Microsoft KB Archive/125505

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Text Pasted from MS Excel Worksheet Doesn't Appear or is Black

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ID: Q125505

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0

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SYMPTOMS
When you paste information from a Microsoft Excel worksheet to a document in another application, the text does not appear, or the text appears black, instead of appearing in the expected Window Text color used in Microsoft Windows.

CAUSE
This behavior occurs because Microsoft Excel does not use the Window Text color set in Microsoft Windows Control Panel. Instead, the pasted information always appears in black. This behavior occurs when you use the Paste Special dialog box to paste the information using any of the following options: Microsoft Excel Worksheet object, Formatted Text (RTF), or Picture.

Because of this behavior, if your Window Background color in Microsoft Windows is set to black, when you paste information from a Microsoft Excel worksheet to a document in another application, the text does not appear, because the background color is the same as the text. This problem occurs, for example, when you are using white text (Window Text) on a black background (Window Background) in Microsoft Windows.

WORKAROUNDS
To work around this problem, use any of the following methods.

Method 1: When you format the text in Microsoft Excel, use the color that you want the text to be displayed in in the document in the other application. To format the text color in Microsoft Excel, do the following:

Version 5.0
 Select the text you want to format. From the Format menu, choose Cells. Select the Font tab. From the Color list, select the desired color for the text. Choose OK.

Versions 3.0 and 4.0
 Select the text you want to format. From the Format menu, choose Font. From the Color list, select the desired color for the text, and choose OK.

Method 2: Use the Paste Special dialog box to paste the text, and select either the Unformatted Text option (in Microsoft Word) or the Bitmap option. These options use the Window Text color in Microsoft Windows.