I have WinXP SP2 with Office 2003 [2]. Each time I start
Excel or Word (and probably others), when I first do
anything font-related, it takes several seconds (sometimes
12 sec or more) to complete. Thereafter, the font actions
are immediate.

What is causing this delay? More importantly, how can I
avoid it?

By "font actions", I mean: pull down the font list on a
taskbar; click on the font tab under Format / Cells; click
on bold or italics on the taskbar.

I believe the font delay is caused by some network activity
-- perhaps a network search (for font updates?).

I come to that conclusion because the font delay goes away
if I disconnect the LAN cable before starting the application.

I suspect/hope this network search is configurable and can
be disabled.

I come to that conclusion based on two facts:

1. When I log on a local user id, there is no font delay,
even with the network connected. Thus, I suspect a
user-specific configuration.

(The user id with the errant behavior belongs to a
networked domain, if that is the right terminology.)

2. I learned that another network search "feature" can
be disabled easily. (See footnote [1] if you want to
avoid search delays using the Office Assistant in Excel.)

But I have been unable to find a Tools / Options or Font
Properties option that would control this (mis)behavior.


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[1] When I use Office Assistant in Excel, it would always
search Microsoft Office Online for help information,
which caused interminable delays. I disabled the
network search by doing the following:

- Click Help / Microsoft Excel Help / Online Content
Settings

- Deselect "Show content and links from Microsoft
Office Online"

Note: This was unnecessary when I had Win2002 with
Excel 2002. The default changed with WinXP and Excel
2003 [2].

[2] WinXP 2000 SP2
Excel 2003 (11.6355.6360) SP1

Note: My computer was set up with an environment
that is centrally administered over the network.
I do not know the details. But it could contribute
to the (mis)behavior, for example by setting up
"default" options that might differ from standard
MSWin XP and MS Office 2003. I simply do not know.