XL98: Cursor and Cell Disappear When You Edit Text in a Cell

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you double-click a cell to edit text in the cell, the formula bar expands to display the text, the insertion point disappears, and the cell you are editing is hidden by the text in the formula bar.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when you double-click a cell that contains a large amount of text. The text and the insertion point are hidden behind the expanded formula bar. Note that the cell contents appear in the formula bar, which expands to display all the text in the cell.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1

If you are using a pointer device, such as a mouse or a trackball, click the formula bar to display the insertion point.

Method 2

To prevent the cell from becoming hidden, make the formula bar unavailable. To do this, click Formula Bar on the View menu. Clicking this command turns the formula bar on or off.

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 98, the maximum number of characters that you can type in a single cell is 32,767. In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, the maximum number is 255.

The formula bar can display the entire contents of a single cell by expanding downward over the worksheet. The greater the number of characters in the cell, the larger the formula bar expands to display the cell contents. Note that the formula bar may overlap and hide portions of the worksheet if there are many characters in the cell.