Bug with value displayed in status bar

[Greg_Kras]

Version: 2008
Processor: Intel

I'm trying to report a bug that I found in Excel 2008 (and validated in Excel 2007 as well). It's simple to reproduce but the consequences can be fairly bad as it results in what I would consider an incorrect value being returned.

The bug in question revolves around the feature where you can select multiple values in excel and it will give you a summation of those values in the status bar along the bottom by default. The problem is that if you have negative values formated as being red they are not indicated as being negative in that display.

The simplest way to reproduce this is to put -1 in A1. If you highlight this number it will be displayed as -1 at the bottom. If you then format that cell as a "Number" and set it to be just red without the minus at the beginning you will see that the number at the bottom will now just reflect "1". This behavior can be observed when selecting multiple items, the result will always appear to be positive in the status bar location.

Expected and desired result would be that the number displayed at the bottom is indicated as being positive or negative using a minus sign.

I hope this makes it to the correct team over there.

Greg Kras

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Version: 2008
Processor: Intel

I'm trying to report a bug that I found in Excel 2008 (and validated in Excel
2007 as well). It's simple to reproduce but the consequences can be fairly bad
as it results in what I would consider an incorrect value being returned.

The bug in question revolves around the feature where you can select multiple
values in excel and it will give you a summation of those values in the status
bar along the bottom by default. The problem is that if you have negative
values formated as being red they are not indicated as being negative in that
display.

The simplest way to reproduce this is to put -1 in A1. If you highlight this
number it will be displayed as -1 at the bottom. If you then format that cell
as a "Number" and set it to be just red without the minus at the beginning you
will see that the number at the bottom will now just reflect "1". This
behavior can be observed when selecting multiple items, the result will always
appear to be positive in the status bar location.

Expected and desired result would be that the number displayed at the bottom
is indicated as being positive or negative using a minus sign.

I hope this makes it to the correct team over there.

Greg Kras

I can not reproduce this. If I put -1 in A1, format it as a number and red,
nothing appears in the sum area. (Actually it does appear but is greyed, but
is still visible as -1.) This is correct behavior as only one cell is
selected. If I put a few other values below this and highlight them all, the
sum is indeed correct reflecting the negative value. When the value is
actually negative, a - will appear in the formula bar, even though the cell
does not display the minus sign because of the format.

Are you using a US version of Excel and OS? Perhaps there is indeed a bug in
some international versions. Does the negative value show up in the formula
bar? If you click on the cell containing the -1, and then go to
Format-Cell-Number and click custom at the bottom, what does the format
string contain?

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Greg;

There's no "team" over here The newsgroups are user-to-user support, so
if you want to report anything to MS use Help> Send Feedback from the
respective application's menu bar. Periodically someone from MacBU peeks in
but not with any degree of frequency or regularity.

I've checked this in Excel 2004 where it behaves the same way. That leads me
to believe that this is by no means something new. My expectation is that
this formatting is intended for specific purposes... Perhaps having to do
with absolute values or some such??? I honestly do not know. Maybe someone
else can shed some light on that. I'll also make an inquiry & reply when I
receive a reply.

The only attribute of that particular format which indicates a negative
value is the red color. Since the AutoCalculate area doesn't pick up color
it stands to reason that there is no other indication there.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[CyberTaz]

I can not reproduce this. If I put -1 in A1, format it as a number and red,
nothing appears in the sum area. (Actually it does appear but is greyed, but
is still visible as -1.) This is correct behavior as only one cell is
selected. If I put a few other values below this and highlight them all, the
sum is indeed correct reflecting the negative value. When the value is
actually negative, a - will appear in the formula bar, even though the cell
does not display the minus sign because of the format.

Are you using a US version of Excel and OS? Perhaps there is indeed a bug in
some international versions. Does the negative value show up in the formula
bar? If you click on the cell containing the -1, and then go to
Format-Cell-Number and click custom at the bottom, what does the format
string contain?

Hi Bob;

I can repro here in 2003, 2004 & 2008... all US/English. Are you sure you're
using the right cell format? Do you have your glasses on ?

In Format> Cells - Number, use the second format item in the list which
applies red color *only* for negatives ‹ No minus sign, No parenthesis. [see
NOTE: below]

With that format applied enter minus anything [ -1, -46, (12), (243), etc.]

Select just that one cell & the AutoCalculate area displays: Sum=n in gray
with no minus indicator (in the Mac versions... The PC version AutoCalculate
area displays nothing unless more than one cell is selected.)

Select a range of cells whose sum is a negative: AutoCalculate will display
the correct numerical result but without a minus sign, without parens & of
course, not in red.

NOTE: This same format must be applied to all cells in the selected range.
If even one cell in the range is formatted differently AutoCalculate *will*
display the minus sign if the result is negative.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Hi,

Yes, I was using the right cell format, and did have my glasses on. However,
my advanced senility must have been kicking in. I can now repro and will
report it.

 

[CyberTaz]

I've already run up a flag but have no official response as yet.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Greg_Kras]

Hi,

Thanks both of you for confirming and reporting this issue. The way this was discovered was rather upsetting to the people whom I support. They are financial traders and there was a significant financial decision erroneously made because of the quirk in this functionality.

Greg

 

[CyberTaz]

I must agree that it does seem potentially problematic but I would hope that
the formatting of the sheet would steer folks clear of such errors... Like
my Daddy always said, "Measure twice, cut once."

Help your cause by using Excel's Help> Send Feedback feature to submit your
own insights on the behavior.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac