XL97: Unexpected Font or Color Formatting Applied to Chart

ID: Q173077

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Chart Wizard in Microsoft Excel 97 to create a new chart or to edit an existing chart, the chart may contain formatting you do not expect. For example, the chart may use a background color or fill that you did not specify, or labels in the chart may use a font you did not specify.


CAUSE

This problem occurs when either of the following conditions is true:

  • When you use the Chart Wizard, you do the following:


    1. In step 1 of the wizard, you click the Custom Types tab, click a custom chart type (for example, B&W Column or Blue Pie), and click Next.


    2. In step 2 of the wizard, you click Back.


    3. In step 1 of the wizard, you click the Standard Types tab and click a standard chart type.


    4. You then click Finish, or click Next and proceed through the the Chart Wizard.


    -or-

  • You click Custom Type as the default format for new charts and you click a Standard Type in the Chart Wizard when you create a new chart.


The problem occurs because Microsoft Excel fails to remove all of the formatting that is applied by the Custom Type format when you switch from a Custom Type to a Standard Type format.


WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, reset the chart to the default format. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type. Click the Standard Types tab.


  2. Click to select the Default Formatting check box. Then, click OK.


Note that you can also manually reformat parts of the chart by selecting them and pressing CTRL+1.

To prevent this problem from occurring, do not click Next in step 1 of the wizard until you are sure that you have selected the correct chart format. The Custom Type formatting is not applied to the chart until you click Next.

NOTE: If you already proceeded to step 2 of the wizard, clicking Cancel prevents the changes from being applied to the chart.

You can also prevent this problem from occurring by setting the default chart type to a non-Custom Type.


STATUS

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


MORE INFORMATION

If you want to see what the chart will look like when you use the Chart Wizard to create or edit the chart, click the Standard Types tab in step 1 of the wizard, and then click the "Press and hold to view sample" button.

Additional query words: XL97 chartwizard

Keywords : kbtool kbchart xlui xlformat
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: June 14, 1999
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