I think that Excel behavior is caused by the AutoCorrect options

Try this:

From the Excel main menu:
<tools<options<spelling tab
Click the [Autocorrect options] button
Select the "Autoformat as you type" tab
UNcheck: Internet and network paths with hyperlinks.

Does that help?
***********
Regards,
Ron

XL2002, WinXP


"kvnexcel" wrote:

I am writing spreadsheet that requires users to enter stock-symbol
tickers, which for various reasons *must be typed in like this: F@US
(Ford, on US stock exchanges; MSFT@US for Microsoft, etc.) Everytime I
enter this text in a cell, Excel sees the ampersand, thinks it's an e-mail
address and tries to link to Outlook. I can't find a way to turn this
function off. Any help out there?