Ally 2.13 | Release to production: March 19, 2025
Math Support for Microsoft Word Documents Now Available for HTML Alternative Formats
As part of our ongoing efforts to support students through the power of flexibility and choice, Ally's document conversion process has been upgraded to include the first version of support for Office Math found in Microsoft Word documents. Students downloading the HTML and BeeLine Reader Alternative Formats will now see the math equations rendered as MathML via MathJax in their browser. This is an important first step to support math content in a wider range of Ally Alternative Formats and means that students will no longer be missing important math equations when downloading their preferred HTML option.
Image 1: HTML Alternative Format with rendered Math.
This conversion happens automatically as part of Ally's processing pipeline and does not require any configuration from the administrator. To be considered for conversion, the math content must be inserted as an equation in Word. Otherwise, Ally will not recognize this as math.
This is the first of multiple releases to support math within Ally's Alternative Format options. Support for additional formats, including Audio and Immersive Reader, will be handled in subsequent releases in order to continue to provide immediate benefits to the students. Support for math in PowerPoint will also be included in a future release.
Bug Fixes and Improvements
- Fixed an issue in Moodle where in some cases instructors were not able to navigate to the next image missing a description when using the AI Alt Text Assistant within Ally's Instructor Feedback.
- Fixed an issue within the Moodle filter plugin for Moodle 4.4 that was causing Ally indicators to not show when the course URL contained section.php for course section pages. Please note you will need to ensure you have installed the latest version of the plugin, which is 4.4.5 - 2025031900.