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Scientific WorkPlace, Scientific Word 3.0 and Windows 2000/Windows XP

Note: This article applies only to version 3.0. There are no known issues when using version 3.5 with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Q: I plan to update to Windows 2000 or Windows XP.  Will I have any problem using Scientific WorkPlace or Scientific Word 3.0?

A: Yes, there are two installation issues that need to be addressed.  One problem is with the name of the temporary directory that is provided by a standard Windows 2000/XP installation and the other problem has to do with the TrueTeX font installation. The problem with the temporary directory exists for both upgrading your operating system to Windows 2000/XP and for complete new installations of Windows 2000/XP.  The font installation problem should occur only after a fresh new Windows 2000/XP installation, since the fonts would have already been successfully installed before the update to Windows 2000/XP. 

An additional problem is that the TrueTeX Previewer incorrectly limits its text rendering to Windows 3.x features. This causes incorrect display of certain characters in the dc font family, especially ligatures and dashes. This problem can be avoided by using only the cm font family or by using the application compatibility tool that is included with Windows 2000 or setting compatibility mode on the shortcut when using Windows XP.

Temporary Directory

The name of the default temporary directory provided by Windows 2000/XP includes the tilde (~) character which TeX/LaTeX interprets as a space.  This causes a LaTeX error when a document is compiled.  The work around for this problem is to create a temporary directory for SWP/SW and then tell SWP/SW to use the new directory.  Use the following instructions:

  1. Outside of SWP/SW (probably using Windows Explorer), create a temporary directory in a convenient location, probably c:\swp30\temp.
  2. From the SWP/SW menu bar, select Tools, User Setup and the Files tab.
  3. In the Directories group, scroll down the File Types list and highlight Temporary Files.
  4. Click Modify and change the directory to c:\swp30\temp (that is, select the directory you created in the first step).
  5. Click OK to close the open dialogs.
  6. Exit SWP/SW.
  7. The next time you start SWP/SW it will use the new temporary directory.

TrueTeX Font Installation

The setup program used by the TrueTeX font installation does not correctly identify Windows 2000/XP and the fonts are not installed properly. Incorrect entries are created in the registry by the setup program that prevents the TrueTeX fonts from being installed using the Fonts applet. Two methods for correcting the problem are presented below.   The alternative method is recommended only if you are familiar with the Registry Editor program.

Recommended TrueTeX Font Installation

  1. Download the program SWSWPWin2KFontDelete.exe to your local hard disk.  This is a self extracting archive program that contains three files: reg.exe, reg.htm and DeleteTrueTeXFonts.bat.
  2. Run SWSWPWin2KFontDelete.exe.  When prompted, use the suggested directory to unpack the archived files into, or select any other directory you prefer.  When the archive files are unpacked, the DeleteTrueTeXFonts.bat batch file will be run automatically.   This batch file calls the program reg.exe to remove incorrect 133 registry entries.
  3. When the registry entry deletion process is complete, you may optionally delete SWSWPWin2KFontDelete.exe and the files reg.exe, reg.htm and DeleteTrueTeXFonts.bat.
  4. If you are using Windows 2000, from the Start Menu, select Settings and then Control Panel.  Double click the Fonts icon to start the Fonts applet.  The steps are slightly different in Windows XP, so hunt around Control Panel until you find the Fonts folder.
  5. Select File, Install new font and then navigate to the directory \swp30\TCITeX\Fonts\truetype.
  6. Click the Select All button and turn off the check box labeled Copy Fonts to Fonts Folder.
  7. Click OK and the TrueTeX fonts will be installed.
  8. Exit the Fonts applet.

Alternative TrueTeX Font Installation (for experienced users)

  1. From the Windows Start Menu, select Run and enter regedit to start the Registry Editor program. CAUTION: Be careful when making changes to the registry. You should back up the registry before making changes since incorrect changes to the registry can cause incorrect behavior of your computer.
  2. Navigate to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts.
  3. Each of the TrueTeX fonts will have a registry entry that contains something like CMR10.FOT on the right side. That is, it ends with the extension .FOT. These entries must be deleted. This list will match the list of fonts found in the \swp30\TCITeX\Fonts\truetype directory.  There are 133 fonts if you selected the Multilingual LaTeX during the installation.  Fewer fonts will be listed if you selected the Standard LaTeX install option.  See the TeX Font List section of the article Characters appear incorrectly after installation of SW/SWP30 for a complete list of the TrueTeX fonts.
  4. Exit the Registry Editor.
  5. From the Start Menu, select Settings and then Control Panel.
  6. Double click the Fonts icon to start the Fonts applet.
  7. Select File, Install new font and then navigate to the directory \swp30\TCITeX\Fonts\truetype.
  8. Click the Select All button and turn off the check box labeled Copy Fonts to Fonts Folder.
  9. Click OK and the TrueTeX fonts will be installed.
  10. Exit the Fonts applet.

These two issues have been addressed starting with SWP/SW version 3.5, but currently the above steps must be manually taken in order to use SW 3.0 with Windows 2000/XP.

TrueTeX Previewer

The TrueTeX Previewer (DVIGDI32.EXE releases 4.2A and earlier) incorrectly limits its text rendering to Windows 3.x features when running under Windows 2000/XP. The Windows 3.x features do not properly handle the larger fonts in the dc font family. The most noticable presentation of this problem is that the ligatures fi and fl typeset as & and !.  The problem can be avoided in one of two ways.

Use only the cm font family

This can be done by selecting the TeX format file that uses only the cm fonts. Inside SWP/SW, select Typeset, Expert Settings, the Format Settings tab and change "TrueTeX Multilingual" to "TrueTeX".

Make the TrueTeX Previewer think it's running under Windows NT 4.0. 

There are separate steps when using Windows 2000 or Windows XP.  See the appropriate subsection below.

When Using Windows 2000

Microsoft includes the application compatibility tool, apcompat.exe, with Windows 2000. This tool can be found on the Windows 2000 CD in the Support directory and it will be installed after running setup.exe in the Support\Tools directory. Run the application compatibility tool (either from the Windows 2000 Support directory or after having installed the Support Tools), use the Browse button to select the TrueTeX Previewer (it is the file \swp30\TCITeX\TrueTeX\DVIGDI32.EXE), select the operating system Windows NT 4 SP3 (it really doesn't matter which service pack version is selected), and turn on the check box "Make the above check box settings permanent".

Note: The apcompat program is not perfect.  A side effect after following the instructions above is that you cannot print from inside the TrueTeX Previewer.  The installed printers do not appear in the dialog after selecting File, Print from inside the Previewer.  Instead of printing from inside the Previewer, use Typeset, Print from inside SW.   If you make this change using apcompat and then install SW 3.5, the current settings will still be used and the installed printers will not be available from inside the Previewer.  Solve this by running apcompat and finding DVIGDI32.EXE in the directory tree where you installed SW 3.5 and select the operating system Windows 2000 and turn on the check box "Make the above check box settings permanent".

When Using Windows XP

Microsoft has added a compatibility tab to program shortcuts under Windows XP. To set compatibility mode for the TrueTeX Previewer, select the Start Menu, All Programs, the group for SWP/SW 3.0, highlight the shortcut for the TrueTeX Previewer, right click to bring up the context menu and select Properties. On the Properties dialog select the Compatibility tab and in the Compatibility Mode group turn on the check box "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and in the drop down list select "Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5)". Choose OK. The next time you start the TrueTeX Previewer you should be in compatibility mode and see the ligatures and other characters that were not appearing properly.

Scientific Notebook and Windows 2000/XP

There are no known issues at this time with respect to Scientific Notebook and Windows 2000/XP.

Scientific WorkPlace, Scientific Word 2.5 and Windows 2000/XP.

There are no known issues at this time with respect to Scientific WorkPlace Version 2.5 or Scientific Word Version 2.5 and Windows 2000/XP.

This page added Feb. 22, 2000; last revised Nov. 15, 2001.

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