James sends this question:
I’ve run into a bug with Excel 2007’s Analysis Toolpak Add-in. The charts created by several of the utilities within this add-in literally fall apart when I try to move them as though I’m working with an ungrouped collection of objects. I’m using the production release, installed on both WinXP and Vista machines. Any ideas? I haven’t found anything in the MS Knowledge Base or from a Google search.
I haven’t spent enough time with charting in 2007, so I’m the wrong guy to answer this. Anyone?
I fired up the 2007 ATP for the first time just now to test this out. I used the Histogram tool. First, I was appalled by the tool’s UI. The initially selected range was not entered automatically into the Input Range (which all of my chart utilities do, just like the Chart Wizard does, except it’s not part of Excel 2007, but that’s a different deficiency in 2007). I redundantly selected an input range, then selected the Output Range radio button to keep the output on the same sheet, and focus did not move to the Output Range selection box. So the cell I selected as the home cell of the output range overwrote the input range I’d selected above. So I had to redo everything. Was this really this amateurish in earlier versions? Probably, I just don’t remember, because I have my own histogram tools.
I made the chart, then clicked and dragged it down a few rows. Some parts of the chart moved, like the columns and axis lines, and the chart area fill. But the chart area outline and the text elements all stayed in their original position. Bizarre. Then if you click on the moved chart, it all becomes visible, though the parts that stayed behind in the move are still in their position. You cannot select any of these parts, but if you mouse over them, the cursor changes to the normal arrow, and if you click on one, the corresponding part of the moved chart is selected. All that shows up in the selection pane is the chart (the part that got moved, not the pieces that stayed behind).
If you force a redraw (i.e. switch sheets and switch back), you get back the original appearance of the moved chart, without the text and outline. But selecting the moved chart once again brings back the hidden elements.
I have had the same experience Jon has (including the poor range selecting logic in its UI, which I suspect is the way it has always worked).
The odd display of the chart can be fixed by switching to page layout view and back to normal view. This means it is probably some sort of screen redraw issue we’re looking at here.
Beginning to think I should send my copy of Office 2007 Enterprise back to the vendor without even opening it?
This is a weird chart bug with ATP. Switching in and out of Page Layout view doesn’t always fix it. In fact, it usually makes it invisible. I think the only way to fix it is to save the workbook, close it, and then re-open it.
I thought I was having problem with the gfx card in my laptop. Turns out all of you share the same experience as well…. ;(