XL2000: Selected Text in Combo Box from Forms Toolbar Overflows into Worksheet

Characters that do not fit into the space in a combo box may be displayed to the right of the combo box in the underlying worksheet.

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• You create a combo box from the Forms toolbar.
  
  -and-
• You include a cell in the input range for the combo box that contains text longer than the width of the combo box.
  
  -and-
• You select the long text item in the combo box.

If the text of the input range cell is longer than the combo box, the additional characters extend beyond the box into the underlying spreadsheet. The selected text in the box is not truncated as expected.

To resolve this problem, obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).

To obtain SR-1/SR-1a, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To temporarily work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Use a Larger Combo Box

Make the combo box larger than any text which is referenced, or truncate the text in the input range cells to fit the width of the combo box.

Method 2: Use a Different Type of Combo Box

Use the combo box from the Control Toolbox toolbar instead of the Forms toolbar.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

When text spills beyond the combo box, some of the letters seem to disappear under the drop-down arrow, with the remaining letters appearing on the worksheet to the right of the combo box.

This problem does not occur with the combo box control from the Control Toolbox toolbar.

For more information about how to add a combo box from the Control Toolbox, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type Add a combo box from the Control Toolbox in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.