XL98: "Error in Parameter 1" When Working with PivotTable (181287)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q181287

SYMPTOMS

When you work with a PivotTable in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, you may receive the following error messages:
[INTERSOLV][ODBC dBase driver]Database does not allow negative scale values. Error in parameter 1.

-and-

Problems obtaining data.

-and-

PivotTable is not valid.
When these messages appear, the PivotTable is corrupted or damaged.

To see an example of this problem, see the "More Information" section in this article.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:
  • You create a PivotTable that uses external data that is stored in a dBASE table. -and-

  • The PivotTable contains one or more page fields. -and-

  • One or more of the page fields refer to numeric fields in the dBASE table. -and-

  • You have set the page fields as server page fields.
Specifically, these problems occur because the dBASE ODBC driver included with Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition does not support the use of parameterized queries of numeric fields in dBASE tables under certain circumstances.

When you use a server page field, Microsoft Excel uses a parameterized query to query the external database and retrieve the proper data; because the dBASE ODBC driver does not always support this functionality, the operation fails, and you receive the error messages described in this article.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, remove and recreate the PivotTable; it is not possible to repair the damaged PivotTable.

To prevent this problem from occurring, use the workaround in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

179700 XL98: "Out of Range" Error Running Parameter Query in MS Query

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem does NOT occur if the following is true:
  • The external database is not a dBASE table. -or-

  • The field in the table is not a numeric field.

    For example, the field is a text field. -or-

  • You do not set the page field to act as a server page field.

Example

To see an example of this problem, follow these steps:
  1. In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, create a new workbook. Select cell A1 in Sheet1.
  2. On the Data menu, click PivotTable Report.
  3. In the Step 1 dialog box, click External Data Source and click Next.
  4. In the Step 2 dialog box, click Get Data.

    1. In the Choose Data Source dialog box, click "<New Data Source>". Click OK.
    2. In the first box, type Test. In the list box, click Microsoft 3.01 dBASE PPC. Click Connect.
    3. Select the following folder:

      Microsoft Office 98:Sample Files:Sample Databases

      Then, click the 'Select "Sample Databases"' button.
    4. Click OK. Click to select the Use The Query Wizard check box. Then, click OK again.
    5. In the list of tables and columns, click ORDERS. Click the ">" button. Then, click Next.
    6. Click Next twice more. Then, click "Return Data to Microsoft Excel," and click Finish.
  5. In the Step 2 dialog box, click Next.
  6. In the Step 3 dialog box, drag the ORDER_AMT field to the PAGE area. Drag the CUSTOMER_ID field to the ROW area. Drag the EMPLOY_ID field to the DATA area. Then, click Next.
  7. In the Step 4 dialog box, click Finish.

    The PivotTable appears in the worksheet.
  8. Click the ORDER_AMT field in cell A1. On the PivotTable toolbar, point to the PivotTable menu and click Field. Click Advanced. Click Query External Data Source. Click OK twice.
You receive the following error message:
[INTERSOLV][ODBC dBase driver]Database does not allow negative scale values. Error in parameter 1.
When you click OK, you receive the following error message:
Problems obtaining data.
If you select an item in the ORDER_AMT page field or if you perform any other action in the PivotTable, you receive the following error message:
PivotTable is not valid.
For more information about using server page fields in PivotTables, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

179297 XL98: Using Server Page Fields in PivotTables

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/11/2002
Keywords:kbprb KB181287
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.