XL: Double-Clicking Cell Doesn't Display Notes or Precedents

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you double-click a cell that contains a note, a link to another worksheet, or a precedent, a flashing bar appears in the cell instead of the expected behavior; displaying the note, linked worksheet, or precedent.

CAUSE

In Microsoft Excel, when you double-click a cell, a flashing bar appears, and then you can edit directly in the cell. If you want to display cell notes or select a cell's precedents, use one of the workarounds in this article.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do one of the following:

• Clear the Edit Directly In Cell check box on the Edit tab in the Options dialog box (click Options or Preferences on the Tools menu). After you clear this option, when you double-click a cell, the note is displayed or the linked information or precedents are selected.

      -or-
  

• Instead of double-clicking a cell to display cell notes or select precedents, use the Attach Note and Trace Precedents buttons. These buttons are located on the Auditing toolbar. You can also display a cell note by pressing SHIFT+F2.

MORE INFORMATION

In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, when you double-click a cell that contains a cell note, the note is displayed. If the cell contains an external link, the linked worksheet opens, and the linked information is selected. If the cell contains a formula, the cells that the formula refers to (precedents) are selected.

In Microsoft Excel versions 5.0 and later, you can directly edit the contents of a cell by double-clicking the cell. However, if you double- click a locked cell on a protected worksheet, editing directly in the cell is not allowed. In this case, you receive the error message "Locked cells cannot be changed," and the Microsoft Excel 4.0 behavior occurs.

For example, if you double-click a locked cell that contains a cell note, you receive the locked cells error message, and then the note is displayed. If you double-click a locked cell that contains a link, the locked cells error message appears, and then the file that contains the linked information opens. If you double-click a locked cell that contains a precedent, the error message appears, and the cells that the formula refers to are selected.