WE1254: 15-Digit Number Patch for MS Excel Version 5.0c

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0c

The Application Note "15-Digit Number Patch for Version 5.0c" (WE1254) is now available from Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS). The disk included with this Application Note contains a patch that corrects problems you may encounter when you enter the following numbers in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

   140737488355328

   281474976710656

   562949953421312

• Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
• The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
• The Microsoft Network (MSN)
• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
• Microsoft Product Support Services

THE TEXT OF WE1254

  Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
            WE1254: 15-DIGIT NUMBER PATCH FOR VERSION 5.0C

                                                  Revision Date: 12/95
                                                       1 Disk Included

 INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY
 ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an Application
 Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
 EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED
 WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and
 the use of this Application Note. This Application Note may be
 copied and distributed subject to the following conditions:  1) All
 text must be copied without modification and all pages must be
 included;  2) If software is included, all files on the disk(s)
 must be copied without modification (the MS-DOS(R)  utility
 diskcopy is appropriate for this purpose);  3) All components of
 this Application Note must be distributed together;  and  4) This
 Application Note may not be distributed for profit.

 Copyright (C) 1995 Microsoft Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.
 Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks of
 Microsoft Corporation.

INTRODUCTION--EXPLANATION OF THE 15-DIGIT NUMBER PROBLEM

In Microsoft Excel version 5.0c, the values of certain 15-digit numbers may unexpectedly change when they are entered in a worksheet cell or when they are calculated by a formula in a worksheet cell. The three numbers are:

   140737488355328
   281474976710656
   562949953421312

If you enter a variation of these numbers (for example, 1.40737488355328), or if you calculate a variation of one of these numbers, the number may be resolved to a different value, such as 0.64 (or some multiple of 0.64). The problem also appears when one of these numbers is the result of one of the following functions: CEILING(), FLOOR(), IF(), INT(), MOD(), ROUNDDOWN(), or ROUNDUP().

This problem applies only to these particular numbers. Other 15-digit numbers are not affected.

This problem also occurs in other versions of Microsoft Excel for Windows; however, patches are available only for Microsoft Excel version 5.0c for Windows and Microsoft Excel version 7.0 for Windows 95. For information about how to patch your version of Microsoft Excel, see the following table.

NOTE: You must use the appropriate patch for your version of Microsoft Excel. The patch for version 5.0c cannot be used to update Microsoft Excel version 7.0 for Windows 95 and vice versa.

  For this version of
  Microsoft Excel      Do this
  -----------------------------------------------------------

  Microsoft Excel      Upgrade to Microsoft Excel version
  Earlier than 5.0c    5.0c. To do this, call Microsoft Order
  for Windows          Desk at (800) 360-7561 and tell them
                       that you need to upgrade to Microsoft
                       Excel version 5.0c in order to use the
                       15-digit number patch. Then, use the
                       patch provided with this Application
                       Note.

  Version 5.0c for     Use the patch provided with this
  Windows              Application Note.

  Version 7.0 for      Obtain the 15-digit number patch for
  Windows 95           Microsoft Excel version 7.0
                       (XL15link.exe). For more information
                       about obtaining XL15link.exe, please
                       see the following article in the
                       Microsoft Knowledge Base:

                       Article-ID: Q128650

                       Title: XL7 Patch Available: 15-Digit
                       Number, Linking, and Transpose

CORRECTING THE PROBLEM IN VERSION 5.0c

The patch file included with this Application Note is for use only with Microsoft Excel version 5.0c. This patch modifies Microsoft Excel so that it no longer changes the three previously mentioned numbers. After you patch Microsoft Excel, you can safely use any of the three numbers in a new worksheet, and their values will be retained.

To install the patch

1. If you received a disk with this Application Note, insert the WE1254 disk in the appropriate floppy disk drive.

   If you downloaded this Application Note from an online service, skip to step 2. This procedure assumes that you have already downloaded and extracted the compressed file.

2. At the MS-DOS prompt, type the following and press ENTER

         copy <source>:\*.* <location>
   

   where <source> is either the letter of your floppy disk drive or the folder (directory) containing the file you downloaded from online services, and <location> is the path to your Microsoft Excel folder. For example, if you are copying the file from a floppy disk that you inserted in drive A, and C:\Excel is the path to your Microsoft Excel folder, type:

         copy a:\*.* c:\excel
   

   Or, for example, if you downloaded the We1254.exe file from online services to C:\Dnload, and C:\Excel is the path to your Microsoft Excel folder, type:

         copy c:\dnload\*.* c:\excel
   

   The following files are copied to your Microsoft Excel folder:

         Clean.bat     Update.lst
         Readme.txt    Xl5.cst
         Update.exe    Xl5_exe.pch
   
   

To run the patch

1. If Microsoft Excel is running, quit Microsoft Excel.

2. Using File Manager or Windows Explorer, double-click the Update.exe file in your Microsoft Excel folder.

   A message appears when the file has completed modifying Microsoft Excel.

3. Double-click the Clean.bat file.

   This patches the Excel.exe file, and removes five of the six files you just copied, leaving you with the Readme.txt file.

To correct calculations on an existing worksheet once the patch is

installed

If you have a worksheet that you think may contain one of the numbers listed earlier in this Application Note, you can display the correct numbers by pressing CTRL+ALT+F9. This key command forces the entire worksheet to be recalculated.

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ WE1254.EXE (size: 78141 bytes) 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

   http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm