dot on numeric keyboard pad is replaced by comma

[Picsou]

Hi,
I have the followin question :

In Excel 2007, the dot on numeric keyboard pad is replaced by a comma.
This happens only in Excel 2007, not in Word 2007 nor in Outlook 2007.
In all my other software the dot remains a dot as well.
The inversion only happens in Excel 2007.

Any solution ?

 

[Gary''s Student]

Verify you have the correct Regional & International settings.

 

[Picsou]

I verified that Gary, my settings are correct.

It is funny that ONLY Excel 2007 replaces that dot by a comma.
I had Office 2003 before and Excel 2003 treated that dot correctly as well.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

You cannot blame XL2007. The 'dot' on my numeric keypads (three machines)
give me dots (aka Anglo-Saxon decimal points)
Would you please try a new keyboard and tell us what happens?
best wishes

 

[John]

Hi
I use two different language keyboard (CAN> French &CAN> English ) in
Control Panel under Regional and Language settings, I have both of then
selected and can change one to the other on the fly on my Toolbar.
But sometime I can be typing in Windows Mail or even in Excel and the
language keyboard changes. I have to close the application and reopen it.
Are you using more then one language keyboard?
HTH
John

 

[Picsou]

Hi Bernard,
I've done that (a Microsoft keyboard and a DELL keyboard).
The result is the same : the dot-key is translated by Excel 2007 in a comma.
Please note that ONLY Excel is doing this.
Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, Notepad, etc are doing just fine : a dot remains
a dot for them.

 

[Gord Dibben]

Office Button>Excel Options>Advanced.

Make sure "Use System Separators" is checked.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

 

[Picsou]

No I do not John, my keybord is set to French because I have a french AZERTY
keyboard. I have only this keyboard set under Regional and Language settings.

But once again : Only Excel is doing this to the poor dot key.
All my other applications are behaving correctly.
I rather tend to look for a solution within Excel - or am I wrong ?

 

[Picsou]

This setting is correctly set as well Gord.

The key shows a DOT (.) on it's surface.
All my programs except for Excel show a dot (.) when I enter it.
Only Excel decides to make (,) a comma out of it instead.

 

[Picsou]

There is one more program that does the same as Excel after all : Calculator.

 

[Sheeloo]

Does this happen even when you enter text (somethin like A.B.C.D) ?

 

[Picsou]

No Sheeloo, everything is doing just fine exept for that one keyboard key.
It is the dot key (.) on the right side numeric pad pf the keyboard that
troubles me.
It is the key that sits between the keys 0 and enter, just underneath the
key 3.
It's face shows a dot (.) and Excel 2007 makes a comma (,) out of it.

Is this an Excel 2007 bug ?
Excel 2003 did not have that problem.

 

[Sheeloo]

Sorry for not being clear with my question. I had understood your problem.

What I want to know is this -
What do you get when you try to enter the following text
This.is.a.test (using the . on the numeric keypad) to enter this?

If . is replace by , even in this then it means that your keyboard mapping
is 'bad' at the OS level (which you say is not the case as it does not happen
elsewhere, except calculator)...

If not then it HAS to be a regional setting somewhere... (something you
already suspect). I don't think it is an Excel issue... it has to be a
regional setting at OS level which formats the numbers...


Also can you send a sample file to me to me or post it at a site like
wikisend?

 

[Picsou]

Hi Sheeloo, thanks for our patience and for trying to help me.
I typed : This.is.a.test
In the cell I see : This,is,a,test

There is no problem when I type the same text in Word or whatever other
program.

 

[Sheeloo]

No problem...

I should have asked this earlier... How about entering the . from the main
keyboard?

Since this is happening with Calculator also it can not be an Excel issue.
Looks like your system is interpreting . as a , which must be a display
setting which Excel is reading.

Try the following (one at a time)
1. Clear the Use System Separator check box under Office Button -> Advanced
-> Editing Options and use decimal separator as .


2. Change keyboard setting to ENGLISH

 

[Picsou]

Typing dots and commas from the main keyboard are OK.

I have cleared the Use System Separartor checkbox : no difference

I have edited the option Use Decimal Separator into . instead of , : this
works, Excel writes a . when I hit the dot-button.

But this is not normal : my regional settings are as follows
- the , is the decimal separator
- the . is the thousands separator
I can still not understand/accept that Excel writes a comma when I hit a
button that has a dot on it's face.

 

[David Biddulph]

It sounds to me as if the program is behaving as it is designed to behave.
The dot on the numeric keypad is designed to be a decimal separator. Your
regional settings are to display the decimal separator as a comma, so that
is how it is displaying it.

 

[Picsou]

Then why is Word, PowerPoint, Outlook writing a dot, and not a comma like
Excel ?

 

[Picsou]

Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and all my other programs are writing what is shown
on the face of the keyboard key : a dot (.)
Why does Excel transform it into a comma ?
The customer/user of a program expects that a program writes what he is
typing.
And when the face of a key on his keyboard shows a dot (.) then he expects
to see a dot (.) appearing in his document.
Anyhow : Office 2007 is creating confusion :
- for Word, PowerPpoint, Outlook, etc : a dot on the keyboard is a dot in
the document - that is the right logic
- for Excel : a dot on the keyboard becomes a comma in the document - this
is wrong behavior whatever the reason is.

WHERE IS THE MS PHILOSOPHY THAT SAYS "What you see is what you get = WYSIWYG".
Does MS say here that Excel is an exeption on their own rules - pretty
confusing !!

 

[David Biddulph]

Perhaps because Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook are not number-processing
applications, and they don't have a specific knowledge of a decimal
separator?