Microsoft KB Archive/153317

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

XL: Macintosh and Windows Drop-down Menus Behave Differently
Last reviewed: March 26, 1997

Article ID: Q153317

5.00 5.00c | 5.00 5.00a

WINDOWS   | MACINTOSH kbref

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0, custom drop-down menus behave differently than they do in Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0. In the Windows environment, if you click a custom drop-down menu and you do not choose an item from the list, the drop-down menu's entry field will remain blank. On the Macintosh, if you click the drop-down menu and choose nothing, the drop-down menu's entry field will default to the first item in the list. This behavior of custom dialog boxes in Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh is by design of the Macintosh Operating system and is not a problem in Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION
When you click a custom drop-down menu in Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh and let go without choosing an item, the drop-down menu instantly disappears, and the first entry is returned. In Microsoft Excel for Windows, if you click a custom drop-down menu, the drop-down menu stays open until you click it again. Then, if you choose an item, the drop-down menu will display that item in the entry field. However, if you instead click the blank field at the top, the drop-down menu will disappear and the entry field will remain blank.

In Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0, you can replicate the blank entry field as seen in Microsoft Excel for Windows by including a blank cell at the beginning of the input values for the drop-down menu. For instance, if your input values for a drop-down menu are in cells A1:A10, you would insert a new cell at A1 and change the drop-down menu's input range to A1:A11. This way, the first cell, A1, contains a blank and will be the first item to choose in the drop-down menu.