Troubleshooting LiveMath

If you see a "broken plug-in" icon instead of math and graphs, your browser is having a "Broken Icon" problem. You will likely see an error dialog box; just click cancel. Some possible solutions are outlined below.

Remove Old Plug-in Versions

Plug-ins named Theorist or MathPlus or MathView are old versions of LiveMath and should be deleted. You should have only one LiveMath plug-in in your plug-ins folder.

Checking Plug-ins

Netscape browsers can list all plug-ins that have been successfully installed, as explained below. Other browsers use similar procedures. If you have any questions, check the help provided with your browser. You should have version 4.0 or higher of either Netscape Navigator (or Communicator) or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Check "About Plug-ins..." (under the Apple menu on Macs) in Netscape

See if the entry plugin/x-theorist is listed in the table of all your plug-ins.

  1. If plugin/x-theorist is not listed, the LiveMath plug-in is not installed. If you have tried to install the LiveMath plug-in, make sure to quit and restart Netscape, so it can identify the plug-in.
  2. If the plugin/x-theorist is listed, but Enabled is "No", you may have a defective plug-in. Try downloading it again. Also, remove old MathView (or Theorist or MathPlus) plug-ins.
  3. If the plugin/x-theorist is listed and Enabled is "Yes", LiveMath should be working. If you have not already quit your browser and then restarted it, do so now. If restarting does not solve the problem, keep reading.

Examining the Plug-ins Directory

Location for plug-ins:

on Macintosh:
the file LiveMathTM Plug-In should be in the Plug-ins folder.
on Windows:
the file nplm32.dll should be in the Plugins directory. Do not change the name.

If you have more than one web browser on your hard disk(s), make sure the LiveMath plug-in is installed with all the web browsers you intend to use. On a Mac, you can place an alias of the plug-in from the original browser in the plug-in folder(s) of others.

Configuring the Plug-in Entry in Netscape

Select Preferences... from the Edit menu (after you are sure you have the plug-in installed in the correct folder and have freshly launched Netscape). Select Navigator/Applications under the Category column, and look for the plug-in in the scrolling list on the right. If you find it, click on it and use the Edit... button to set the MIME type to plugin/x-theorist and the extension to thp. If you don't find it, use the New... button to create an entry for it.

Crashes and Other Undesirable Behavior

If the plug-in seems to be working, but your browser crashes frequently, try increasing the memory allocated to your browser.

Adapted in part from information provided by the author of LiveMath, Allan Bonadio.
Last updated September 18, 2001.