Excel 2008 shows pound sign / hashes (Zoom level Bug)

[ojak2]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Excel files created in 2004 Excel and opened in 2008 Excel show strange pound symbols (hashes) in the text fields, whether the field is large enough to fit the text or not. Pound signs are inconsistent as well: "## ##### # ###". Looks as though this only occurs at zoom levels that are not 100% (e.g. 125%, 150%, etc). Super annoying...

Screenshot at 100% zoom:
<http://nanchatte.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/ss1.gif>

Screenshot at 125% zoom:
<http://nanchatte.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/ss2.gif>

Good writeup online at:
<http://nanchatte.wordpress.com/2008...e-2008-disaster-officemac-2008-buggy-as-hell/>

Any solutions to this bug yet?

(NOTE: The answer to this question in the earlier forum at <http://www.officeformac.com/ProductForums/Excel/3294> is wrong. But this forum is a bit lame, since it doesn't allow you to continue discussion on an "inactive" post... probably so people can't complain about a single issue en-mass... lame).

 

[CyberTaz]

My reply to this post was not an *answer*, it was a request for more
detailed & specific information to which the OP neglected to respond.

Additionally, that post is in excess of 90 days old with no further
discussion during that time. Since then there have been several updates to
the OS as well as to Office so it's quite likely that anything that might
have been offered then would no longer be appropriate. Dragging dead
discussions along indefinitely does nothing but create confusion &
difficulty for posters & responders as well. There's no restraint on
"complaining about a single issue en-masse" or anything else other than
spam. However, to have a multiplicity of me-too rants interjected in the
thread also creates the same type of havoc mentioned above.

This is a user to user forum for the purpose of assisting others as best we
can, not a blog or a bitch-fest. If one believes their problem to be the
same as one already posted, appropriate participation is to follow the
suggestions offered on the subject - there's no reason to "chime in". If the
suggestions that work for others don't work for another it strongly suggests
that the source of the problem is *different* in some way, so posting a new
message is not only recommended, it's encouraged. In that way each
individual's issue maintains its integrity & serves as an accurate &
intelligible resource for others who follow.

Finally - if you are seeking any assistance - roaring in with your guns
blazing is hardly going to encourage any favorable responses. If the forum
is so "lame" & the responders are so "wrong" why are you even here? Perhaps
you'd do better at the nanchatte site you find to offer such a "good
writeup". Take advantage of the solutions offered there... Oh, that's right,
there aren't any. I forgot, it's just for MS-bashing.

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[ojak2]

Ok... So it is a bug?

Look, man. I understand why you're defensive and you sound like a good guy that's trying to make things work better. It's not MS-bashing, honestly. You might consider that from a consumer point-of-view, MS doesn't have a particularly stellar track record (anti-trust, actively attacking standards, generally poor post-sale user support, etc). I'm not sure how to win here, since if a user posts a legitimate question, the answer is all to often that "it's not a bug" and if a user posts links to writeups on the bug (which I agree, may included rants by others that include wildly unfair claims), I get attacked for MS-bashing.

Anyhow, I apologize that I offended you.

 

[CyberTaz]

Don't misunderstand - It takes much more than that to offend me Nor did
I accuse you - I was referring to the overriding tenor of the blog you
referenced. It starts off by dismissing the "good stuff" in order to get it
"out of the way" then launches into an extensive diatribe on a few isolated
issues. And - although in all honesty I simply scanned the article &
replies, I didn't read in detail - I saw absolutely no effort by any
contributor including the author to even suggest possible causes or
solutions. BTW - it also was posted back in September prior to the release
of several major updates to Office 2008.

At any rate, apology accepted even though that's not what I was going for.
My point is that regardless of what the cause may be sniping, carping &
denigrating others doesn't help get the issue resolved... If anything it
generates personal conflict & simply serves as an obstacle. Anyone who
harbors political or moral disdain for the developer and/or is convinced
that the program is "unusable" has several alternatives to choose from.
Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head forcing them to use Excel 2008, but
they feel like they are compelled to use it because - in so may words - the
rest of the world is & they have to be compatible. They seem to lose sight
of one little thing: If the product & the company are so damned evil why
does "the rest of the world" continue to use it?

As far as it being a bug I honestly don't know. Obviously the phenomenon
occurs but it doesn't appear to be widespread - it's just that where you do
see it reported those same users seem to scream loudly & repeatedly ...
And I'm not saying they aren't justified in doing so.

All I can say is that I've been using Excel 2008 starting with the beta
testing & with files created in various versions of Excel on both PC & Mac
but have never experienced it. MacBU has not been able to repro the behavior
& there have been very few isolated occurrences reported *here*. To make
matters worse, none of those who have complained of the issue have bothered
to comply with requests for additional details or specimen files and have
not followed up on their own posts. Having not heard more from them it
suggests that their issues have somehow been resolved but they've also not
bothered to respond with what the solution was.

If you're serious about you're intent to help resolve the issue I'm sure
that the regulars here as well as MacBU would be more than glad to help.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[ojak2]

I hear ya, but you gotta admit, you're not being quite fair in your representation either. There are still many companies using legacy software and hardware for a myriad of tasks using outdated, inefficient, and less-than-optimal methodologies, but continue to do so not because the products are so great, but because the transition, re-training, and alternatives are too costly or in the case of Office, too overwhelmingly deployed internally and among partner companies. Office has a lot of good features and you will rarely get feedback on a support site that says so (since you come here when you have a problem, not to dole out praise). Office does a lot of things well, but it's o.k. to admit it has a lot of bad features and bugs too.

Maybe I'm too "old-school", but I remember a time when shooting high and missing was better than shooting low and hitting... I guess my main point is, I think people expect Microsoft to be more than just *adequate*. God knows they have the money and power to do it.

Thanks for your time, I'll leave you alone now.