 tmSUMOP big summation-style operators BigOpBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvUSUMOP upper limit
1 tvLSUMOP lower limit
2 tvBSUMOP both upper and lower limits
44 tmLSCRIPT leading sub- and superscripts ScrBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLSUPER superscript
1 tvLSUB subscript
2 tvLSUBSUP subscript and superscript
45 tmDIRAC Dirac delta DiracBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvBDIRAC both left and right slots
1 tvLDIRAC left slot only
2 tvRDIRAC right slot only
46 tmUARROW under arrow VectorBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLUARROW left-pointing
1 tvRUARROW right-pointing
2 tvDUARROW double-headed (left and right)
47 tmOARROW over arrow VectorBoxClass
  variation symbol description
0 tvLOARROW left-pointing
1 tvROARROW right-pointing
2 tvDOARROW double-headed (left and right)
48 tmOARC over arc ArcBoxClass

Template Subobject Order

The following list shows the order of subobjects for each template class:

ArcBoxClass vector notation

ArroBoxClass expanding arrows

BarBoxClass over-bars and under-bars

BigOpBoxClass integrals, summations, products, etc.

DiracBoxClass three-part bracket structure

FracBoxClass fractions with a horizontal bar

HBrBoxClass horizontal expanding braces

LDivBoxClass long division

LimBoxClass limits

ParBoxClass parenthesized or bracketed slots

RootBoxClass radical sign

ScrBoxClass subscripts and superscripts

SlashBoxClass fractions with a diagonal bar

VectorBoxClass box with upper or lower arrow

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