formulas not visible in formula bar

[thermos.greenspot]

One of my machines, a MBP 2.16 with 2 GB or ram, has been having
strange problems with Excel. Clicking on a cell with the mouse does
not show the formual (or value) in the formula bar. It is just blank.
If you then hit "enter" (not "return", which would move it) it shows
and if you use the keyboard, it will show the formula for that cell.
Also, an Intel iMac user just mentioned that problem. They do not use
the same files, so I don't think it is a file issue unless they somehow
got corrupted files in different ways.

I have others that work just fine?

Any ideas? Should I reinstall Office?

 

[CyberTaz]

This usually is the case when the cell containing the formula has been
formatted as hidden & Protection is turned on. If you go to
Tools>Protection>UnProtect Sheet you can then change the
Format>Cells>Protection property to remove the Hidden attribute. The formula
will be displayed in the formula bar even if you turn protection on again.

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

 

[thermos.greenspot]

I will double check, but I don't think this is the problem. The
formula is not displayed when the user first clicks with the mouse on
the cell, but if he then hits 'enter' it will be displayed. If the
formula had been hidden, I don't think it would show up at all.

 

[CyberTaz]

In all probability the Protection/Hidden idea *isn't* the issue - just
thought it might be worth a try to check. I agree that the formula would
still not display after pressing 'enter' if that were the case.

I haven't used any of the Intel Macs, but it sounds as though there may be a
Rosetta issue. If it were an OS X/Excel thing it seems like there should be
some mention of it among non-Intel Mac users as well. Have not been able to
find any similar anomalies posted here or in the Apple Discussions.

If you have done the typical Repair Permissions, trash Preferences/Plist
thing without success, reinstalling may be the answer. Unlike on the PC,
though, reinstalling is typically a last resort, and unless you actually
*uninstall* first (not just drag the app folder t the trash), reinstalling
doesn't fix much of anything.

 

[thermos.greenspot]

As an update, I did end up reinstalling after doing the remove office
uninstall. Looked like there may have been some remnants of the trial
version still there that I should have uninstalled completely when
installing Office. Don't know if that was the issue (or it could have
just been bad preferences) but seems to be working fine all day today.

 

[CyberTaz]

Glad it at least seems to be resolved - and I wouldn't be at all surprised
to find that the traces of the Test Drive were at fault.