XL2000: Bullets Not Retained When Pasting Selection from Word

ID: Q230934

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 2000

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 2000, when you paste a selection from Microsoft Word 2000 that contains bullet formatting, the bullet formatting may not be retained.

Case 1: Text

If you paste bulleted text from Word into a cell on an Excel worksheet, the bullet is not retained.

Case 2: Text Box or AutoShape

If you paste a text box or AutoShape object, such as a rectangle, containing bulleted text, the bullet becomes "invisible." That is, you may see a blank line in place of the bullet.

CAUSE

Case 1: Text

Excel removes bullet formatting when you paste a selection.

Case 2: Text Box or AutoShape

Although Excel retains the bullet when you paste a text box or an AutoShape object containing bulleted text, you cannot see it. In its place you see a blank line, similar to the following:


   ------------------
   | [blank line]   |
   | First item     |
   | [blank line]   |
   | Second item    |
   | [blank line]   |
   | Third item     |
   ------------------

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use the appropriate method for your situation.

Case 1: Text

To add a bullet to text in a cell, create the bullet using its American National Standards Institute (ANSI) code. You can enter this character by copying the character from the Character Map program that ships with Windows, or by entering a keystroke combination. To enter a keystroke combination you hold down ALT and type a four-digit number on the numeric keypad). Note, you cannot type this number using the numbers at the top of the keyboard.

If you are using the Times New Roman font, the keystroke for the bullet character is ALT+0149. To create the bullet: click the cell, hold down ALT and type 0149 on the numeric keypad. Then, release the ALT key after typing the number and type any other text you want.

If you don't know the ANSI code for the bullet character or you want to use a different bullet character, you can determine the character code or insert the character using the Character Map program. To do this, follow these steps:

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, please consult your product documentation to complete these steps.

Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Character Map.

In the Font list, select the font you are using to format the text in Excel.

In the table, click the bullet character. Note the keystroke combination that appears in the lower-right corner of the Character Map dialog box.

At this point you can do one of the following:

Copy the character. To do this, click the symbol, click Select, and then click Copy. Switch to Excel and then click Paste on the Edit menu.

-or-

Switch to Excel and type the keystroke.

In Character Map, click Close.

Case 2: Text Box or AutoShape

Method 1: Apply Font Formatting

If the bulleted text is in a text box, you will see a blank line rather than the bullet character. After you paste the selection, select this blank line and then apply the Symbol font to it. To do this, follow these steps:

Select the blank line in the text box. To do this, click the blank line and then press SHIFT+END.

In the Font list on the Formatting toolbar, click the Symbol font.

The blank line will change to a bullet and merge with the line below it.

Press SPACEBAR if you need to add a space between the bullet and the text.

Method 2: Paste the Selection as an Image

To paste the selection so that it preserves the bullet formatting, click Paste Special on the Edit menu, and select one of the image formats.

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 : kbinterop xlformat
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug