XL98: Contents of the MS Excel Readme File

NOTE: If you have large or complex documents, and increasing the memory requirements for Excel does not address the symptoms described above, continue increasing the memory until the symptoms disappear.

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MICROSOFT EXCEL 98 HELP

Using the Keyboard to Select Options in the Office Assistant Welcome Balloon

When you start Microsoft Excel for the first time, the Office Assistant shows a Welcome balloon with three options. You cannot start using Excel until you select the third option, or press ESC to close the balloon. To select an option using the keyboard, press COMMAND+1 to select the first option, COMMAND+2 to select the second option, or COMMAND+3 to select the third option.

NOTE: You may not be able to use the keyboard to select these options on a non-U.S. keyboard, such as Italian, if the numeric keys are available only when you hold down the SHIFT key.

Help Topics Graphics Don't Print Clearly

When you print a Help topic that contains a graphic, the graphic may not print clearly. In particular, this occurs when you print a topic with grayscale colors using a printer driver that does not have options to control dithering.

Correction to MS Excel Help Topics

The "Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphics filter" topic in the MS Excel Help file incorrectly states that the filter supports Encapsulated PostScript images with Windows Metafile (WMF) embedded previews. Although the image prints correctly, the embedded Windows Metafile (WMF) preview does not appear on the screen when you insert the graphic.

Correction to MS Excel Upgrade Help Topics

The "Toolbars, graphics and integration with Microsoft Office" topic in the MS Excel Upgrade Help file mentions the Office Shortcut Bar. There is no Office Shortcut Bar in Microsoft Office 98.

The "Microsoft Excel on the Web" topic in the MS Excel Upgrade Help file mentions the Web Form Wizard. There is no Web Form Wizard in Microsoft Excel 98.

Correction to MS Clip Gallery Help Topics

The "File formats the Clip Gallery can import" topic in the MS Clip Gallery Help file incorrectly states that the Clip Gallery supports the QuickTime MPEG File Format. The Clip Gallery cannot import this file format.

The "Clip Gallery databases" topic in the MS Clip Gallery Help file incorrectly states that the Clip Gallery database -- called the primary database -- is stored in Macintosh HD:Microsoft Office 98:Office:Art Gallery. The Clip Gallery database is actually stored in Macintosh HD:System Folder:Preferences:Clip Gallery User Database.

The "Create a shared Clip Gallery database and configure a user's computer to access it" topic in the MS Clip Gallery Help file gives the incorrect name and location for the Clip Gallery database file. The corrected steps in this topic should read as follows:

Create a shared Clip Gallery database

1. To use the existing Clip Gallery database file, Clip Gallery User Database, as a shared database, go directly to step 8. To create a shared Clip Gallery database from scratch, from the desktop, open the Macintosh HD:System Folder:Preferences folder.

2. Click the Clip Gallery User Database icon, and then type a new name for this file, such as Clip Gallery User Database Old, to keep as a backup.

3. Open the Clip Gallery from within any program. The Clip Gallery creates a new empty Clip Gallery database file named Clip Gallery User Database.

   Step 7 should read as follows:

   7. From the desktop, copy the new Clip Gallery User Database file to a central location on the shared disk.

'Out of Memory' Message When Saving File as Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook

When you save a workbook in the Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook format that contains a graphic, you may receive the message "Out of memory" and the graphic may not appear when you open the saved workbook. This behavior occurs with compressed graphic files and high-resolution graphic files when the resolution of the graphic is very high. To avoid receiving this message and losing the graphic, do the following before you save the workbook in the Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook format:

1. Select the graphic.

2. On the Edit menu, click Cut.

3. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special.

4. In the Paste As list, click Picture.

If you created custom chart types in either Microsoft Excel 5.0 or Microsoft Graph 5.0, the custom chart types are not automatically available in Excel 98 or Graph 98. To view the custom chart types you created in Excel 5.0 or Graph 5.0 in Excel 98 and Graph 98, do the following before you create custom chart types in Excel 98 or Graph 98:

1. From the desktop, double-click the hard disk icon.

2. Double-click the System Folder icon.

3. Double-click the Preferences icon.

4. Double-click the Excel Startup Folder 5.

5. Arrange the folders so you can see both the Preferences and the Excel Startup Folder 5 folders.

6. Locate the Excel Chart AutoFormats (5) icon in the Excel Startup Folder 5 folder, and then drag this file to the Preferences folder.

7. Click the Excel Chart AutoFormats (5) icon name.

8. Type the new name, "Excel Chart User Gallery" (without the quotation marks), and then press RETURN.

9. Locate the Graph Chart AutoFormats (5) icon in the Preferences folder and click its name.

10. Type the new name, "Graph Chart User Gallery" (without the quotation marks), and then press RETURN.

Microsoft Graph 97 Object Formatting Appears Incorrectly

When you open an Excel workbook that contains a Microsoft Graph 97 object created in Microsoft Windows, some of the chart formatting may appear incorrectly. To correct the formatting, double-click the chart to open it in Microsoft Graph 98.

Clip Gallery Doesn't Preserve Graphic Image Transparency

When you import a graphic image into the Clip Gallery, alpha channel information is not preserved. A result of this behavior is that when you insert a Clip Gallery image into your Office document, the transparency of the image may be lost. To preserve the transparency of an image, point to Picture on the Insert menu, and then click From File to insert your image.

Internet Explorer

If you currently use Internet Explorer version 4.0, please upgrade to version 4.0a. Internet Explorer version 4.0a is included on the Office CD, or you can download the latest version from the Web at:

   http://www.microsoft.com/ie/mac

Using Netscape Navigator and Hyperlinks in Office

If you use Netscape Navigator as your Web browser, you may receive the following message when you click a hyperlink or open a Web page in an Office program: "Office cannot open the URL you specified. Make sure you have a web browser installed and that it is configured correctly." This message appears because Netscape has not been registered in the Internet Preferences file. To avoid receiving this message, do the following:

1. On the Apple menu, point to Control Panels, and then click Configuration Manager.

2. In the list on the left, under Network, click Protocol Helpers.

3. In the Protocol list, click File, and then click Change.

4. Click Choose Helper.

5. Locate and double-click the Netscape Navigator program file.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the following protocols: ftp, gopher, http, and https.

7. In the list on the left, under Network, click Proxies.

8. Make sure that your proxy setting information is the same as in Netscape Navigator.

You can also use the Internet Config application to register Netscape Navigator in the Internet Preferences file. Instructions for obtaining and using Internet Config can be found at:

   http://www.stairways.com/ic/index.html

Shortcut Keys May Not Work with Non-U.S. Keyboard Layouts

Shortcuts keys may not work in Microsoft Excel if you are using a keyboard layout other than U.S., such as Arabic. To use shortcut keys, change the keyboard layout to U.S. If you have multiple keyboard layouts selected in the Keyboard dialog box, including U.S., click U.S. on the Keyboard menu. If the Keyboard menu does not appear on the menu bar or if U.S. is not listed on the Keyboard menu, do the following:

1. From the desktop, point to Control Panels on the Apple menu, and then click Keyboard.

2. In the list of keyboard layouts, select the U.S. check box.

3. Close the Keyboard dialog box.

4. On the Keyboard menu, click U.S.

Using Microsoft Office 98 with Symantec AntiVirus for Macintosh

Microsoft Office 98 is incompatible with Symantec AntiVirus for Macintosh virus definitions released before February 1998. If you are using one of these older SAM virus definition files and you cannot immediately download the latest update, you should disable the SAM Intercept extension in Extensions Manager before you run any of the Office applications.

For additional information and the latest SAM definitions, check the Symantec Web site at:

     http://www.symantec.com

Cannot Install Value Pack Components if Running Office Programs from the CD or a Network

If you run a Microsoft Office program from the CD or network drive instead of installing it to your hard disk, you cannot use the Value Pack Installer to install Value Pack components. The Value Pack Installer requires that your Office programs be installed on your hard disk because, to work correctly, Value Pack components must be located in specific folders on your hard disk relative to the rest of the Office files.

Message Appears When Using Microsoft Query for the First Time in Microsoft Excel

If you install Microsoft Query from the Value Pack (Data Access component), a message appears the first time you use the Create New Query or Run Database Query command (Data menu, Get External Data command) in Microsoft Excel. The message incorrectly states that Microsoft Query has not been installed. However, if you use the command a second time, Microsoft Query will start correctly and you will not receive the message again. This problem only occurs the first time you use Microsoft Query in Microsoft Excel.

Error Adding Text or dBASE Tables in Microsoft Query

If you have problems adding tables with the text or dBASE ODBC drivers, refer to the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q179108 XL98: Problems Adding dBASE Database in Microsoft Query Q179660 XL98: Problems Adding Text Database in Microsoft Query

To obtain any of these articles from Microsoft Technical Support on the World Wide Web, follow these steps:

1. Connect to the Microsoft Support site at the following address:

   http://support.microsoft.com/support/default.asp NOTE: If you've never visited this site before, you will be required to register.

2. Search for either of the articles above using the Q number.

3. Click Find.

4. Click a title to view the article.

The Overview file located in the Value Pack:Clip Art folder is available to preview and copy clip art files to the Clipboard. Copy the Overview file to your hard disk and view the clip art files while the CD is still in your CD- ROM drive. The Overview file searches for the clip art files located on the CD.

Correction to Phone Number for Palo Alto Software

The Small Business Pack templates, installed as a component of the Value Pack, were originally developed by Palo Alto Software. The phone number listed for Palo Alto Software is incorrect. The correct number is (541) 683- 6162.