XL97: Lotus Macro Interpreter Menus May Not Work as Expected

ID: Q171469

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

If you open a Lotus 1-2-3 file that contains one or more Lotus Macro Interpreter menus, the menus may not work as you expect when you use them in Microsoft Excel 97. Specifically, the menus may contain strings that look like formulas.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if you run a Lotus Macro Interpreter menu that refers to a cell that contains a formula.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

To work around this problem, remove all formulas that are used by in Lotus Macro Interpreter menus.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172475
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

In Lotus 1-2-3, you can create custom menus by using the "{menubranch}" construct. The following is an example of the construct: 

   A1: {menubranch C1}   C1: One   D1: Two
If you run the custom menu by pressing CTRL and the key assigned to the menu, a dialog box containing the choices "One" and "Two" is displayed.

If one of the cells used by the menu contains a formula, the formula may appear in the dialog box instead of the value returned by the formula. For example, assume the worksheet contains the following information: 

   A1: {menubranch C1}   C1: One   D1: =IF(G1,"Deux","Two")
The following is displayed: 

   A1: {menubranch C1}   C1: One   D1: Two
When you run the menu, the dialog box contains the following choices: 

   One
   @IF(G1,"Deux","Two")
The second choice is the formula in cell D1 as it appears in Lotus 1-2-3.

This problem does not occur in Microsoft Excel 97, Service Release 1.

Additional query words: XL97 sr1 LMI 

Keywords          : xl123Quattro 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: November 1, 1998