XL97: Clicking Undo Last May Cause Error

ID: Q168562

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you check the spelling in a worksheet that contains a cell that contains at least 256 characters, one or more of the following problems may occur:

Up to 12 characters, starting with the 256th character, are converted into random binary characters. For example, these characters are converted to squares or other strange characters.
```
    -or-
```

You receive the following error message:

      The text string you entered is too long. Reduce the number of
      characters used or cancel the entry.

    -or-

You receive the following error message:

      This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut
      down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

If you click Details, you receive an error message similar to either of the following:

      EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module EXCEL.EXE at
      0137:304dbb1e.

      EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module EXCEL.EXE at
      0137:30258b90.

When you click Close, Microsoft Excel 97 quits.

CAUSE

These problems may occur if the following conditions are true:

One or more cells in the worksheet contain more than 256 characters.
```
    -and-
```
In the Spelling dialog box, you click Undo Last.

The second and third problems are more likely to occur if the cell you are checking contains more than 304 characters.

WORKAROUND

To work around these problems, do not click Undo Last if any cells in the worksheet contain more than 256 characters.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

When you use the spelling checker in Microsoft Excel 97, you can undo the most recent action performed in the Spelling dialog box by clicking Undo Last.

Note that the problems described in this article occur only if you click Undo Last; you can usually check the spelling of any cell, no matter how many characters it contains, without receiving any error messages.

Additional query words: XL97

Keywords          : kberrmsg xlui 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: November 1, 1998