XL97: AutoComplete May Not Work (174444)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q174444

SYMPTOMS

When you type text in a cell, and the first few characters of the text you type match an existing entry in that column, the AutoComplete feature may not automatically fill the remaining characters.

CAUSE

In Microsoft Excel 97, the AutoComplete feature may not fill remaining characters if the algorithm Microsoft Excel uses detects a header row in the list.

STATUS

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION

Example

When you use the steps in the following example, the AutoComplete feature does not appear to function properly.

NOTE: The text strings that are surrounded by quotation marks in the following steps should not be entered with the quotation marks.

  1. Save and close any open workbooks, and then create a new workbook.
  2. In cell A1 enter ABC in uppercase.
  3. In cell A2 type a in lowercase and do not press ENTER.

    The AutoComplete feature automatically inserts "aBC" in cell A2.
  4. Continue typing abc in lowercase in cell A2, and then press ENTER.

    This overwrites the text that is suggested by AutoComplete.
  5. In cell B1, enter ABC in uppercase.
  6. In cell B2, type a in lowercase and do not press ENTER.

    The AutoComplete feature does not automatically suggest "aBC" in cell B2 as it does in step 3.
Because the characters in cell A1 are all uppercase, and the characters in cell A2 are all lowercase, Microsoft Excel determines that Row 1 is a list header row. The algorithm for the AutoComplete feature does not generate suggested text if the first row is considered a list header row. This behavior also occurs if characters in cell A2 are uppercase and lowercase.

REFERENCES

For more information about AutoComplete, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text:

autocomplete

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Quickly fill in repeated entries in a column" topic.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/22/2000
Keywords:kbprb kbui KB174444
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