"alt key" substitutes in Excel 98 not in Office-X?

[Jim C]

Hi, I used to use Excel primarily on the PC and now I rely on an Excel
98 function that allows you to access menus in the same way as on a PC
using "/" key instead of Alt. If you go to "Preferences" in Excel 98
and click on the "Transitions" tab, you find a preference called
"Microsoft Excel Menu or help key" which defaults to using the slash
for this feature. Unfortunately, the Office-X Transitions menu has no
"Microsoft Excel Menu or help key" preference.

I know I can create my own shortcuts, but what a waste of time when I
already know dozens of standard PC-style alt shortcuts. Any idea if
this function has moved? Or anybody know how to request this feature
from Microsoft for future versions?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Hi, I used to use Excel primarily on the PC and now I rely on an Excel
98 function that allows you to access menus in the same way as on a PC
using "/" key instead of Alt. If you go to "Preferences" in Excel 98
and click on the "Transitions" tab, you find a preference called
"Microsoft Excel Menu or help key" which defaults to using the slash
for this feature. Unfortunately, the Office-X Transitions menu has no
"Microsoft Excel Menu or help key" preference.

I know I can create my own shortcuts, but what a waste of time when I
already know dozens of standard PC-style alt shortcuts. Any idea if
this function has moved? Or anybody know how to request this feature
from Microsoft for future versions?

It doesn't exist in MacXL versions after XL98. You can certainly request
it using the Help/Feedback on Excel menu item.

While it won't work exactly like Windows Alt key shortcuts, in OSX, the
way to accomplish what you're after is to turn on Full Keyboard Access.
In Panther, turn it on in the Keyboard Shortcuts pane of the Keyboard &
Mouse Preference Pane in the System Preferences. You can view the
shortcuts on that pane, and change them if you prefer. The mechanism is
less convenient than the XL98 method, but it will work.