Download Mathtype
MathType is an updated version of Microsoft Equation editor 3.0. The latest version can be downloaded directly from here:
http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/trial.asp
Hint if you don't want to give out your email address unselect the checkbox
Install MathType
Any Microsoft Office programs which you need to use should be installed before MathType. Installation requires Office programs to be closed in particular Microsoft Word and Outlook.
The installer itself is quite simplistic and the latest version will work in Office 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013. Earlier versions will have compatibility issues with later versions of Office and Windows.
Double click InstallMTW6.9.exe
Accept the license agreement and select next:
Select to evaluate and select next.
Select to install and select ok.
Select Yes. 
Once done select Exit Setup
The full version of MathType is by default installed as a 30 day trial. After 30 days it reverts to MathType Lite. MathType Lite will suffice most users but it should be noted that it lacks the ability to use TeX commands or to change the colour of the equation.
Unfortunately with the default installer, in all my installs (at least 50) the fonts don't install correctly and when MathType is used the very annoying error message appears when MathType is launched.
"MathType requires a newer version of the MT Extra (TrueType) font than is currently installed. Please reinstall MathType (using your CD or downloaded installer) to obtain the correct fonts"
Moreover many symbols are displayed as □.
Reinstalling usually doesn't help much as the fonts are in general not installed correctly on Windows 7 and 8.1 (particularly the 64 Bit version). In simple terms older versions of these fonts are included within Windows and Office and the newer versions are not being installed as Windows thinks they are already installed.
The fix is to navigate to the following folders and manually install the fonts:
- For 64 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\MathType\Fonts\TrueType
- For 32 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files\MathType\Fonts\TrueType
In this folder press [Ctrl] and [a] to select all and right click the top of the selection and select install:
You will be prompted that the fonts are already installed. Unfortunately older versions of these fonts are installed which do not have all the symbols. So select the check box "Do this for all current items" and select yes:
The fonts will install and MathType will correctly without that annoying error message:
For more details about the fonts and this error message see here: https://dessci.com/en/support/mathtype/tsn/tsn84.htm
