Microsoft KB Archive/110186

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XL5: System Appears to Hang When Creating Chart

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

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SYMPTOMS
When you create a chart in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows, Microsoft Excel may appear to hang if the chart contains a large number (500 or more) of data points and you have the TipWizard turned on.

CAUSE
If you have the TipWizard turned on, when you first create a chart, Microsoft Excel checks every point in the chart to see if the data label for that point overlaps the data labels for other points in the chart. If two or more data labels overlap, the following tip is displayed

"If data labels overlap, click one data label and drag it to an empty area." Because this tip has been shown, Microsoft Excel does not check for any more overlapping labels.

However, if the chart contains no data labels, Microsoft Excel checks for overlapping labels until there are no more points to check. This process may take a long time, as much as one hour or more, depending on the speed of your computer and the number of data points involved.

WORKAROUND
To prevent a long delay when you create chart that contains a large number of data points, either of the following:

 Turn off the TipWizard before creating the chart by holding down SHIFT while clicking the TipWizard toolbar button. Once you have created the chart, you can turn the TipWizard back on by holding down SHIFT while clicking the TipWizard toolbar button.  If you force the tip that displays when you have overlapping data labels to display before you create the chart, the delay will not occur. To force this tip to display, do the following:

  In a new worksheet, enter the following data: A1: Alpha B1: Bravo

A2: 1 B2: 1  Select cells A1:B2. From the Insert menu, choose Chart, and then choose On This Sheet. Click and drag on the current worksheet to create an embedded chart. In the ChartWizard - Step 1 of 5 dialog box, choose Finish. Double-click the chart to activate it.</li> Select the first series in the chart, and choose Selected Data Series from the Format menu.</li> Select the Data Labels tab, and under Data Labels, select the Show Label option. Choose OK.</li> Select the Plot area of the chart. Resize the Plot area so that the "Alpha" and "Bravo" labels overlap each other.</li></ol>

The following tip is displayed by the TipWizard: "If data labels overlap, click one data label and drag it to an empty area." While this tip is displayed, you can create your chart without experiencing a long delay.

NOTE: Because this tip is reset when you exit Microsoft Excel, you must display this tip again after you exit Microsoft Excel. You may want to save the chart created above into a workbook so that you can easily display the tip. After following step 8 above, select and copy the chart, paste it into a new workbook, and save the workbook. You can then use this chart to display the tip whenever necessary by double-clicking the chart and repeating step 9 above. </li></ul>

Additional query words:

Keywords :

Version : 5.00

Platform : WINDOWS

Issue type :

Technology :