XL98: Access Keys Do Not Appear in Customize Dialog Box

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In the Customize dialog box in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you press and hold the COMMAND key for one to two seconds, access keys do not appear on buttons and tab names in the dialog box.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because of the way in which Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition displays and responds to the Customize dialog box.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, press and hold the COMMAND key again. The second time you press and hold the COMMAND key, the access keys appear within one to two seconds.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In a dialog box, an access key is an underlined letter that indicates which letter you can use to activate a particular control with the keyboard. For example, if the letter "W" in "Wrap Text" is underlined, you can select the Wrap Text control by pressing COMMAND+W. Access keys are particularly important if you have special accessibility requirements (for example, you are unable to use a mouse and can only use a keyboard).

Example

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, you can display access keys in most dialog boxes by pressing the COMMAND key for one to two seconds. For example, to display access keys, follow these steps:

1. On the Format menu, click Cells. Or, press COMMAND+1 to display the Format Cells dialog box.

2. Press and hold the COMMAND key for two seconds.

3. Click the Alignment tab. Or, press COMMAND+PAGE UP or COMMAND+PAGE DOWN until the Alignment tab is activated.

In the Customize dialog box, you must press and hold the COMMAND key twice for the access keys to appear. This behavior is different from behavior in other dialog boxes in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition and the Customize dialog box in Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition.