Release Notes For Mathcad 7 Professional 
60-day Trial Version

These notes provide the most up-to-date information regarding Mathcad 7 Professional. 

Table of Contents
1.	System Requirements
2.	Installation
3.	Using Electronic Books in Mathcad 7 
4.	A Note about Components
5.	Menu Changes from Mathcad 6
6.	Troubleshooting
7.	Where to Get More Information
8.	Ordering Information

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1. System Requirements

•	80486 (66 MHz or faster) or Pentium-based IBM or compatible computer.
•	CD-ROM drive. 
•	Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.51 or higher. (Please note, Mathcad PLUS 6.0 is available for Windows 3.1x systems; see section 8:  Ordering Information below for details of where to obtain this version.)
•	At least 16 megabytes of memory.
•	At least 55 megabytes of disk space for the typical (default) installation. At least 18 megabytes of disk space is required for a minimal installation.
•	VGA or higher graphics card and monitor required. Super VGA recommended. 256 colour display required. Higher than 256 colour display recommended.
•	Web Library, Web browsing, and Collaboratory features require a direct Internet connection or Internet access through a service provider (America Online currently not supported). Standard Web browsing in Mathcad requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 or higher.
•	Excel component in Mathcad and MathConnex requires Excel for Windows 95 version 7.0 or higher. MATLAB component requires MATLAB Professional version 4.2c or higher or MATLAB Student version 5 or higher. Axum component requires Axum 5 (dated 5/18/97) or higher. 

2. Installation

The Setup.exe program installs the full version of Mathcad 7 Professional; the only limitation is the 60-day limit. All features of Mathcad 7 Professional and MathConnex (which can be run as a stand-alone program as well as from within Mathcad) are available within the Trial period, depending upon your installation choice (see below).

At any time during the Trial period, or after it has expired, you may purchase a full copy of Mathcad 7 Professional from Adept Scientific plc (see section 8: Ordering Information). To uninstall the Trial from your PC after it has expired, use Control Panel…Add/Remove Programs in Windows 95 or the Uninstall icon in Windows NT; or simply delete the folder where you installed the Mathcad Trial.

Typical vs. custom installation
The custom installation gives you the option of installing the following:
•	Mathcad Professional Program Files: all the files necessary to run Mathcad and MathConnex and its on-line Help, as well as run Microsoft Internet Explorer
•	Resource Center Files: reference files consisting of a tutorial, reference tables, and in-depth guides to solving, statistics, and programming in Mathcad. If you choose not to install the Resource Center files, you must have the CD available when you choose Resource Center from the Mathcad Help menu in order to access the Resource Center contents.
•	Sample EFI Files: examples of files you can use to create a user DLL for Mathcad using C or C++. 

The typical installation (the default) installs all of the Mathcad and MathConnex program files, the Resource Center files, and sample EFI files. The typical installation requires approximately 55 megabytes. A minimal installation of Mathcad Professional Program Files only requires approximately 18 megabytes.

Microsoft Internet Explorer
To browse the World Wide Web through the Mathcad Resource Center, you need to install Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 or higher. The Mathcad installation program will detect whether you have Internet Explorer 3.02 or higher; if you do not, you will have the option of installing Microsoft Internet Explorer. 

If you browse to a web page containing a Java applet while browsing the Web using the Resource Center, Mathcad could cause an illegal application error because of a problem in the current version of Microsoft's Java virtual machine. To prevent this, we recommend that you either disable Java programs in your copy of Internet Explorer, or refrain from browsing the Web through the Resource Center until this problem is corrected. See the Troubleshooting section below for more information.

3. Using Electronic Books In Mathcad 7

Mathcad Electronic Books created for earlier versions of Mathcad operate correctly in Mathcad 7. Note, however, the following differences:

•	Open an Electronic Book by choosing Open from the File menu and locating the corresponding HBK file for the Book, or choose Open Book from the Help menu. Titles for Electronic Books you have installed in the HANDBOOK folder of your Mathcad installation directory will appear at the bottom of the Help menu, and you can open an Electronic Book by selecting directly from this list. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Mathcad and installing Mathcad 7 in a new location, be sure to copy your current HANDBOOK folder to the new location to have easy access to your Electronic Books.
•	All Electronic Books open inside a small, custom window with an Electronic Book toolbar like the one for the Mathcad 7 Resource Center. You may open as many Electronic Books as you like at any time, each in its own window. The window is easily resized for optimal viewing of the Electronic Book.
•	The Electronic Book navigational controls differ from their earlier counterparts. You now can access the Table of Contents (house icon), the previous or next topic in the Electronic Book content order (blue arrows), or the previous or next topic in the actual sequence of visited topics (yellow arrows). The navigational controls also include: a history list, a search button, and buttons for copying, printing, and saving the Electronic Book.
•	The "paste region" and "paste file" region actions are no longer supported. This change affects The CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook and The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Note that you may now easily copy material from the Electronic Book directly to your Mathcad worksheet by dragging and dropping.
•	Commands for annotating the Electronic Book are available on a context menu that appears when you click on a blank area of the Electronic Book with the right mouse button.
•	File access functions in the Image Processing Function Pack require string variable arguments in Mathcad 7. See the section "Arguments to file access functions" in the Mathcad User's Guide for more information.
•	The Mathcad–Apollonius DDE links in Parametric Sketching for Engineering Analysis with Mathcad and Apollonius are not supported.
•	If you own the Image Processing Function Pack, you must first patch your function DLL files for the functions to operate correctly in Mathcad 7. Patch files and instructions are provided in the \FPACK folder on the CD. Refer to the MathSoft Web site (www.mathsoft.com) for the lastest information regarding other Function Packs.

4. A Note about Components

Mathcad 7 Professional and MathConnex both use "components" to communicate and exchange data with the applications Axum, Excel, and MATLAB, as well as external data sources. Components are specialized OLE objects that not only link to external data sources and applications but also allow you to compute with these sources or applications within your Mathcad or MathConnex worksheet.

Common components in Mathcad and MathConnex
The components available in Mathcad 7 Professional (Input Table, Output Table, Axum, Excel, MATLAB, Scriptable Object) are essentially identical to their counterparts in MathConnex, although they display differently in the two applications:

•	For most components a Wizard guides you through initial configuration of the input and output variables (Mathcad) or ports (MathConnex).
•	You double-click the component to activate it for editing.
•	You click once on the component with the right mouse button to access a context menu.
•	The Properties selection on the context menu allows you to edit most of the configuration options.

Using the Axum, Excel, and MATLAB components
To use the Axum, Excel, or MATLAB component in either Mathcad or MathConnex:

•	You must have a supported version of the corresponding application on your system: Axum 5 (dated 5/18/97 or later,) Excel for Windows 95 or later, or MATLAB Professional 4.2c or higher or MATLAB Student v. 5 or higher. 
•	You must have sufficient memory on your system to run both Mathcad (or MathConnex) and the other application(s). In practice, we recommend a minimum of 32 megabytes of RAM.
•	You may pass only scalars, vectors, or two-dimensional arrays as inputs to the Axum, Excel, or MATLAB component and pass scalars, vectors, or two-dimensional arrays back from Excel or MATLAB. 
•	Worksheets that include components can be shared with others; however, the components will not compute unless the person receiving the worksheet has all the necessary applications installed on his or her system.

More on the MATLAB component
•	While the MATLAB component supports MATLAB 5, the MAT file filters included in the File Read/Write and Input components currently require MAT files to be saved in version 4 format. See “Troubleshooting” below for more information.
•	Some versions of MATLAB support complex data structures such as multidimensional arrays. While you may use such data structures within the MATLAB environment, you may not pass them to or from Mathcad or MathConnex.
•	Executing a MATLAB component within Mathcad or MathConnex resets the MATLAB environment. Be sure to save any work in MATLAB before you execute a MATLAB component in a Mathcad or MathConnex worksheet.

5. Menu Changes from Mathcad 6

The View, Insert, and Format menus are new, and the Text and Graphics menus have been removed. Some other specific changes include:

•	File/Export Worksheet has been removed; you may now save a Mathcad worksheet in RTF format using the File/Save As command.
•	File/Open URL has been moved to the Collaboratory dialog box. Access the Collaboratory with File/Collaboratory and use the URL text box at the bottom of the dialog box. 
•	File/Insert has been renamed Insert/Worksheet.
•	The File/Get From Notes and File/Save to Notes commands have been removed. This functionality is no longer available.
•	File/Save Configuration and File/Execute Configuration have been removed. You can now save preferred worksheet settings by creating a template.

•	Edit/Redo has been added to let you reapply an edit undone by Edit/Undo.
•	Edit/Delete replaces Edit/Clear.
•	Edit/Regions/View Regions is now a command on the View menu. 
•	Edit/Regions/Select All, Edit/Regions/Separate, Edit/Regions/Align Regions, Edit/Regions/Lock Regions, and Edit/Headers/Footers have been moved to the Format menu. 
•	Edit/Insert Pagebreak and Edit/Link have been moved to the Insert menu.
•	Edit/Include has been renamed Insert/Reference.
•	Edit/Insert (Delete) Blank Lines has been removed. Insert or delete blank lines by clicking in the worksheet and pressing the [Enter], [Backspace], or [Delete] key.

•	The Text menu has been deleted and the available commands have been distributed among other menus. Insert a text region into your worksheet as before using the double-quote key " or choose Insert/Text Region. The Text/Create Text Paragraph command is no longer available; only text regions can now be created. Text/Embed Math has been moved to Insert/Math Region. Text/Change Font and Text/Change Paragraph Format have been moved to the Format menu. Text/Check Spelling has been moved to the Edit menu.

•	The Math/Matrices, Math/Choose Function, and Math/Units/Insert Unit commands have been moved to the Insert menu.
•	The Math/Units/Change System of Units, Math/Units/Dimensional Format, Math/Randomize, and Math/Built-in Variables commands have been reorganized under the Math/Options pick.
•	Math/Numerical Format, Math/Font Tag and Math/Highlight Equation have been moved to the Format menu.
•	Math/Change to Greek Variable is no longer available. Change a character behind the insertion point in math regions to Greek by pressing [Ctrl]G.

•	The Graphics menu has been deleted and the available commands have been distributed among other menus. Use the Insert/Graph pick to insert available built-in two- and three-dimensional plot operators, and use the Insert/Picture command to insert a picture operator. Format a selected plot or picture by using the Format/Graph or Format/Picture command, or by double-clicking on the plot or picture. For X-Y and Polar Plots, Trace and Zoom are available as commands on Format/Graph as well as buttons on the Graphing Palette.

•	The available Symbolics menu commands are identical to those in Mathcad PLUS 6.0 but have been renamed or reordered for clarity. The Differentiate on Variable, Integrate on Variable, Solve for Variable, and Substitute for Variable commands have been grouped under the Symbolics/Variable command. Symbolics/Derivation Format has been renamed Symbolic/Evaluation Style and Symbolics/Derive in Place is now part of the Evaluation Style dialog box.

•	Most worksheet management commands formerly on the Window menu have been moved to the View, Insert, and Format menus. Window/Zoom, Window/Refresh, and the palette and toolbar hiding and viewing commands have been moved to the View menu. The Window/Animation commands have been renamed View/Animate and View/Playback. The Window/Change Colours command has been moved to the Format/Colour command.

•	The Books menu has been removed. You can open an Electronic Book by choosing Open Book from the Help menu. To access the book annotation commands, open a book, and click on the book window with the right mouse button to see a context menu containing the annotation commands.

•	The Help menu offers picks for Mathcad Help, the Resource Center, and Using Help. The Desktop Reference and Tutorial Electronic Books have been integrated into the Resource Center, the Sampler Electronic Book has been removed, and Technical Support Help has been removed.

6. Troubleshooting

Java applets while browsing files on the World Wide Web
If you browse to a web page containing a Java applet while browsing the Web using the Resource Center, Mathcad could cause an illegal application error because of a problem in the current version of Microsoft's Java virtual machine. To prevent this, we recommend that you disable Java programs in your copy of Internet Explorer or refrain from browsing the Web through the Resource Center until this problem is corrected.

Please take the following steps to disable Java if you are running Windows 95 or NT 4.0 (NT 3.51 users are not affected):

•	Run Internet Explorer from the Windows Start menu.
•	Choose Options from the Internet Explorer View menu.
•	Click on the Security tab.
•	Click "Enable Java Programs" so it is no longer checked.

Microsoft is currently working to correct this issue inside Internet Explorer. Once an updated version of the Java virtual machine is available, information on how to download it will be posted on http://www.mathsoft.com/ .

DDE interface
The Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) interface in Mathcad is no longer supported. To communicate with other applications, Mathcad now provides components. See the chapter "Data Management" in the Mathcad User's Guide as well as the on-line Resource Center and \SAMPLES folder for examples.

Scripting an object using VBScript and JScript
The versions of VBScript and JScript installed with the version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (v. 3.02) provided with Mathcad should not be used to script the Scriptable Object component. You must download current versions of VBScript and JScript from http://www.microsoft.com/vbscript and http://www.microsoft.com/jscript.

Variable names and SI units
The SI unit system is now available as the default unit system in Mathcad 7, giving you access to standard SI unit names (including single-letter abbreviations such as A for ampere, N for newton, etc.). Take care when defining variables in Mathcad worksheets not to redefine built-in unit names in the SI system. Choose Unit from the Insert menu to browse a list of units in the default unit system of your worksheet.

Multiple uses for quote key
The quote (") has many uses in Mathcad 7. In a blank space in the Mathcad worksheet it begins a text region. If you have selected a math expression, it introduces the complex conjugate operator. In a math placeholder it begins a string variable.

Importing MATLAB MAT files
If you use MATLAB 5, you must save your MATLAB data/environment (MAT) files in version 4 format before importing them with either the File Read/Write component or the Input component. MATLAB 5 supports the “-v4” switch on the save command to save a MAT file in version 4 format. See the MATLAB documentation for details.

MATLAB allows you to save a "sparse array" (an array containing rows or columns of zeros) using special sparse array notation. Mathcad and MathConnex do not convert the sparse array notation if you import the array with either the File Read/Write component or the Input component; they read in the array exactly as it is stored in the file.

Exporting to dBase files
When you export data from Mathcad or MathConnex to a dBase file, the values are truncated to four decimal places. 

Importing data files containing text
If you use the File Read/Write component to import data from a data file whose first row contains text, Mathcad and MathConnex will import the values in the file to 5 decimal places.

Importing data from an Excel data file
Mathcad and MathConnex allow you to import data from a file created in Excel for Windows 95 or earlier. You cannot import data from a file created in Excel for Windows 97; instead, first use Excel to save the data in Excel for Windows 95 format and then import the data into Mathcad or MathConnex.

Error "Unable to set the Value property of the Range class" when using the Excel component 
If you use the Excel component in Mathcad or MathConnex and have Excel for Windows 95 installed, you will not be able to pass more than approximately 1800 values to the Excel component.

Accumulate tab in Output Table Properties
In Mathcad the Accumulate tab accessible from the Properties selection of the Output Table context menu is not implemented. The Accumulate tab is, however, implemented in MathConnex.

Unable to print
If your printer has an extremely long name, you could experience a system error when printing from Mathcad. Try shortening the name of the printer icon in the Control Panel to prevent this from happening.

Black boxes appear when printing
If you print a worksheet containing an operator such as a summation, you may see black boxes on the print-out if you are printing to a PostScript printer. To correct this, use a non-PostScript printer driver that is compatible with your printer.

Last line of footer doesn't print
If the last line of a worksheet footer does not print, add a carriage return at the bottom of the footer section that contains the most lines and print the worksheet again.

Text doesn't appear in Print Preview
Gray and silver text does not appear on the screen when you choose Print Preview from the File menu but it will print.

Saving Mathcad 7 worksheets as Mathcad 6 worksheets
When you save a Mathcad 7 worksheet as a Mathcad 6 worksheet, regions or features that won't work in Mathcad 6 are saved as bitmaps. However, these bitmaps may not closely resemble the regions or features if you save the worksheet using 256 colours.

Opening Mathcad 6 worksheets in Mathcad 7
You can open any Mathcad 6 for Windows or Macintosh worksheet in Mathcad 7. In general, the worksheet will maintain its previous appearance. However, live symbolic keywords will be converted into the new symbolic keyword operator in Mathcad, and file associations will be translated into full pathnames. File variable arguments will appear as strings inside data file functions such as READPRN and WRITEPRN. 

Uninstalling Mathcad (Windows 95)
To uninstall Mathcad under Windows 95, go to Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs. Alternatively you can uninstall Mathcad by deleting the Mathcad directory.

Uninstall icon in NT 3.51
If you have difficulties using the Uninstall icon to uninstall Mathcad under Windows NT 3.51, you can uninstall Mathcad by deleting the Mathcad directory.

File Write component
The Overwrite and Properties options on the context menu for the File Write component are not supported in Mathcad, only in MathConnex.

Bookmarks for Web documents
When you right-click on a Web page while in the Resource Center and choose Add to Favourites, the page location is added to Internet Explorer's list of Favourites, not to Mathcad's list of bookmarks.

Backtracking while browsing the Web
If you jump to a document from a framed page while browsing the Web using the Resource Center, pressing the Back button brings you to the previously loaded page instead of the framed page.

Difficulties creating an animation or inserting a component
You could experience system difficulties while creating an animation under Windows NT if your TEMP variable points to a folder that does not exist. Make sure the TEMP variable points to an existing, writable folder. To set this variable under NT 3.51, open System Settings in the Control Panel. Under NT 4.0, click on My Computer with the right mouse button, choose Properties, and click on the Environment tab. 

QuickSheet examples in the on-line Help
If you run the Mathcad Resource Center from the CD, the QuickSheet Examples in the Mathcad Help will not launch automatically. To open the QuickSheet examples, open the Resource Center, click on QuickSheets, and use the Search button in the toolbar to search on the topic you were looking at in the Help.

Personal QuickSheets
If you created Personal QuickSheets using Mathcad 6, you can open them in Mathcad 7 by choosing Open from the File menu, selecting the Mathcad 7 directory, and typing *.MCU in the File Name. Your Personal QuickSheet will be as a file with the MCU extension.

Mathcad–Axum Link
In Mathcad 6, MathSoft introduced the Mathcad–Axum link, which allows you to create Axum graphs directly in a Mathcad worksheet. With Mathcad 7, we've updated the technology for the link and provided a new way to create it. To use the Mathcad–Axum link with Mathcad 7:

•	Refer to the chapter "Data Management" in the Mathcad User's Guide for information on the Axum component, which allows you to create a Mathcad–Axum link. Note that information about the link in the on-line Help in Axum may be out of date.
•	Refer to the on-line Help in Axum for information on the kind of data required for the graphs you wish to create.

If you used the Mathcad-Axum link to create Axum graphs in a Mathcad 6 worksheet, the graphs will convert automatically to graphs using the Axum component when the worksheet is opened in Mathcad 7. 

The Mathcad 7–Axum link does not work with Axum 4.1 or earlier.

7. Where to Get More Information

On-line information
•	The Resource Center inside Mathcad 7 contains a wealth of information about Mathcad including a Tutorial, Reference Tables, QuickSheet templates with built-in formulas, and instructional material on Mathcad features such as solving, programming, and statistics. 
•	The Mathcad Collaboratory is a free Internet forum for sharing ideas and files with other Mathcad users, accessible from within Mathcad. Choose Collaboratory from the Mathcad File menu.
•	On-line Help is available in both Mathcad and MathConnex. Context-sensitive Help (press [F1] on any function or error message for information on it) is available in Mathcad only.
•	Sample MathConnex files as well as Mathcad files that use components are provided in the \SAMPLES folder in the location where you installed Mathcad. See README.RTF in that folder for more information on the sample files.
•	Visit the MathSoft World Wide Web site for sample Mathcad and MathConnex worksheets, updates, and support information. Click the mathsoft.com button in the Mathcad Resource Center, or visit http://www.mathsoft.com/ with your favourite browser.
•	Visit Adept Scientific’s World Wide Web site http://www.adeptscience.co.uk/ for UK-specific Mathcad information. A large library of Mathcad documents is available at http://www.adeptscience.co.uk/mathcad/library/ and can be accessed directly from the Mathcad Resource Center or with your favourite browser.

8. Ordering Information

•	To order Mathcad 7 Professional in the United Kingdom or Irish Republic, please contact 
	Adept Scientific plc
	6 Business Centre West, Avenue One
	Letchworth, Herts. SG6 2HB
	Telephone (01462) 480055.  Fax (01462 480213.
	Email mathcad@adeptscience.co.uk.
	Or see Adept’s World Wide Web site at http://www.adeptscience.co.uk/.
	
•	Mathcad PLUS 6.0 (for Windows 3.1x or Macintosh systems), Axum 5 and the full range range of Mathcad Electronic Books and Function Packs are also available from Adept Scientific plc, who supply all MathSoft products in the United Kingdom and Irish Republic.
	
•	Please contact Adept Scientific plc for details of Mathcad network and site licences.
	
•	Users outside the United Kingdom or Irish Republic can find details of their local Mathcad distributor at  http://www.mathsoft.com/howtocon/internatl.html; alternatively call MathSoft International at +44 1276 452299, fax +44 1276 451224 or email int-info@mathsoft.co.uk.

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Mathcad and Axum are registered trademarks and Electronic Book, QuickSheets, MathConnex, and Collaboratory are trademarks of MathSoft, Inc.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.

MATLAB is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc.

Other brand and product names referred to are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

20/11/97 RHB