XL97: Context-Sensitive Help Not Available for Some Controls

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you click the question mark in the title bar of the Format Control dialog box, and then click an item in the dialog box, you may receive the following error message:

   No Help topic is associated with this item.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:

• The Control tab is the active tab in the Format Control dialog box.

      -and-
  

• The active control is one of the following types:

        Check Box   Option Button
        Combo Box   Scroll Bar
        Group Box   Spinner
        List Box
  
  

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

In a dialog box in Microsoft Excel, you can click the question mark (the What's This? button), and then click an item in the dialog box to see a Help topic about that item. This kind of Help is called context-sensitive Help.

In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, context-sensitive Help is available for items in the Control tab of the Format Control dialog box.

The Help information that is not available in the Format Control dialog box is listed in the following table.

   Item                      Help information
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   3D Shading                To give the selected control a three-
                             dimensional appearance, select the 3D
                             Shading check box.

   Cell Link                 To link the value of the selected control to
                             on a worksheet, either type the cell address
                             in the Cell Link box; or place the insertion
                             point in this box, and then select a cell.

   Current Value             To set the initial value for the selected
                             scroll bar or spinner, type an integer in
                             the Current Value box. This integer must
                             fall between the Minimum Value and Maximum
                             Value you set for this control.

   Drop Down Lines           To specify the number of lines displayed in
                             the drop-down portion of the selected drop-
                             down list box, type a number in the Drop
                             Down Lines box. If the number you specify is
                             less than the number of items in the list, a
                             scroll bar appears to the right of the
                             list.

   Incremental Change        To specify how much the value of the
                             selected scroll bar or spinner changes when
                             the user clicks one of its arrows, type an
                             integer in the Incremental Change box.

   Input Range               To fill the selected list box with the
                             contents of a range of cells on a worksheet,
                             either type the range address in the Input
                             Range box; or place the insertion point in
                             this box, and then select a range.

   Maximum Value             To set the maximum value for the selected
                             scroll bar or spinner, type an integer in
                             the Maximum Value box. The value in this box
                             must be greater than the value in the
                             Minimum Value box.

   Minimum Value             To set the minimum value for the selected
                             scroll bar or spinner, type an integer in
                             the Minimum Value box. The value in this box
                             must be less than the value in the Maximum
                             Value box.

   Page Change               To specify how much the value of the
                             selected scroll bar changes when the user
                             clicks inside the scroll bar on either side
                             of the scroll box, type an integer in the
                             Page Change box.

   Selection Type - Extend   To specify extendible selection for the
                             selected list box, click Extend. When the
                             custom dialog box runs, the user will be
                             able to select multiple items by clicking
                             the first item in a series, and then holding
                             down SHIFT and pressing the last item in the
                             series. Both clicked items and all items in
                             between will be selected. The user can
                             select or deselect an individual item by
                             holding down CTRL and clicking the item.

   Selection Type - Multi    To specify a multiple-item selection for the
                             selected list box, click Multi. When the
                             custom dialog box runs, the user will be
                             able to select any assortment of items in
                             the list. The user must select and deselect
                             items one at a time.

   Selection Type - Single   To specify single-item selection for the
                             selected list box, click Single. When the
                             custom dialog box runs, the user will be
                             able to select one item at a time from the
                             list.

   Value - Checked           To set the initial state of the selected
                             check box or option button to on, click
                             Checked.

   Value - Mixed             To set the initial state of the selected
                             check box to mixed, click Mixed. The check
                             box will contain a dimmed check mark when
                             the dialog box first opens.

   Value - Unchecked         To set the initial state of the selected
                             check box or option button to off, click
                             Unchecked.