Can I use MS Equation Editor in Mathematica 9?

Questions
1

I have been encountering some real issues when trying to enter text equations using the typesetting templates.

As soon as I type into a typesetting box, I lose the cursor. I am unable to click a typesetting box to set focus to it and cannot tell which box has focus as multiple boxes are often highlighted.

I have no such problems using the equation editor in MS Word 2013. Is there any way to use the MS equation editor in Mathematica 9?

2

Hmm - could you post a screenshot of (say) “multiple boxes highlighted”? I’ve never had this problem.
It is also much faster not to use the typesetting palettes, in case you were using them - they can all be accessed from the keyboard, with commands like CTRL+6 to get a^b.