Office: Selected Items Color Ignored in Office Programs

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When you change the Selected Items color in Windows, this color may not be used when you select items in your Office applications.

CAUSE

This occurs because the Office applications do not use the Selected Items color in Windows for every element that you select in the application. For example, when you select text in a cell on your Microsoft Excel worksheet or you select text in a Microsoft Word document, the selection does not appear in the color that you chose for the Selected Items element for your display.

One of the screen elements that you can select a color for using the Display icon in Control Panel is the Selected Items element. The color that you select is used, for example, when you click a menu, or an item on a menu, or an icon in a folder. This color is also used when you select text in Notepad. However, this color is not used when you select text in the Office applications.

When you select text in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, the selection appears in an inverse color of the Window color. For example, if you select the color white for the Window color, the selection is black when you select text in your worksheet or document.

The Selected Items color is used in the Office applications when you select the following:

   item in list box and drop-down
   menu
   menu item
   item in text box

RESOLUTION

To change the Selected Items color or the Window color in Windows, do the following:

1. On the Windows taskbar, click Start. Click Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display icon.

3. Click the Appearance tab.

4. In the Item list, click the element that you want to change, such as Selected Items or Window. In the Color list, click the color that you want the item to appear.

5. Click OK and then close Control Panel.

REFERENCES

For more information about changing the colors of the screen elements in Windows, click the Index tab in Windows Help, type the following text

   colors, screen