Bill has a large worksheet that he can no longer format cells within. When he right-clicks on a cell and selects Format, the Format Cells dialog box never appears. Likewise, if he chooses Cells from the Format menu, the dialog box never shows up.
This, obviously, is not the way that Excel is supposed to behave. Since the problem occurs with only a single workbook, the problem is most likely not with Excel itself, but with the workbook. There are a few things you can try to track down the problem.
First, make sure that you open the workbook with macros disabled. Hold down the Shift key as you double-click the workbook in Windows Explorer, then indicate that you don't want to enable the macros. If the problem persists, you can rule out it being rooted in a macro. If the problem goes away, then you know you need to examine the macros to see which one is causing the problem.
Second, the file (which Bill mentions is both old and large) could have so many formats defined within it that you can no longer do formatting. This problem has been covered in other issues of ExcelTips, and you can find related information, including a way to free up formats, here:
https://bettersolutions.com/excel/formatting/vba-delete-unused-custom-formats.htm
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2007-excel/delete-custom-formats/23d6727c-d052-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5?db=5
Look for the macro entitled DeleteUnusedCustomNumberFormats; it can help clean up the no-longer-used custom formats.
Another thing to try is to save the worksheet as an HTML file, get out of Excel, get back into the program, and then load the HTML file. Sometimes the "round trip" for a worksheet will clear up some quirks that may be confusing Excel.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3344) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
Need to replace the formats applied to some cells with a different format? Those using Excel 2003 will find it easy; ...
Discover MoreGetting rid of formatting from a cell or group of cells can be done using several different techniques. This tip ...
Discover MoreWhen you get a bunch of raw data into Excel from an external source, it isn't going to be formatted to your liking. The ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-08-13 20:05:43
Ray, thank you for pointing out that this web page doesn't work anymore. We are working on updating old links. The following web pages may be of some help on how to remove unwanted or unused formatting.
https://bettersolutions.com/excel/formatting/vba-delete-unused-custom-formats.htm
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2007-excel/delete-custom-formats/23d6727c-d052-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5?db=5
2018-08-11 18:25:22
Ray Austin
This www.j-walk.com page can’t be found
No webpage was found for the web address: http://www.j-walk.com/ss/excel/eee/eee007.txt
HTTP ERROR 404
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments