Legal Disclaimer: You must own a valid license key. Wiris no longer sells version 6 licenses. This guide is for existing license holders.
If you have your original installer (e.g., MathType6.8_Setup.exe) and your 25-character product key, follow this safe method:
Cause: Your Word version is too new (Office 2019 or 365). Fix: There is no fix. You must upgrade to MathType 7 or export equations as images. mathtype 6.8
MathType 6.8 is a powerful interactive equation editor developed by Design Science (now Wiris). It allows users to create mathematical notation for word processing, web pages, desktop publishing, and e-learning platforms. Version 6.8, specifically, was a minor but critical update to the version 6 branch, released primarily between 2012 and 2014.
Unlike the newer MathType 7 (which introduced ribbon integration for Office 2016+) or the current subscription-based MathType 9 (cloud-focused), MathType 6.8 was a pure perpetual license product. You paid once, installed it on your Windows or Mac machine, and owned it indefinitely. Legal Disclaimer: You must own a valid license key
Why do users search for "MathType 6.8" specifically? Because this version introduced or perfected several critical workflows:
In the software community, MathType 6.8 is often cited as a "ghost version." Many users searching for MathType 6.8 are actually directed to version 6.9, which was the final release before the software transitioned to a subscription model under Wiris. Users specifically seeking version 6.8 often do so to bypass the stricter online activation requirements introduced in later versions or to maintain compatibility with older Windows operating systems (such as Windows XP or Vista). However, because official support for this version has ended, legitimate installation files are difficult to source, and security updates are non-existent. If you have your original installer (e
Since official support ended in 2016, your best resources are:
Let’s be realistic. MathType 6.8 is a legacy product. You should not use it if: