XL98: Unexpected Results Printing Comments as Displayed (181322)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q181322

SYMPTOMS

When you print a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition that has comments, the comments may not be printed as you expect.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • The comments are placed on or near a page break. -and-

  • You select As Displayed On Sheet in the Comments box in the Page Setup dialog box (click Page Setup on the File menu).

MORE INFORMATION

Comments in Microsoft Excel 98 are drawing objects like rectangles and text boxes. When you select As Displayed On Sheet, comments are printed where they are placed, regardless of the location of the cell that contains the comment. You may see similar behavior with other drawing objects that are on or near a page break. In Microsoft Excel 98, objects are not confined to column widths; so page break boundaries may be different for objects compared to boundaries for text.

NOTE: The printed results may vary slightly depending on the printer driver you are using.

Example

To see an example of this behavior, follow these steps:

  1. Type the following information into a worksheet:

    A1: 100 B1: 100 C1: 100 D1: 100
    A2: 200 B2: 200 C2: 200 D2: 200
    A3: 300 B3: 300 C3: 300 D3: 300
    A4: 400 B4: 400 C4: 400 D4: 400
    A5: 500 B5: 500 C5: 500 D5: 500
    A6: 600 B6: 600 C6: 600 D6: 600
    A7: 700 B7: 700 C7: 700 D7: 700
    A8: 800 B8: 800 C8: 800 D8: 800
    A9: 900 B9: 900 C9: 900 D9: 900

  2. Select cell E1. On the Insert menu, click Page Break.
  3. Hold down the CONTROL key and select cell D1. On the shortcut menu, click Insert Comment. Type This is a test.
  4. Hold down the CONTROL key and select cell D1. Click Show Comment.
  5. Hold down the CONTROL key and click cell D4. Click Insert Comment on the shortcut menu. Type This is a test.
  6. Hold down the CONTROL key and select cell D4. Click Show Comment.
  7. Click the comment to select it. Drag it to cell D6 and position it so that half the comment is over column D and half the comment is over column E.
  8. Hold down the CONTROL key and click cell B4. Click Insert Comment on the shortcut menu. Type This is a test.
  9. Hold down the CONTROL key and click cell B4. Click Show Comment on the shortcut menu.
  10. Click the comment to select it. Drag it to cell D10 and position it so that one fourth of the comment is over column D and the rest of the comment is over column E.
  11. On the File menu, click Page Setup. Click the Sheet tab.
  12. In the Print section, locate the Comments box. Select As Displayed On Sheet, and then click OK.
  13. On the File menu, click Print Preview. Note where the comments are printed on each page.
Notice that some comments are printed on page one even though they may cross the page break on the screen. Other comments are partially printed on page two.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/11/2002
Keywords:kbprb kbprint KB181322
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.