WD: Ampersand Displays Incorrectly in Drop-Down Form Field

ID: Q125892

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

If you are creating a drop-down form field and one of your list items includes an ampersand (&), the resulting item in the drop-down list is missing the ampersand, and the character adjacent to the ampersand may be underlined. For example, "AT&T" may appear in the drop-down list as:

   ATT
     -

If you try to work around the problem by adding a second ampersand, the drop-down list correctly appears as "AT&T" (without the quotation marks), but when you select "AT&T," it appears in the form field box as the following:

   AT&&T

NOTE: Adding && results in "AT&T" in the drop-down display; however, when AT&T is selected, it appears as ATT and prints out as ATT on hard copy.

In Word 98 Macintosh Edition, use of the ampersand has the following effects:

Using a single ampersand, as in AT&T, does not cause the ampersand to appear, nor is the character next to the ampersand underlined, as in the following:
```
      ATT
```
Using a double ampersand, as in AT&&T, causes a single ampersand to appear, as in the following:
```
      AT&T
```
The character next to the ampersand is not underlined. In both cases, pressing T does not select AT&T from the drop-down list.

CAUSE

By design, the ampersand is used to designate the shortcut key in drop-down lists for quick keyboard access. The shortcut key is underlined.

Additional query words: form field incorrect underlined underline drop down drop-down dropdown

Keywords          : kbui wordnt word8 kbfield macword98 ntword macword kbform word6 word7 word95 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: December 3, 1998