XL97: Cannot Modify or Delete Custom Menus (157087)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q157087

SYMPTOMS

If you customize a menu in Microsoft Excel 97, the menu changes may not be saved when you save, close and reopen the workbook.

CAUSE

Your customizations to a menu in Microsoft Excel 97 may not be saved with your workbook if the following conditions are true:

  • The workbook was originally created in either Microsoft Excel version 5.0 or 7.0. -and-

  • You created custom menus in this workbook using the Menu Editor in either Microsoft Excel version 5.0 or 7.0. -and-

  • You have saved your workbook in the Microsoft Excel 97 format.

RESOLUTION

You cannot save modifications (made in Microsoft Excel 97) to custom menus you create in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. If you want to remove custom menus created in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, copy the contents of your workbook to a new Microsoft Excel 97 workbook. Use the Move or Copy Sheet command from the Edit menu to copy the sheets. The Custom menus are not copied to the new workbook.

Steps to Copy All Sheets to a New Workbook

  1. Close all open workbooks and open the workbook that contains the undesired custom menu.
  2. Right-click a sheet tab, and then click Select All Sheets.
  3. From the Edit menu click Move or Copy Sheet. From the To book: drop-down list, click (new book). Select the Create a copy option and click OK. This will copy all sheets to a new workbook and activate the new workbook.
  4. If there are not any macros in the original workbook continue with step 10, otherwise activate the original workbook that contains the macros. Click the workbook name from the Window menu to accomplish this.
  5. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor.
  6. On the View menu, click Project Explorer.
  7. In the Project Explorer, drag each module from the Modules folder of the original workbook to the new workbook created in step 3.
  8. On the File menu, click Close and Return to Microsoft Excel.
  9. Click Close from the File menu to close the original workbook.
  10. Save the new workbook. This workbook will now allow you to modify the menu.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, you do not use the Menu Editor the same as you did in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. To work with menus in Microsoft Excel 97, read each of the sections listed below.

Customize Existing Menus

This example will customize the Window menu on the Worksheet menu bar.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.

    You will now be able to customize the menus in Microsoft Excel 97.
  2. When the Customize dialog box appears, click Window on the Worksheet Menu Bar.
  3. Right click Split and then click Delete on the shortcut menu.
  4. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.

    If you click Window, the Split menu item is not on the menu.
  5. On the Tools menu click Customize.
  6. When the Customize dialog box appears, right click Window on the Worksheet Menu Bar.
  7. Click Reset on the shortcut menu that appears.
  8. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
If you click Window, the Split menu item is back on the menu.

Creating a New Custom Menu

  1. On the Tools menu click Customize.
  2. In the Customize dialog box click the Commands tab.
  3. In the Categories list box, scroll down to the bottom of the list and click New Menu.

    On the right side of the Commands tab, New Menu is listed under Commands.
  4. Drag New Menu to the Worksheet Menu Bar and place it to the right of the Help menu.

    NOTE: When you move "New Menu" up to the Worksheet Menu Bar, an insertion line becomes visible to assist you in locating your new menu.
  5. In the Categories list box, click Macros.

    On the right side of the Commands tab, you now see Custom Menu Item and Custom Button under Commands.
  6. Drag Custom Button and place it (do not drop it yet) on top of New Menu that now appears on the Worksheet Menu bar.
  7. A small empty menu appears below New Menu. Drop Custom Button on this small empty menu.

    NOTE: The insertion marker should be in the empty menu that appears below New Menu in order for Custom Button to become a menu item on New Menu.
  8. Right click Custom Button, which is now a menu item on New Menu.

    A shortcut menu appears with a list of all the changes you can make to this menu item. The following is a partial list of the things you can do:

    1. change the name to something other than Custom Button
    2. change the button image on this menu item
    3. assign a macro to this menu item
    4. delete the menu item
  9. Click Close on the Customize dialog box to finish customizing your menus.

REFERENCES

For more information about Customizing Menus, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 97 Help, type the following text

menus, setting defaults for commands

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Restore original settings for a built-in toolbar button or menu command" topic.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/21/2000
Keywords:KB157087
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.