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Document 737

Using SWP, SW, and SNB with Windows Vista

Version: 5.x - Scientific WorkPlace, Scientific Word, & Scientific Notebook

Although SWP, SW, and SNB run under Windows Vista, you may encounter occasional difficulties depending on your version of the program.

Version 5.x of SWP, SW, and SNB

We have encountered these problems using Vista with Version 5.x.

Startup message

Because Vista's security provisions prevent our programs from updating the system registry, you may get this message when you try to start SWP, SW, or SNB:

Failed to update system registry. Need permission to add?

You can safely ignore the message. Choose OK and continue working.

If you don't want to see the message each time, run the program one time as Administrator to update the registry and turn off the messages:

1. Right-click the SWP, SW, or SNB program shortcut on the Desktop.

2. Select Run as administrator, providing the password your system uses.

3. Exit the program.

4. Start the program normally, and the message will no longer appear.

Ligature issues with Vista OpenType fonts

Because OpenType fonts in Windows Vista do not strictly follow the OpenType standard for the Windows Glyph List, you may notice ligature problems when you compile a DVI or PDF document.

In DVI documents

If your document uses the Times package, instances of the fi ligature do not preview or print correctly in TrueTeX. The .tex and .dvi files produced are correct and unaffected.

You can resolve the problem:

1. Download the self-extracting file VistaLigatureFontFix.exe and save it in the directory where SWP, SW, or SNB is installed.

2. Run the download and use the installation directory as the target directory.

3. Overwrite files when prompted.

In PDF documents

The updated file WinFonts.map seems to fix the problem when compiling for PDF.

1. Find WinFonts.map in the TCITeX\pdftex\config directory.

2. Save the existing version of the file (rename it or move it to another directory).

3. Download the updated version into the TCITeX\pdftex\config directory.

Windows help

The Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) program is not included in Windows Vista. This means that help is not accessible for several ancillary programs, including the SW Document Manager program, MuPAD's VCAM application (SWP and SNB), and TrueTeX (SW and SWP). Microsoft does offer the Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) for Windows Vista as a download. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 917607 for further explanation and a download link.

100% CPU Usage

Any time the cursor is in an edit window that allows entering mathematics, CPU usage jumps to 100%. The edit windows that allow mathematics include the main document window and other windows like the Search or the Special Appearance field of the Index Entry dialog.

We have attempted to track down the problem, but have been unsuccessful. We believe the problem is at a low level in the Vista operating system, but we have not been able to find an exact location for the cause of the problem. We are unable to resolve this problem.

The problem is unchanged when using Vista Service Pack 1.

The wmf2eps program

The printer driver provided with the wmf2eps program does not install under Vista. We are currently investigating the problem.

Older versions of the program

Version 4.1

• This version requires a special license file.

  • If you register using the web method, we automatically provide a correct license file.

  • If you register using email, send your Version 4.1 license file to support@mackichan.com and request a license file for use with Vista.

  • If you register by telephone, we provide instructions for editing the license file for use with Vista.

• The DVI ligature issues with Vista OpenType fonts are also present in Version 4.1. Follow the instructions given above.

• See the above information regarding Windows help and 100% CPU usage.

Version 4.0

• Version 4.0 installations experience the DVI ligature issues with Vista OpenType fonts. Follow the instructions given above.

• See the above information regarding Windows help and 100% CPU usage.

Version 3.0

• Version 3.0 installations may require an update to work with Vista. Either

  • Install using the Build 1079B CD.

    or

  • Install the Patch for Smart Heap if you used an older CD for the original installation.

  See Patch Updates for Version 3.0 for a description of CDs and available updates.

• You must follow the instructions for Using SWP or SW Version 3.0 with Windows 2000 or XP.

• You may experience problems displaying certain ligatures when the document typesetting specification uses the Times New Roman font. There is no solution to this problem except to avoid typesetting specifications that use Times New Roman.

• See above regarding Windows help and 100% CPU usage.

Version 2.5

See the above information regarding Windows help and 100% CPU usage. Version 2.5 uses only Windows help. No other issues have been noticed with Version 2.5.

Last revision 6/10/08

This document was created with Scientific WorkPlace.