Excel: Null Menu Bar Unavailable, Can't Quit Microsoft Excel

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 3.0

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for the Macintosh, the null menu bar is unavailable under the following conditions:

• There are no active or open worksheets

  -and-

• The standard Microsoft Excel menu bars have been replaced with custom menu bars.

Note that this behavior is different from Microsoft Excel version 2.2. In Microsoft Excel version 2.2, closing all active windows brings up the null menu bar, even if a custom menu bar was previously displayed.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do either of the following:

• Include a command in the custom menu bar that quits Excel or returns a standard Microsoft Excel menu bar.

  -or-

• Include the following statements in an Auto_Close macro:

        A1: Auto_Close
        A2: =SHOW.BAR(1)
        A3: =RETURN()
  

  This macro returns the standard Excel menu bar when the macro sheet is closed. If there are no open or active windows, Microsoft Excel will automatically revert to the null menu bar.

1. Type the above commands in a macro sheet.

2. Select cell A1, and choose Define Names from the Formula menu.

3. Name the macro Auto_Close and select the Command option.

MORE INFORMATION

In normal operation, the null menu bar (the one that has only the File, Edit, and Window menus) will appear when there are no active or open worksheets. However, the null menu bar is unavailable if the standard menu bars have been replaced within a macro. If the custom menu bar displayed does not contain a command to exit the program or to return a standard Microsoft Excel menu bar, there will be no way to exit the program without shutting down the computer or pressing COMMAND+OPTION+ESC to force Microsoft Excel to quit.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, page 15 "Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 618-619