XL97: Chart Data Labels That Are Linked to Formulas Are Not Updated

In Microsoft Excel 97, a chart data label may not be updated when it is linked to a worksheet cell.

This problem occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

• A chart data label is linked to a worksheet cell. -and-
  
  
• The worksheet cell that the data label is linked to contains a formula. -and-
  
  
• The cell value is changed because it is recalculated.

For an example of this problem, please see the "More Information" section in this article.

To resolve this problem, do one of the following:

1. To correct this problem, obtain and install Microsoft Office 97, Service Release 2 (SR-2).
   
   For additional information about SR-2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   151261  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/151261/EN-US/ ) OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-2
2. If you are unable to obtain SR-2, obtain and install the Microsoft Excel 97 Auto recalculation Patch.
   
   For information about downloading and installing this patch, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   174868  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/174868/EN-US/ ) XL97: How to Obtain and the Excel 97 Auto Recalculation Patch
3. To temporarily work around this problem, press CTRL+ALT+F9.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel 97. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, Service Release 2 (SR-2).

Example

To see an example of the problem that is described in this article, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Excel 97 and create a new workbook.
2. Type the following data:

          A1: =RAND()   B1: =ROUND(A1+A2,2)
          A2: =RAND()   B2: =ROUND(AVERAGE(A1:A2),2)
   					

3. Select cells A1:A2 and start the Chart Wizard by clicking the Chart Wizard tool on the toolbar.
4. In step 1 of the Chart Wizard, click the XY (Scatter) chart type and click Next.
5. Click Next in step 2 of the Chart Wizard.
6. In step 3, click the Data Labels tab, click Show Value, and then click Finish.
   
   NOTE: Pressing F9 to recalculate the sheet updates the data labels. This feature is called "Automatic text" and is not a formula link.
7. Click the data label for point 1. Click the data label a second time.
   
   This step places the label in edit mode.
8. Type an equal sign (=), click cell B1, and then press ENTER.
9. Click the data label for point 2. Click the data label a second time.
   
   This step places the label in edit mode.
10. Type an equal sign, click cell B2, and then Press ENTER.
11. Press F9 to calculate the sheet.
    
    Note that the data labels have not been updated.
12. Press CTRL+ALT+F9.
    
    Note that the data labels have been updated.

NOTE: This example is not the only case in which this problem occurs.