XL5: GP Fault in Text Import Scrolling File with Large Columns

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you open a text file and use the horizontal scroll bar under the preview window in the Text Import Wizard to scroll the columns in the file, you may receive a general protection (GP) fault.

CAUSE

You receive the GP fault when you open a text file that contains multiple columns with more than 150 characters.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel for Windows version 5.0c.

WORKAROUND

To avoid receiving a GP fault in the Text Import Wizard when you open a large text file, do any of the following:

• When you open a text file that contains more than 150 characters in multiple columns (between delimiters), do not use the horizontal scroll bar located at the bottom of the Data Preview window while you are in any screen of the Text Import Wizard.

  -or-

• Use fewer than 150 characters per column (between delimiters) in your text file.

  -or-

• Choose the Fixed Width option for delimiting your text.