XL97: Lotus Macro Interpreter Menus May Not Work as Expected (171469)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q171469

SYMPTOMS

If you open a Lotus 1-2-3 file that contains one or more Lotus Macro Interpreter menus, the menus may not work as you expect when you use them in Microsoft Excel 97. Specifically, the menus may contain strings that look like formulas.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if you run a Lotus Macro Interpreter menu that refers to a cell that contains a formula.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

To work around this problem, remove all formulas that are used by in Lotus Macro Interpreter menus.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

In Lotus 1-2-3, you can create custom menus by using the "{menubranch}" construct. The following is an example of the construct:

A1: {menubranch C1} C1: One D1: Two

If you run the custom menu by pressing CTRL and the key assigned to the menu, a dialog box containing the choices "One" and "Two" is displayed.

If one of the cells used by the menu contains a formula, the formula may appear in the dialog box instead of the value returned by the formula. For example, assume the worksheet contains the following information:

A1: {menubranch C1} C1: One D1: =IF(G1,"Deux","Two")

The following is displayed:

A1: {menubranch C1} C1: One D1: Two

When you run the menu, the dialog box contains the following choices:

One
@IF(G1,"Deux","Two")

The second choice is the formula in cell D1 as it appears in Lotus 1-2-3.

This problem does not occur in Microsoft Excel 97, Service Release 1.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/22/2000
Keywords:kbbug KB171469
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