Excel: Symbol Command in Word 5.0 Disables Excel Shortcut Keys

Summary:

If the Symbol Command is used in Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, version 5.0, while Excel is open in the background, the modifier keys in Excel will be partially disabled. The keyboard shortcuts for menu commands will still work, but any other keyboard shortcuts will not. For example, COMMAND+S will still save the active worksheet, but COMMAND+; will not insert the current time into the formula bar.

To enable all the keyboard shortcuts, quit and restart Excel. The keyboard shortcuts will then work correctly.

More Information:

The Symbol Command that appears in the Microsoft Word 5.0 Insert menu allows insertion of symbols into a Word document. The command also displays all available characters and the key-combinations necessary to insert them for any particular font.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.2 and 3.0. This problem was addressed in Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh version 4.0.

Reference(s):

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 29-35