Article ID: 171314 - Last Review: October 22, 2000 - Revision: 1.0

XL97: ErrMsg to Fix Formula When Comma Is Decimal Separator

This article was previously published under Q171314
Expand all | Collapse all

SYMPTOMS

You may receive the following message that there is an error in a formula, even though the formula is correct:
The formula you typed contains an error.

CAUSE

This error message may occur when you set the Decimal Symbol to be a comma (,) in the Regional Settings Properties dialog box, and then do either of the following:

  • You type a number into a cell that contains digits to the right of the decimal point; for example, 1900,01. -or-

  • You type a number into a formula which contains digits to the right of the decimal point; for example, =1900,01 * 100.
NOTE: You can find Regional Settings in the Control Panel.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

To work around this problem, type a plus sign (+) instead of the equal sign (=) at the beginning of the formula.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
172475  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172475/EN-US/ ) OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

REFERENCES

For more information about entering formulas, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text
formulas, entering
and then double-click the selected text to go to "Enter data in worksheet cells" topic.

APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
Keywords: 
kbbug kbenv kberrmsg kbfix KB171314
Retired KB ArticleRetired KB Content Disclaimer
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.
 

Article Translations