XL98: Error Using Dates After 2/7/2040 in Properties Dialog Box

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you click Properties on the File menu, click the Custom tab, enter file property values, and then click Add, you may receive the following error message:

   The value entered does not match with the specified type. The value
   will be stored as text.

CAUSE

The first problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• On the File menu, you click Properties, and then click the Custom tab.

  -and-

• You enter a name in the Name box, or click a property in the list below the Name box, and then click Date in the Type list.

  -and-

• In the Value box, you enter a date greater than or equal to February 7, 2040 (2/7/2040).

  -and

• You then click Add.

The second problem (previously entered values are changed) occurs when the following conditions are true:

• You open a workbook that was created in Microsoft Excel for Windows.

  -and-

• On the File menu, you click Properties, and then click the Custom tab.

  -and-

• One or more of the previously entered custom properties contain a date that is greater than or equal to February 7, 2040.

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, you cannot enter a date that is greater than or equal to February 7, 2040 in the Custom tab of the Properties dialog box.

WORKAROUND

To work around the problem in which dates in Microsoft Excel for Windows file are changed when you view them in the Custom tab, click Cancel in the Properties dialog box. By clicking Cancel, you prevent Microsoft Excel from retaining the changed dates. If you click OK, the changed date values are retained.

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 Microsoft Excel, you can use the Properties dialog box to set or view properties for a workbook. The tabs in the Properties dialog box allow you to set or view the file properties.

The design of the Macintosh computer does not allow you to set or view dates greater than or equal to February 7, 2040 in the Custom tab of the Properties dialog box. If you enter such a date, it is converted to text; if you open a workbook that contains such a date, it is replaced with another date when you view the Custom tab.