Bizarre behaviour of Excel 2016 Text Boxes

Hello folks,

I wonder if anyone can help with this. The description is a bit long-winded but I can't show a video of what is happening.

I have a speadsheet which includes a line graph displaying six month's worth of data. I have opaque text boxes covering the default values on the horizontal axis. The text boxes are formatted with a minimal internal margin, white fill and vertical text. Double-clicking on a text box (or ctrl-clicking for multiple boxes) I can move/nudge the box(es) left, right, up or down using the cursor keys to place them in the desired position.

So far so good.

I have created a second line graph for the next six-month's worth of data. Again I want opaque text boxes along the horizontal axis. This is where the problem begins as the behaviour of the text boxes in this second graph do not match those of the first.

I first of all copied several text boxes from the first chart (graph) into the second. When trying to nudge a box into the correct position (doing exactly the same as in the first chart/graph, instead of moving the text box, the selection changes to the next text box.

The behaviour of the text boxes in this second chart is even more wierd than this.

If I copy a text box (to save having to format it all over again from scratch) and paste it (whether from the first chart into the second or within the second chart) it will nudge down and right as expected, but if I try to nudge the text box up or left at any stage, the selected text box changes again (and won't now nudge at all).

I thought the problem may be due to copying the text boxes from one chart to the other where the poperties (for some reason) hadn't been maintained, so I created and formatted a new text box within this second chart. The same problem occurs - the text boxes will nudge right or down but as soon as I try to nudge up or left, the selected text box changes.

First question is WHY?! What the hell is going on here?

Second question is how can I get the text boxes in the second chart to do what those in the first chart do (and continue to do)?

Third is which ****** moron in Microsoft designed the software in this way and, perhaps more to te point, why did their manager sign this off??

PC and OS as per Syetem 1. Office version is 2016.

Thanks for reading this post and I hope someone can help.

Art

ArthurDent said:

Hello folks,

I wonder if anyone can help with this. The description is a bit long-winded but I can't show a video of what is happening.

I have a speadsheet which includes a line graph displaying six month's worth of data. I have opaque text boxes covering the default values on the horizontal axis. The text boxes are formatted with a minimal internal margin, white fill and vertical text. Double-clicking on a text box (or ctrl-clicking for multiple boxes) I can move/nudge the box(es) left, right, up or down using the cursor keys to place them in the desired position.

So far so good.

I have created a second line graph for the next six-month's worth of data. Again I want opaque text boxes along the horizontal axis. This is where the problem begins as the behaviour of the text boxes in this second graph do not match those of the first.

I first of all copied several text boxes from the first chart (graph) into the second. When trying to nudge a box into the correct position (doing exactly the same as in the first chart/graph, instead of moving the text box, the selection changes to the next text box.

The behaviour of the text boxes in this second chart is even more wierd than this.

If I copy a text box (to save having to format it all over again from scratch) and paste it (whether from the first chart into the second or within the second chart) it will nudge down and right as expected, but if I try to nudge the text box up or left at any stage, the selected text box changes again (and won't now nudge at all).

I thought the problem may be due to copying the text boxes from one chart to the other where the poperties (for some reason) hadn't been maintained, so I created and formatted a new text box within this second chart. The same problem occurs - the text boxes will nudge right or down but as soon as I try to nudge up or left, the selected text box changes.

First question is WHY?! What the hell is going on here?

Second question is how can I get the text boxes in the second chart to do what those in the first chart do (and continue to do)?

Third is which ****** moron in Microsoft designed the software in this way and, perhaps more to te point, why did their manager sign this off??

PC and OS as per Syetem 1. Office version is 2016.

Thanks for reading this post and I hope someone can help.

Art

How can we possibly answer this without screen dumps etc. Even a link so we could download the spreadsheet etc.

There are many Excel specific forums on the web - I seem to remember one on reddit was helpful.
This forum is more focussed on how to install Office 365 etc rather than helping with very detailed user questions about app.

Also, whilst I often agree with
"Third is which ****** moron in Microsoft designed the software in this way and, perhaps more to te point, why did their manager sign this off??", don't you think it is a bit premature until you have proven it is not PEBCAK?

cereberus said:

How can we possibly answer this without screen dumps etc. Even a link so we could download the spreadsheet etc.

How would this help in any way? I can't post a video so all that you'd see would be text boxes with selection 'handles' and my description of what was happening (which you have in any case).

cereberus said:

There are many Excel specific forums on the web - I seem to remember one on reddit was helpful.
This forum is more focussed on how to install Office 365 etc rather than helping with very detailed user questions about app.

Really? I thought this was for help with the program - I didn't realise it was specific to installation issues.

cereberus said:

Also, whilst I often agree with
"Third is which ****** moron in Microsoft designed the software in this way and, perhaps more to te point, why did their manager sign this off??", don't you think it is a bit premature until you have proven it is not PEBCAK?

I'm sorry, but I take exception to this.

It is not an "idiot above keyboard" issue, I have reported what I believe to be a genuine issue - indeed if you have bothered to read my post in detail you will note that the action of the text boxes differs within the same spreadsheet and that upon initial copying of the text box - either within the embedded chart or from one chart to another within the same sheet, the movement by use of the cursor keys works as expected - until you try to use a copy of that text box or try to move it up or left when the action changes.

mngerhold said:

Well, I have dome some testing, and may have an answer - but note that I am using Excel-2010. If I insert text boxes into a chart (the chart floating inside the sheet), then I also cannot move them with the cursor keys (nor whould I have expected to be able so to do). Instead, using the keys switches focus to other objects in the chart (other boxes, axis legends, title, individual data points etc), and the up-down keys switch in a different order to the left-right ones).

However, if I insert a text box in the sheet itself (by making sure the chart is not selected first), then that box can be moved with the keys, and behaves as your original. So I suspect that somehow, your second chart has boxes embedded inside it, whilst the first does not.

Note that if I copy one of my floating boxes, then select the chart and paste the box, it instantly becomes a non-moveable one, as I might expect, and that my 'in the chart' boxes do not move with any of the cursor keys - in that respect, maybe Excel 2016 has changed the behaviour?

Is that any help? Martin

Hi Martin,

Thanks for this. You are quite correct in saying that a text box created 'outside of the chart' and then moved over the chart behaves in a completely different way to one created in the chart (and embedded so to speak).

The actions you decribe for Excel 2010 also apply to 2016.

This has solved my issue - many thanks. I guess this is what you might call an "undocumented feature"!

@cereberus take note - not an 'PBKAC' issue at all!

Many thanks.

Art

@ArthurDent


StackSocial has another sale on Office Professional Plus 2019... lifetime license...

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows: One-Time Purchase | StackSocial



It may just be time to say Hasta la vista to 2016.



Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows goes on sale for approx. $25 all the time at StackSocial.
You just have to keep checking their website.

ArthurDent said:

How would this help in any way? I can't post a video so all that you'd see would be text boxes with selection 'handles' and my description of what was happening (which you have in any case).

Art

My apologies - no offence was intended.

re. forum, I was saying focus tends to be on installation/licencing but of course, you may ask for program specific help. However, I have found other sites often have some great extertise.

cereberus said:

My apologies - no offence was intended.

re. forum, I was saying focus tends to be on installation/licencing but of course, you may ask for program specific help. However, I have found other sites often have some great extertise.

Apology accepted - thank you.

Kind regards,

Art

Ghot said:

@ArthurDent


StackSocial has another sale on Office Professional Plus 2019... lifetime license...

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows: One-Time Purchase | StackSocial



It may just be time to say Hasta la vista to 2016.



Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows goes on sale for approx. $25 all the time at StackSocial.
You just have to keep checking their website.

Thanks Ghot,

Ordered - a real bargain!

Art