XL2000: Drawing Objects Appear Differently After Saving to Excel 5.0/95 Format

ID: Q214238

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you open a Microsoft Excel 2000 workbook containing a drawing object in Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0 or 7.0, you may experience the following behaviors:

  • A rotated drawing object appears to lose its rotation, or the rotation is changed.


  • The gradient fill pattern for a drawing object is replaced with a solid color that is the wrong color.


  • The textured fill pattern for a drawing object is replaced by a solid color that is the "average" color of the texture that is replaced.


  • A drawing object with a fill pattern that consists of a picture becomes transparent.



CAUSE

This behavior may occur if you create the drawing object in Excel 2000 and save the workbook in the "Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook" format. The drawing system in Excel 2000 includes features that do not translate correctly to these earlier versions of Excel.

NOTE: You will also see this behavior if:

  • You save the file in "Microsoft Excel 97-2000 & 5.0/95 Workbook" format, close the file and then reopen the file in Excel 5.0 or Excel 7.0.

    -or-

  • You save your workbook in the "Microsoft Excel 97-2000 & 5.0/95 Workbook" format, open the file in Excel 5.0 or 7.0, save it, and then reopen the file in Excel 2000.
Because the "Microsoft Excel 97-2000 & 5.0/95 Workbook" format has the information necessary to display the drawing objects as they were originally shown, the drawing objects appear as expected if you reopen the file in Excel 2000. However, if you open the file in Excel 5.0 or 7.0 and save it, this information is lost, and when reopened in Excel 2000, the drawing objects will appear as they were seen in Excel 5 or Excel 7.


WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, convert the AutoShapes and drawing objects to pictures before saving the workbook in the "Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook" format. To convert an AutoShape or drawing object into a picture, follow these steps:

  1. Select the object.


  2. Press and hold the SHIFT key and click Copy Picture on the Edit menu. Release the SHIFT key.


  3. In the Copy Picture dialog box, click OK.


  4. Select a cell in the worksheet.


  5. On the Edit menu, click Paste.


The original drawing object or AutoShape is converted into a picture. The picture does not change in appearance (except for some minor color changes) when you save the workbook in the "Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook" format and then open the file in Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0.

NOTE: When you use this method, you can no longer format the converted object as an AutoShape or drawing object.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: XL2000

Keywords : xlloadsave xldraw
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: June 14, 1999
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