Article ID: 125892 - Last Review: August 16, 2005 - Revision: 1.1

WD: Ampersand Displays Incorrectly in Drop-Down Form Field

This article was previously published under Q125892
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SYMPTOMS

If you are creating a drop-down form field and one of your list items includes an ampersand (&), the resulting item in the drop-down list is missing the ampersand, and the character adjacent to the ampersand may be underlined. For example, "AT&T" may appear in the drop-down list as:
   ATT
     -
				
If you try to work around the problem by adding a second ampersand, the drop-down list correctly appears as "AT&T" (without the quotation marks), but when you select "AT&T," it appears in the form field box as the following:
   AT&&T
				
NOTE: Adding && results in "AT&T" in the drop-down display; however, when AT&T is selected, it appears as ATT and prints out as ATT on hard copy.

In Word 98 Macintosh Edition, use of the ampersand has the following effects:
  • Using a single ampersand, as in AT&T, does not cause the ampersand to appear, nor is the character next to the ampersand underlined, as in the following:
    ATT
  • Using a double ampersand, as in AT&&T, causes a single ampersand to appear, as in the following:
    AT&T
    The character next to the ampersand is not underlined. In both cases, pressing T does not select AT&T from the drop-down list.

CAUSE

By design, the ampersand is used to designate the shortcut key in drop-down lists for quick keyboard access. The shortcut key is underlined.

APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Word 6.0 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Word 6.0a
  • Microsoft Word 6.0c
  • Microsoft Word 95 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Word 95a
  • Microsoft Word 6.0 for Macintosh
  • Microsoft Word 6.01 for Macintosh
  • Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh
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kbfield kbforms kbprb kbui KB125892
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This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.
 

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