re-naming worksheet tab adds ".xls]" to the begining of the name I entered

[Me]

I am having a problem with Excel 2003 SP1. Everytime I try to re-name
the worksheet tab, excel adds ".xls]" to the begining of whatever I
type. If I then try to change that name is says "invalid character"
no matter what I type. I have to close the spreadsheet and choose not
to save changes to revert back to what I had.

 

[Dave Peterson]

What's the name of the workbook?

Does it include any special characters?

If so, rename the workbook (while it's closed and using windows explorer).

I am having a problem with Excel 2003 SP1. Everytime I try to re-name
the worksheet tab, excel adds ".xls]" to the begining of whatever I
type. If I then try to change that name is says "invalid character"
no matter what I type. I have to close the spreadsheet and choose not
to save changes to revert back to what I had.

 

[Ken Strong]

First of all, I have encountered the same problem. We found that using the ]
character in the filename causes it. (We have Excel 2002 running on XP Pro.)

We found that, if one has the ] character in the filename, the characters
following the ] will be added to the renamed sheet name with a ] character
inbetween. e.g. If the filename is "this]isatest.xls" and the sheet is
renamed to "beep", then the sheet name will become "isatest.xls]beep". I
don't know if any other characters in the filename will cause the same (or a
similar) problem, but I know that this set of circumstances will. Therefore,
I'd suggest that you save the Excel file, close it, rename the filename so it
does not use the ] character, and then reopen the file and rename the sheet.

If someone has open access to Microsoft support people, then it might be
worth mentioning. However, the bug is just not critical enough to warrant my
company paying the support fee.

Ken Strong.

What's the name of the workbook?

Does it include any special characters?

If so, rename the workbook (while it's closed and using windows explorer).

I am having a problem with Excel 2003 SP1. Everytime I try to re-name
the worksheet tab, excel adds ".xls]" to the begining of whatever I
type. If I then try to change that name is says "invalid character"
no matter what I type. I have to close the spreadsheet and choose not
to save changes to revert back to what I had.

 

[hgrove]

Ken Strong wrote...

First of all, I have encountered the same problem. We found that using the ]
character in the filename causes it. (We have Excel 2002 running on

XP Pro.)
...

Another character to avoid in filenames is the single quote. It'll
cause similar but perhaps not identical headaches.