XL97: How to Obtain the Excel 97 Auto Recalculation Patch

ID: Q174868

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1), worksheet values may not be recalculated correctly when certain conditions are true. To correct this problem, Microsoft has developed the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch for use with Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

This problem was also corrected in Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2). Office 97 SR-2 incorporates the fixes included in the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch.

For additional information about SR-2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q151261 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-2

This article contains information about the problems that are corrected by the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch, the requirements for installing the patch, and information about downloading and installing the patch.

MORE INFORMATION

How Do I Download the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch?

To download the patch, follow these steps:

Use a Web browser to go to the following Microsoft Web site:

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/xl8patch.htm

Click Download Now to download Xl8patch.exe. You may be prompted to either run the program from its current location or save the program to your hard disk.

If you choose to run the program from its current location, the patch is started. See the "How Do I Install" section later in this article for installation instructions.

If you choose to save the program to your hard disk, save the Xl8patch.exe program on your desktop. You can then run Xl8patch.exe or expand its files and run the Xl8p3.exe file manually.

What Does the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch Correct?

This patch corrects several problems that may occur when you use automatic calculation in Microsoft Excel 97. For more information and specific examples of the problems that the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch resolves, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q171339 XL97: Some Values Not Recalculated When Using Multiple Formulas

Q154134 XL97: Functions in Filled Formulas May Not Be Recalculated

Q182999 XL97: Chart Data Labels Linked to Formulas Are Not Updated

NOTE: The most current version of the patch, Xl8p3.exe, resolves all of these issues and replaces both the original patch, Xl8p1.exe, and the replacement patch, Xl8p2.exe.

What Do I Need to Install the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch?

The Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch is designed to update only Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1. You cannot update the original version of Microsoft Excel 97. If Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1 is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about how to obtain and install Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1:
Q172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

NOTE: You can also use the Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 1 Patch to update Microsoft Excel 97. For more information about obtaining Office 97 SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q174422 OFF97: Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 1 Patch Update
The Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch also requires at least 5 megabytes (MB) of available hard disk space.

What's Included in the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch?

The Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch consists of a single file, Xl8patch.exe. This file is a self-extracting executable that contains six files:


   Advpack.dll   W95inf16.dll   Xl8p3.exe
   Prepost.inf   W95inf32.dll   Xl8p3.inf

If you simply run Xl8patch.exe, it expands the files, runs the Xl8p3.exe patch file, and then cleans up all of the files after patching is finished.

You can also use command line switches to control how Xl8patch.exe is run. For example, you can use the /t and /c switches to manually expand the files. This allows you to patch copies of Microsoft Excel that are stored on network servers. See below for more information about these switches.

How Do I Install the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch on My Computer?

When you run Xl8patch.exe, you receive the following message:


   Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch Setup
   Do you want to install the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch?

If you click Yes, Xl8patch.exe automatically expands and runs the Xl8p3.exe patch file. Xl8p3.exe then determines the location of the Microsoft Excel program file, Excel.exe, patches the program file, and then displays a message that indicates whether Microsoft Excel has been successfully updated. The entire process takes only a few seconds.

NOTE: After you install the patch, the recalculation problem may still occur in workbooks the first time you open them. If this problem occurs, press CTRL+ALT+F9, and then save the workbook. When you do this, the problem no longer occurs in that workbook. However, it may be necessary to repeat this step for each workbook the first time you open it.

NOTE: You may also need to use this procedure if you are running Microsoft Office 97 SR-2.

How Do I Install the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch on Another Computer?

By using setup switches, you can manually expand Xl8patch.exe and force Xl8p3.exe to update a specific copy of Excel.exe; for example, you can update a copy of Excel.exe that is stored on a network server. To do this, follow these steps:

Download Xl8patch.exe and save it on the desktop.

On the Start menu, click Run. Type the following command line
c:\windows\desktop\xl8patch.exe /t:c:\windows\desktop /c
and click OK. Then, click Yes.

The six files that are contained in Xl8patch.exe, including Xl8p3.exe, appear on the desktop.

On the Start menu, click Run. Type the following command line
c:\windows\desktop\xl8p3.exe /p "path to Excel.exe"
where path to Excel.exe is the complete path to Excel.exe. You must type the path to Excel.exe in quotation marks; for example, type the following:
"D:\Office\Excel.exe"
Then, click OK.

NOTE: The path cannot exceed 256 characters in length.

The patch is applied to the specified copy of Excel.exe.

After you are done using the patch, you can delete the following files from the desktop:


      Advpack.dll   W95inf16.dll   Xl8p3.exe
      Prepost.inf   W95inf32.dll   Xl8p3.inf

NOTE: After you install the patch, the recalculation problem may still occur in workbooks the first time you open them. If this problem occurs, press CTRL+ALT+F9, and then save the workbook. When you do this, the problem no longer occurs in that workbook. However, you may need to repeat this step for each workbook the first time you open it.

Running the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch in Silent Mode

You can run the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch in silent mode by using the /q switch when you run Xl8patch.exe or the /s switch when you run Xl8p3.exe. Note that you must run Xl8patch.exe or Xl8p3.exe from the command line (on the Start menu, click Run) to use these switches.

For example, the following will run the patch in silent mode:

path\xl8p4kg.exe /q /c:"xl8p4.exe /q"

where path is the location of xl8p4.exe.

How Can I Determine Whether the Patch Has Been Successfully Installed?

When you run the Excel 97 Auto Recalculation Patch, a log file named Xl8p3.log is created in the same folder that contains Excel.exe. You can open this log file to determine whether installation of the patch is successful. If installation is successful, the status message in the log file is similar to the following:


   Excel 97 Auto Recalculation Patch - Patch RUP 16090001
   Microsoft Excel has been patched successfully.

In addition, you can determine whether you have successfully installed the patch by following these steps:

Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to locate the Excel.exe file. The default location for this file is the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office

NOTE: If you are running Microsoft Excel 97 from a network server, Excel.exe is located on the network server.

Right-click Excel.exe. On the shortcut menu, click Properties. Click the Version tab.

Note the file version and compare it to the following table.

The version that is displayed in the Properties dialog box indicates which version of Microsoft Excel 97 you are currently running. If the version number is 8.0d, you have successfully updated Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

You can also determine which version of Microsoft Excel you have installed by clicking About Microsoft Excel on the Help menu in Microsoft Excel 97, or by checking the value that is returned by Application.Build or Application.Version in a Visual Basic for Applications macro.


   File                                            Application.Build/ 
   Version            About menu      Version      Application.Version
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

   Excel 97           Excel 97        8.0          3515 / 8.0

   Excel 97 SR-1      Excel 97 SR-1   8.0a         4307 / 8.0a

   Excel 97 SR-1      Excel 97 SR-1   8.0b         4307 / 8.0a
   and Xl8p1.exe

   Excel 97 SR-1      Excel 97 SR-1   8.0c         4307 / 8.0a
   and Xl8p2.exe

   Excel 97 SR-1      Excel 97 SR-1   8.0d         4308 / 8.0d
   and Xl8p3.exe

Is There Anything Else I Need to Know About Using the Patch?

You cannot update Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1 if you have performed a Run From CD installation of Microsoft Excel 97 or Microsoft Office 97. However, if you performed the Run From CD installation over a network from a CD that was shared with Full Access, the patch may incorrectly report that Microsoft Excel 97 was successfully patched.
If Microsoft Excel 97 is run from an administrative installation point, your network administrator must install the patch. When the network administrator does this, the administrator should use the /p switch followed by the path to Excel.exe on the network server. For more information about this switch, see the "How Do I Install the Excel 97 Auto-Recalculation Patch on Another Computer?" section earlier in this article.
If you have viewed a Microsoft Excel workbook in a Web browser, it may be necessary to quit the Web browser before you install the patch. Save the patch to the desktop, quit the browser program, and then install the patch.
If the Excel.exe file is read-only, the patch fails. To work around this problem, remove the read-only attribute from the Excel.exe file, install the patch, and then reset the read-only Attribute.

Additional query words: XL97 sr1 recalc calc


Keywords          : xlformula 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: June 1, 1999