WD2000: Updating Link Removes Formatting from Microsoft Excel Table (220526)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000

This article was previously published under Q220526

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Word, if you insert a link to a Microsoft Excel worksheet as Formatted Text (RTF) and then apply formatting (such as bold or italic formatting) to the linked table, the formatting may be lost when the link is updated.

CAUSE

Updating the link causes the original worksheet formatting to overwrite the formatting you applied to the table in Word, and your direct formatting is lost.

NOTE: The "\* MERGEFORMAT" switch does not preserve the formatting of the linked Excel table.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).

To obtain SR-1/SR-1a, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

245025 OFF2000: How to Obtain and Install Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a)

To temporarily work around this behavior, add the "\* CHARFORMAT" switch to the field, and apply the direct formatting to the field. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. In Word, display field codes by pressing ALT+F9. You should see something like this:

    {LINK Excel.Sheet.8 "C:\\My Documents\\myfile.xls" "Sheet2!R7C1:R15C5" \a \r \* MERGEFORMAT}

  2. Add the "\* CHARFORMAT" switch to the field so that it looks like this:

    {LINK Excel.Sheet.8 "C:\\My Documents\\myfile.xls" "Sheet2!R7C1:R15C5" \a \r \* CHARFORMAT \* MERGEFORMAT }

  3. Select the field and apply the direct formatting you want.
  4. Update the field. To do this, click in the field and then press F9.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/25/2002
Keywords:kbbug kbinterop KB220526