XL: Odd Screen Behavior When AutoShape Has Dashed Border

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, if you select a cell that is "behind" a drawing object or AutoShape, the cell selection cursor may not be displayed correctly or may not be displayed at all. Also, if you make changes to any of the cells behind the AutoShape, the screen may not be redrawn correctly.

As a result, it may be difficult for you to determine which cell is selected or to drag or fill cells behind the AutoShape.

NOTE: The cell selection cursor is the thick border that surrounds the selected cell in a worksheet. Usually, a small square called a fill handle is displayed at the lower-right corner of the cell selection cursor.

CAUSE

These problems occur if the following conditions are true:

• The AutoShape is formatted to use no fill (it is transparent).

      -and-
  

• The AutoShape is formatted to use a dashed line of one of the following types:

        Dash        Long Dash Dot
        Dash Dot    Long Dash Dot Dot
        Long Dash
  
  

WORKAROUND

To work around these problem, format the AutoShape to use one of the following dashed line types:

   Solid
   Round Dot
   Square Dot

1. In the worksheet, right-click the border of the AutoShape. On the shortcut menu, click Format AutoShape.

2. Click the Colors And Lines tab.

3. In the Dashed list box, select one of the first three items (Solid, Round Dot, or Square Dot).

4. Click OK.

Note that the mouse pointer will still behave correctly when you move it over the cells behind the AutoShape. Because of this, it is still possible to drag or fill cells behind the AutoShape, as long as you know what cells are selected and you know what the various pointer shapes mean. For example, if the pointer is a small plus sign, the pointer is over the lower- right corner of the selected cell, so you can fill the cell.

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.